Aladdin Theatre

The Butte Opera House was the first regular movie theatre in town when a projector was installed on October 20, 1908 with twice a week operation. In 1909, a new opera house was announced and built. The two-story steel-reinforced structure consisted of brick and stone. The New Butte Opera House launched with a live stage play on October 3, 1909. The theatre would use a mix of motion pictures along with live presentation and local events including dances.

The American Legion took on the Opera House in 1920 running motion pictures four times a week. John Irwin took on the venue and installed a Silver-Marshall Orchestraphone in 1928. But people wanted talkies and on November 22, 1929, Irwin installed sound showing the film “On with the Show” to help the Butte Opera House remain viable.

On August of 1934, the venue got a streamline makeover becoming the Aladdin Theatre relaunching August 13, 1934 with Richard Arlen in “Let ‘em Have It”. In 1955, the theatre was equipped with widescreen projection to show CinemaScope films.

The venue celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1959 - a great accomplishment for a town with fewer than 600 residents. But the festive nature was short-lived. Regular screenings ended at the Aladdin Theatre on December 28, 1960 due to declining patronage. The final screening was Clark Gable and Sophia Loren in “It Started in Naples”. Sporadic events took place in the building thereafter. It was still standing in the 21st Century.

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