Roxy Theatre

Opening ad: Roxy theatre Bremerton opening 28 May 1941, Wed Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, Washington) Newspapers.com

Facebook link with multiple photos of the 2018 Roxy Theater Story Walk Event.

https://www.facebook.com/gsalo/media_set?set=a.10214417015113683.1073742044.1067698939&type=3&uploaded=29&hc_location=ufi

Anyone have pictures of the interior of the projection booth?

It appears Calvary did the best it could in terms of upkeep. The building needs work, but its spectacular Streamline Moderne design (state of the art in 1941) has been preserved. Personally, I feel this design represents Streamline even better than The Admiral. The sweeping curves of the lobby and starburst wall decorations anticipate Googie style.

We’re trying to rescue the Roxy and we need your help! Send your story to . Check out our website at RoxyRevival.org. I’d love to hear from you!!

I forgot to add that the house brass lobby “load” sign reads 999.

I saw many movies at Bremerton’s Roxy in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The building’s interior had a grace and elegance that was unusual for Bremerton which was a rough-and-tumble town (and still is, to a good degree). The building’s architectural style is identified as Art Moderne or Streamline Moderne, which is very unusual because this dates to WWII era when Bremerton was a boomtown – and I haven’t seen many building of this style in the United States. I hope the owners know what a gem they have on their hands and I hope they haven’t messed up the beautiful minimalist wood details, etc. If I had Paul Allen’s money, this would be my pet project. Oh, and the concession stand was along the box office, on the street, which always struck me as quirky.

In the early 1980’s I worked around the corner at the Admiral Theater, also in the Streamline Moderne style, but a larger cinema – a big hulking concrete box with a balcony. It was chopped-up into a triplex when I worked there, and the wood entry doors were replaced with glass storefront type, which dealt a blow to it’s original Moderne integrity. Now the Admiral has undergone a full-blown overhaul and is an operating venue; I had a brief look at the interior, and it has lost all of it’s original Art Moderne feel which is too bad, but that’s a minor setback given that Bremerton has revived an old gem and has put some sign of life into it’s downtown.

Or religious? LOL

I actually worked at the Roxy from 1977 until 1982. It was owned by United Theatres of Seattle until being sold to Tom Moyer’s Luxury Theatres of Portland, Oregon in 1981(?). The sale to Moyer doomed the Roxy – Luxury did not believe in maintenance at all. They just allowed the Roxy to deteriorate throughout the years they had it.

I was hired by C.A. “Cabby” Baur and learned many things from this fine man. At the time, he was the only manager the Roxy had ever known – being hired directly by Ben Shearer himself.

It saddens me to see how this once great theatre has fallen. At least I still have my memories.

As for seating, the Roxy’s capacity was about 660. There is no way it could have ever been 749.

I was in the ROXY only one time during the mid 1980’s when the place was owned by Tom Moyer’s Luxury Theaters (Portland Ore) and was pleasantly suprised at the design of the theater. The Auditorium is all on onw slope with a large cove lit dome in the cieling. the decorations are very plain but nice late art deco (1941). The lobby has a great deco glass light fixture on the cieling and the base boards around all the walls are red marble. There are many old photo’s of the shipyard and various vessels adorning the walls in the lobby and the restroom lounges in keeping with the location of the theater and the importance of the Navy to Bremerton. Truly a Jewel that deserves to be restored and treasured.

Actually, the Roxy is doing rather well in it’s latest incarnation. Considering the number of huge single-screen downtown theatres that have closed as its customers have headed to the outlying multiplexes with huge parking lots, the fact that the Roxy is open at all is a small miracle.

It was purchased from the Tom Moyer chain by an area welding contractor, who had visions of restoring the building as a combined movie and performing arts house. However, the cost of asbestos abatement and proper rebuilding was more than the owner could afford, so he sold it to the Calvary people.

While it’s likely the Roxy will never return to its original function, it is open, well cared for, respects its origins and does serve as a safe, well supervised venue for the area’s young people.

I have my doubts that it will ever be a shoestore! :)

Today the Roxy is an unpleasant hick-Christian coffeehouse with almost no patronage except on Sunday but stays open because of tax exemptons & church volunteerism. It dominates a street that was some years ago designated an “arts” street which was supposed to appeal to tourism &amp get the abandoned buildings rented, but the project failed to attract anything to do with the arts that lasted even a full year; the most successful business on the street was a Wargaming enterprise & even they moved to a better location. So the sign that points the way to the “Arts” street needs to be changed to “Redneck Christians” street, since the sorely abused Roxy is just about the most “successful” “business” there. The only good thing about the Roxy’s present use (unless one is also a right-winger for Jesus) is that the hillbillies that run it can’t afford to gut it & destroy any chance that it might someday be restored as a cinema. The waterfront has been recently restored or improved to be more than parking lots & ferry terminal, & some Bremertonoids hope the improvements will filter up along the streets where most of the businesses are marginal or the storefronts unrented, & it’s the biggest pipedream of all that the Roxy is not eventually going to be hollowed out & turned into a discount shoestore. www.weirdwildrealm.com

It’s unusual how high the theatres marquee is mounted above the entrance doors.