The history of theaters in Chehalis, Washington started in 1886 with the construction of a mixed-use opera house and town hall, followed by the Tynan Opera House in 1889. The city experienced more than a 50-year stretch of the build or opening of over a dozen theaters and movie houses in the city, culminating with the opening of the Pix Theater in 1938. No further theater was built or established until the opening of a multi-screen cinema at a local shopping center in 1982.
In the 21st century, the Chehalis Theater, formerly the Pix, is the last remaining single-screen theater in the city and underwent several renovations and reopened as a multipurpose restaurant, live performance club, and movie theater. A multiplex opened at the county mall, located in Chehalis, in 2008.
History There were numerous early theaters and movie houses in Chehalis at the beginning of the 20th century. They were all located in either the original downtown area of the city on Chehalis Avenue, or in the Chehalis Downtown Historic District on Market Street.
Due to the Great Influenza epidemic from 1918 to 1920, movie theaters in the city were shut down for stretches of time. Stricter quarantine laws in Chehalis led to theaters suffering a loss of revenue as potential customers patronized playhouses in other towns and cities in the region that had more lenient rules. A petition in late 1918, requested by theater owners to the city commissioner board, asked that the laws be lifted for theaters and that individuals, rather than the movie houses, be held to isolation standards.
During 1929, the city celebrated its movie and theater history at the St. Helens Theater by declaring the summer as "Greater Movie Season". The event was considered an anniversary of the first nickelodeon picture shown in Chehalis in 1905, marking a shift from theater productions to film showings. It also coincided with the first year of talkies as well as the importance of the movie theater business in Chehalis. An earthquake in the late evening of November 12, 1939 led to evacuations of theaters in the city during midnight showings; no injuries were reported.
Hubristic expansion In the early 20th century, as playhouses were becoming an economic boon and theaters were built and opened with success, several attempts to build more, if not grander theaters, in Chehalis failed to materialize.
The first recorded effort to expand at the turn of the century was a 1902 opera house on Chehalis Avenue. Under construction by J.H. Horst, the eventual buyer of the Tynan Opera House, the building was to offer an ample stage room. In 1906, William Brunswig, owner of the Brunswig Grand Opera House, purchased a large plot in the original downtown district between Chehalis and Pacific Avenues with the intent to construct an "up-to-date" opera theater that could house a stage. It was to contain a ceiling tall enough that two balconies could be built. The Horst theater and new Brunswig venues were never built.
In 1909, a group formalized plans to begin a mixed-use $25,000 opera house but the project to provide the city with a "modern" theater did not move forward. Beginning later that same year and expanding into 1910, the Odd Fellows social group planned for a large opera house. Also during 1910 there was an attempted expansion for the Orpheum Theater with a proposed $20,000 new home in the downtown district at Park Street and Pacific Avenue. Supposed to open in late summer 1910, the brick, steam-heated building was to be used exclusively as an opera house, was to showcase a large vestibule, be sized to accommodate 750 people, have a stage, and a balcony with boxed seating.
Another expansion proposal, planned for the Dream Theater, was offered in 1919 and the plans included a new $200,000 combined movie and theater playhouse that would have a suction ventilation system installed, and the theater planned to contain a balcony with a total house occupancy of 850. After several years of potential, the new theater was not built and instead a building was constructed that hosted an automobile garage.
During the beginnings of the conversion of the St. John's Garage to the Liberty Theater in 1923, a 1,000-seat theater was planned to be built across from the St. Helens Hotel in downtown. Given the name, New Palace Theater, it was initially expected to cost $60,000 and to be a mixed-used entertainment venue for film and stage productions. Despite receiving permission and permits from the city, and the cost revised to $40,000, the theater was never constructed.
Dobson & Donahoe Opera House (1886) Two prominent members of early Chehalis society, John Dobson and Augustine "Gus" Donahoe, created the first recognized opera house in the city. Opened in July 1886, the venue was recorded as being in size and was to be of mixed-use for a theater and as a town hall. A stage for performances was added in early 1887.
Tynan Opera House (1889)
The Tynan Opera House was a music hall built by Chehalis' founding member, Eliza Tynan Saunders Barrett, and opened in November 1889. Also referred to as the Barrett Opera House and for a time in the 1890s as the Rainier Hotel, the $6,000 theater was located in what was then the city's downtown at the southeast corner of Main Street and Chehalis Avenue.
A thanksgiving ball, part of a citywide celebration to honor the growth and prosperity of Chehalis, was held at the Tynan in 1890. The opera house was used for several political events, including as a primary in 1890 and as a convention hall in 1892 to elect delegates and produce nominees for the state legislature and governor. A large fire in December 1894 caused $2,500 damages to the Tynan.
