Clarick Theatre
2200 Main Street,
Baker City,
OR
97814
2200 Main Street,
Baker City,
OR
97814
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Baker City Opera House, Baker Opera House
Nearby Theaters
The Baker County Library notes the Baker City Opera House was opened on January 18, 1901. It cost $35,000 and originally seated 1,077 with three balconies contained in the four-story structure. It was operated by George L. Baker. On November 9, 1925 owners K.L. and Jack F. Burk renamed it the Clarick after Clara and Fredericka, their relatives and the opening attraction was the opera “Blossom Time”.
As noted by the Eltrym Theatre, while owned by Frank and Myrtle Buckmiller since 1928 the Clarick Theatre was destroyed by fire November 12, 1937, leaving the Buckmillers with their Empire Theatre and Orpheum Theatre. Myrtle passed away in January 1940, but was remembered by a clever twist to her name for the Eltrym Theatre, which opened in June 1940.
As a movie theatre Film Daily Year Book 1926 listed the Clarick Theatre with 600 seats and then later with 650, perhaps because the balconies were closed.
The former location can be found today by the now fading Art Deco style Safeway market, later built on the site.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The 1909-1910 Cahn guide lists the Baker Opera House as a ground-floor theater with a stage 30 feet deep from footlights to back wall and 59 ½ feet between side walls. There were 400 seats on the orchestra floor, 302 in the balcony, and 375 in the gallery.
The September 13, 1900, issue of Engineering News reported that the contract had been let to Grant & Haines for construction of the new opera house at Baker City, but no details were provided. A late 1900 opening is possible, but early 1901 is as likely.
George L. Baker launched the Baker City Opera House on January 18, 1901 and shortened to the Baker Opera House. It used the name Baker Theatre from 1906 to 1925 at which time it was closed for a major refresh by the Heilner Brothers and the Burks. It became the Clarick Theatre on November 9, 1925 launching Wirth “Blossom Time.”