Babcock Theatre
2812 2nd Avenue N,
Billings,
MT
59101
2812 2nd Avenue N,
Billings,
MT
59101
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Grand opening photos.
https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/community/photos-crowds-gather-for-babcock-theatre-reopening/article_b0871156-abfd-5e38-8f47-5c7304d5e159.html?fbclid=IwAR2qPcSbbt0GJ80F4haFCO2MQ6hqrI_oMxfyMjLXB1q0Ctf1-ifR_CYvoyE#1
Grand re-opening news story.
https://ktvq.com/news/local-news/2018/11/15/after-months-dark-historic-babcock-theatre-reopens-in-lipstick-and-rouge-in-billings/?fbclid=IwAR2z9pQ04Qpat-PuYSOUyu-rUQs_jg3MfyapwAALgc_0QNr6AKLM7jQphjU
Article:
Babcock theatre stops showing movies · Tue, Jun 9, 1981 – 9 · The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana) · Newspapers.com
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
website for the Babcock Theatre.
The NRHP registration form for the Babcock Theatre (PDF here) has a detailed history of the theater and numerous photographs, including photos of the original 1907 interior designed by Edwin W. Houghton and of the 1927 interior with decoration in the Spanish Colonial style by Carl F. Berg of the Shearer studios in Seattle. The theater was closed from June 7 to September 24 for the 1927 remodeling project.
The architect for these major alterations, which included moving the theater entrance from an interior arcade to the street front, and the removal of the 300-seat gallery and the boxes, was not named in the document, but it might have been John G. Link, who did work on the building at some point according to this page from the Montana State University Library.
On the night of February 21 and morning of February 22, 1935, the Babcock Theatre was severely damaged by a fire that caused the roof of the auditorium to collapse. The Wutlizer Hope_Jones organ was destroyed. Reconstruction after the fire took almost six months. The rebuilding project was designed by local architect Edwin G. Osness. The decoration, in the Art Deco style, was by the Heinsbergen Studios of Los Angeles.
The Skouras-style remodeling for Fox Theatres, designed by Carl G. Moeller, which is still largely intact, was done in 1955.
Had a complete remodel in 1928 in the Colonial Spanish style at a cost of $100,000. Was then owned and operated by the Theatre Operating Company of Billings, Max Fregger & Eugene O'Keefe. Seating capacity was nearly 1,500 persons.
Thursday Night Fights are still going on at the Babcock. Status should be open. Function would be…live performances?
Here are some contemporary photos:
http://tinyurl.com/nn7nk
http://tinyurl.com/m8ry6
http://tinyurl.com/nqt2g
http://tinyurl.com/h6at2
Great photos here:
View link
The ANNUAL referred to is available from:
PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either “Marquee” or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on their first page the link “PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List” and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The “Marquee” magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall (‘portrait’) format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long (‘landscape’) format, and are anywhere from 26 to 40 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to loan it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]
Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.
Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at:
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)
Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM—4PM, CT)