Broadway Twin Theater - Yreka, CA
N 41° 43.834 W 122° 38.201
10T E 530215 N 4619925
This now-closed vintage movie theater is located on S Broadway Street in downtown, Yreka, CA.
Waymark Code: WMK328
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/05/2014
Views: 2
The Broadway Twin Theater is a relic of the past with its Art Deco-like front and clean and simple look. Unfortunately, this theater closed its doors in 2012 and is awaiting a buyer to hopefully resurrect it back to a theater again.
After doing a little online research for this theater I discovered a blog website here that highlights historical buildings and structures in Yreka and had the following to say about this theater:
It was on January 16, 1930 that The Siskiyou News ran an article announcing that there was to be a new theatre in Yreka! It was advertised to be "equal to any theater in the larger cities and superior of any now in northern California or southern Oregon." It was also announced that the cost was expected to be $70,000.
Bernice M. Warrens (sister to Victor E. Warrens, financial investor and builder of Yreka's once famous Warrens Building) was the owner of the theatre and she leased the proposed theatre to a Walter H. Leverette of Medford who was the owner of a chain of theaters operating in Southern Oregon.
It was reported that construction would begin no later than March 1st and it was expected that the Grand Opening would be June 1, 1930. The Theatre would be called the "Broadway". The expected seating capacity was to be approximately 1,000 people. It was designed not only to show movies, but had a full stage complement. The floor was carpeted in the "finest of carpeting" and a large foyer and well appointed rest rooms would be included. It also was to have a box office located on the sidewalk in a small booth as was the general custom of the day. Over the street it was planned for a huge electric sign to be suspended bearing the word Broadway!
It may be of interest to note that originally the building had a Moorish design, very popular at the time ~ but before long the exterior was rennovated to a more "modern" Art Deco design and the once familiar large neon sign that read Broadway (partially viewed in image above) appeared. In our book, Yreka, Images of America one can see the original view of the building on page 43. Additionally, sometime between 1929 and 1933 the name of the road that is in front of the theatre was changed from Second Street to Broadway.
The Broadway was changed sometime in the late 1970's (to my fuzzy recollection) to the Broadway Twin when multi-plex theatres became the more profitable way to run the business.
I also located another website that had comments from locals who remembered this theater and one of them mentions, "The ORIGINAL interior of the Broadway, was designed by Carl F. Berg, who worked for the National Theatre Supply Company’s Seattle office. The design was called “Moorish,” and the building was later remodeled to Art Deco."
I also have uploaded two pictures of this theather from 1980 and 1985. By 1985, the neon sign hanging in front had been taken down and has been 'signless' since.