The first commencement ceremony under the city's school district was held at the theater in May 1893; there were four graduates, all women. In December 1897 and into early 1898, it was temporarily converted into a roller skating rink, possibly the first such venue in the city. In the aftereffects of the Spanish-American War, the opera was leased in 1899 as a headquarters and training area for the military. The stage was removed but the auditorium was open in the evenings for patrons.
The opera house struggled within a few years after opening. Due to a combination of factors, including a large fire in 1892, 1894 fire, and Eliza's death in 1900, the opera house began being overlooked and was often rented out for other uses. The Tynan was listed for sale, along with the remaining block under Barrett's ownership, in August 1899 and the venue leased in late-1900 to the Chehalis high school athletic squad for basketball practice, starting a trend that future theaters in the city would experience in the early 20th century, The floor of the opera house was used as a staging area to put together a hot air balloon that floated over the city in 1904.
After Eliza's death, the ownership of the Tynan Opera House was transferred to J.H. Horst by July 1901. He sold the building in November 1906 for $2,500, as well as the scenery used in the productions. The new owners, after having the building declared as condemned, planned to convert the structure into a rooming house. The theatrical performances of the Tynan ceased and by January 1907, the upper floor had been converted into a rink, with future intentions to include a gymnasium.
By summer of that year, the conversion of the theater to a rooming house began. Being referred to as a hotel, it became known as the Motter & Stephens Building. A third floor was installed and the foundation repaired. It was noted during the remodel that the Tynan was originally built well and had deteriorated very little. New ownership in 1913 made additional upgrades, including the addition of steel cladding to the exterior, and the building was renamed the Hotel Savoy. A fire in April 1915, declared as arson, caused less than $1,000 in total damages, but decades of remodeling, including the new cladding, limited the fire department's ability to quickly put out the flames.
The building that was the Tynan Opera House was continually used as a hotel and boarding house, existing under names such as the Crowley apartment house in the 1920s and then eventually as the Chehalis Apartments. Used briefly as a grocery store as well, the structure existed until the 1940s when it was demolished, approximately in 1950, as it was in a state of disrepair. , the grounds of the Tynan Opera House are occupied by the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.
Brunswig Grand Opera House (1895)
William Brunswig, a Chehalis businessman, built and opened The Grand Opera House in 1895 and the space was often referred to as the Chehalis Opera House, or more simply as "the opera house". It was located on Chehalis Avenue at the intersection of Park Street. and is considered the oldest building on the street. A mercantile store, named The Racket Store for unknown reasons, was situated on the ground floor and the opera space, a vaudeville stage, existed on the second floor and accessed by a stairwell porch on the side of the building.
Admission rates for the electrically lighted theater in 1899 were listed in a range between 25 and 75 cents. The venue had a seating capacity of 600 and a -wide stage, with floodlights and loft rigging.
In its early days of operation, the venue hosted concerts, graduations, and Grand Army of the Republic ceremonies. The opera house was often used for political rallies, speeches, or conventions and maintained a band, referred to as the Chehalis Orchestra. In January 1904, the city recommended that the building undergo safety improvements and a funeral for a founding member of Chehalis, Amanda Miller, was held at the theater the same month. The year brought competition with The New Grand Opera House which began hosting larger, more popular events. The original Grand attempted to counter the upstart at times with the staging of minstrel shows.
In June 1905, John L. Sullivan, a heavyweight boxing champion, held the stage at the Grand and during his monologue, $100 was offered for an attendee to fight Jim McCormick, another boxer from the production. Despite some banter and promises, no actual battle ensued, but Sullivan and McCormick went four rounds for the audience. The fight was deemed as having, "nothing to them". By April 1906, the Grand was reopened under new management, offering a limited summer-run as a burlesque and vaudeville house charging 10 to 15 cents per show. Following engagements were sparse afterwards, but an inaugural Halloween masquerade ball organized by a local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was held in October the following year.
In May 1907, the theater suffered minor damages to its building and some loss to its wardrobe room when an accidental fire at a restaurant spread to the venue. No injuries were reported at the Grand but two children perished in rooms above the dining establishment. On November 1, 1907, Brunswig officially announced an upcoming closure of the Grand Opera House noting that the theater was not profitable. There were no immediate plans for the building and the closure temporarily left the city without an operating theater. Concerts and balls were held sporadically for several months after. High school productions were held into the summer of 1908. Early remodeling of the upper floors began in March 1909 and by May, the opera house was reported as having been closed for approximately one year with Brunswig announcing extensive remodeling of the auditorium. Measured at a cost of $12,000, the building was split into two floors with commercial space opened on the lower floor. The opera house eventually became a hotel known as the Brunswig Hotel and was referred to as the Fink Building after a later change of ownership. , the Brunswig building stands at 383 N.W. Chehalis Avenue.
Geissler Opera House and New Grand Opera House (1903)