Park Theater

Browning, Montana had four movie theaters in its history that operated for 78 total years. This was its Streamline Moderne style Park Theatre (aka Orpheum Theater #3) in downtown next to the Yegen Hotel. The project was a hybrid that allowed the Yegen Hotel to expand on the top floors with 16 additional rooms and Emma J. DesRosier creating a modern theatre to replace Orpheum Theatre “#2” on the same street. Ground was broken on May 1, 1939 as the city got new brick and tile downtown buildings and a facing for the existing, frame-built Hotel.

Work was expedited as a target July 20, 1939 opening date was set to celebrate the DesRosier family’s Silver Jubilee - 25 years of operation. The building was completed in time to showCary Grant in “Gunga Din” but the equipment did not arrive in time. So “Din” was the final show at the Orpheum #2 on July 24, 1939. DesRosier along with son, Stuart, opened the 308-seat Park Theatre on July 25, 1939 with Richard Greene in “Submarine Patrol” And, upon further analysis, the Silver Jubilee date was August 5, 1939 so their celebration should be noted as on time / ahead of schedule. Très bon.

The Park Theatre had mohair upholstered, spring-edged chairs, air conditioning, and RCA sound on film technology. Judy Garkand in “The Wizard of Oz” was a big winner with four showings on January 19-20, 1940. Clark Gable in"Gone with the Wind" had similar treatment on June 15-16, 1941. Neighboring Glacier Drug became the de facto concessionaire with popular goodies.

Jim L. Leadbetter took on the venue in the 1950’s giving it widescreen, CinemaScope and VistaVision projection and a new air conditioning system. Its first wide-screening was Richard Burton in “The Robe” in CinemaScope on August 15, 1954. The trade press noted that the theatre was changed by Leadbetter to the Orpheum Theatre in 1963 not long after Oprh #2 burned down making this location Oprh #3.

Orpheum #1 was in an existing frame building and burned down on January 31, 1920 during its final intermission. Orpheum Theatre #2 burned down on July 19, 1963 as a vacant building. And you can probably guess what happened to this building. However, it reverted to the Park Theatre namesake by 1967’s showing of Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music” - a show which became the largest grossing film to play in Browning’s history.

In 1973, the final operators of the Park Theatre were Paul and Barb Kingston. They added video rentals in its lobby. It had its most memorable screening with Hemdale’s “War Party” featuring local Blackfeet Indian Reservation members who appeared in the film when it was shot in the area in July and August of 1987. The film was delayed and upon its run September 29, 1989, the engagement was with reserved seating for the first five days of its two week run… one week more than most other theatres.

On November 7, 1990, the Browning City Council was going to meet to discuss the decrepit Yegen Hotel which raised many concerns among the locals. The Hotel must have caught wind of the situation, electing to burn down just four days prior to that meeting on November 3, 1990. That fire started on its second floor and the volunteer fire department mobilized. The blaze quickly got out of hand cancelling that day’s showtimes for the Park Theatre… and all future showings as the building was destroyed along with the Yegen. Without a theatre for 28 years, the town of Browning, Montana surrendered, officially, losing its town designation and was dissolved on September 26, 2018.

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