I saw many movies at Bremerton’s Roxy in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The building’s interior had a grace and elegance that was unusual for Bremerton which was a rough-and-tumble town (and still is, to a good degree). The building’s architectural style is identified as Art Moderne or Streamline Moderne, which is very unusual because this dates to WWII era when Bremerton was a boomtown – and I haven’t seen many building of this style in the United States. I hope the owners know what a gem they have on their hands and I hope they haven’t messed up the beautiful minimalist wood details, etc. If I had Paul Allen’s money, this would be my pet project. Oh, and the concession stand was along the box office, on the street, which always struck me as quirky.
In the early 1980’s I worked around the corner at the Admiral Theater, also in the Streamline Moderne style, but a larger cinema – a big hulking concrete box with a balcony. It was chopped-up into a triplex when I worked there, and the wood entry doors were replaced with glass storefront type, which dealt a blow to it’s original Moderne integrity. Now the Admiral has undergone a full-blown overhaul and is an operating venue; I had a brief look at the interior, and it has lost all of it’s original Art Moderne feel which is too bad, but that’s a minor setback given that Bremerton has revived an old gem and has put some sign of life into it’s downtown.
I saw many movies at Bremerton’s Roxy in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The building’s interior had a grace and elegance that was unusual for Bremerton which was a rough-and-tumble town (and still is, to a good degree). The building’s architectural style is identified as Art Moderne or Streamline Moderne, which is very unusual because this dates to WWII era when Bremerton was a boomtown – and I haven’t seen many building of this style in the United States. I hope the owners know what a gem they have on their hands and I hope they haven’t messed up the beautiful minimalist wood details, etc. If I had Paul Allen’s money, this would be my pet project. Oh, and the concession stand was along the box office, on the street, which always struck me as quirky.
In the early 1980’s I worked around the corner at the Admiral Theater, also in the Streamline Moderne style, but a larger cinema – a big hulking concrete box with a balcony. It was chopped-up into a triplex when I worked there, and the wood entry doors were replaced with glass storefront type, which dealt a blow to it’s original Moderne integrity. Now the Admiral has undergone a full-blown overhaul and is an operating venue; I had a brief look at the interior, and it has lost all of it’s original Art Moderne feel which is too bad, but that’s a minor setback given that Bremerton has revived an old gem and has put some sign of life into it’s downtown.