Lowell Theatre
23 Erie Street,
Bisbee,
AZ
85603
23 Erie Street,
Bisbee,
AZ
85603
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Previous or alternate name of the theatre: Central Theatre.
I see in street view that the storefront to the left of the Lowell Theatre entrance has the number 21 on it, so the theater’s address must have been 23 Erie Street.
The Lowell was one of 28 theaters operated by members of the Diamos family between 1912 and the 1970s. The Arizona Historic Society has two boxes of photos, mostly from the 1940s, donated by JoAnn Diamos which can be seen at the society’s library in Tucson. Here is a PDF of the finding aid.
According to Bisbee Public Radio’s “The Copper Chronicle,” Lowell boasted the first movie house in the district to show talkies. The first feature was “In Old Arizona” starring Warner Baxter as the Cisco Kid.
The Lowell Theatre is not located on Main Street. It’s on Erie Street, in another business district (sometimes called Lowell, Arizona) a couple of miles southeast of downtown Bisbee. I’ve been unable to find the exact address, but it would have only two digits. The Zip Code is still 85603.
The last time I drove through Lowell, probably about the same time Lost Memory took the photos in 2007 the theatre had been closed for sometime and was being used as a rental storage facility. I believe it had a For Sale sign in front. Most of the buildings around the theatre are part of the original business district of Lowell and have been closed for some time due to lack of business and the adjacent mining activity. There is a huge open pit copper mine to the rear of the theatre and the buildings on that side of the street.
I just did. Nogales Theater in AZ.
Here is an undated photo from the CA state library:
http://tinyurl.com/3cw7cb