Overview

This relatively large movie palace serving the modestly-scaled railroad, logging and mining town of Centralia, WA (population 7.272 in 1930), opened in the fall of 1930.

Building History

Fox West Coast Theatres, Incorporated, a major exhibition chain in CA, OR, and WA, commissioned the Seattle architect Frank Wynkoop (1902-1978) to design this 1,200-seat movie palace, serving Centrallia, the largest commercial center between Portland, OR-Vancouver, WA, and Tacoma, WA. William Fox (né Wilhelm Fried Fuchs, 1879-1952), a movie producer and exhibitor, gradually developed his Fox West Coast Theatres chain during the 1920s, merging with and taking over various film exhibition competitors during the 1920s. Fox finalized control of the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in 02/1929, but only succeeded in running it for about a year. He lost control of it in 1930, for various reasons. A serious automobile accident in 07/1929 debilitated him for some time during the frenetic business year of 1929, and the Stock Market collapse of 10/1929 rapidly drained Fox's assets. Fox West Coast Theatres also was the subject of a US Justice Department anti-monopoly court case at this time (instigated by movie industry enemies of Fox) that contributed to the company's problems.

Fox West Coast Theatres was in the midst of a rapid expansion cycle in 1929-1930 which made the firm vulnerable to reductions in box office receipts. The Fox Theatre in Centralia was part of this late-decade expansion phase, often erecting Fox movie palaces in smaller towns.outside large metropolitan areas that had become saturated with theatres by this time.

Another factor which would have strained Fox West Coast Theatres' resources would be the need to retrofit existing theatres for sound technology that was becoming mandatory for exhibitors in 1929-1930. The Centralia Fox Theatre functioned as both a venue for movie exhibtion and live performances (particularly vaudeville troupes) from its beginning. It opened on 09/10/1930.

The owners of the Centralia Fox Theatre wrote of its history: "The Centralia Fox Theatre was built by Seattle architect, Frank Wynkoop, who was working out of the office of Robert Reamer best known for his Old-Faithful Lodge and other buildings in Yellowstone National Park as well as the opulent Fox Theatre in Spokane, WA. Marcus B. Priteca, who built many of the theatres in the Pantages Theatre chain, also served as a consultant on the project. The result was ornate art-deco meets Western simplicity with elaborate carved plaster overlayed in precious metals, decorative plaster step-ups graduating into the theatre from the proscenium, and sleek art deco chandeliers in gold, silver, and bronze. Centralia’s most famous resident, the great modern dance pioneer, Merce Cunningham, once mentioned in an interview that the two things he remembered most about his boyhood home in Washington were the Cascade Mountains and the Fox Theatre." (See Centralia Fox Theatre.com, "History," accessed 11/13/2025.)

PCAD id: 23452