Orada Theater

Joe Vogel on November 20, 2014 at 9:14 pm

The Orada Theatre was in operation prior to 1947, in which year it suffered a fire. The July 16 issue of Motion Picture Daily said: “Seattle, July 15. — L. A. Gillespie of Okanogan, whose Orada Theatre in Oroville was destroyed by fire last week, said today that he will rebuild the theatre.”

The rebuilding took a long time, probably due to lingering shortages of materials and restrictions on construction in the postwar period. The November 15, 1948, issue of Motion Picture Herald had this item about the reopening: “The Orada theatre in Oroville, Wash., which was destroyed by fire several months ago, has reopened. The rebuilt house has 700 seats and a ‘cry-room.’”

The December 27, 2012, issue of the Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune said that the site of the Orada Theatre had become the parking lot of the 76 Quick Mart. The Quick Mart is at 1501 Main Street, and the address of the parking lot would be a bit higher, probably 1505 Main Street. The current building is certainly more than two years old so must be the same one mentioned in the newspaper in 2012.