Liberty Theatre

114 N. 4th Avenue,
Pasco, WA 99301

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50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on April 23, 2024 at 3:56 pm

The Cord Theatre opened its doors on October 11, 1914 with an unknown vaudeville by the Pantages Circuit. It was first operated by E.W. Trenbeth. It was renamed the Liberty Theatre in 1939.

The Liberty Theatre was a first-run movie house for most of its life, but in 1971, the Liberty Theatre briefly began screening X-rated movies as well as selected Spanish features.

This didn’t last long, and the Liberty Theatre closed for the final time in November 1971. It was originally scheduled to be closed for two weeks due to repairs, but it never reopened.

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on May 28, 2019 at 5:52 am

A new veneer has been added and some of the original features have restored.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 22, 2017 at 12:07 am

The Liberty Theatre building was not destroyed by the 2013 fire, though the roof was damaged beyond repair. A permit for the installation of new roof trusses was issued by the city in February, 2014. The city itself paid for emergency repairs to prevent the walls from collapsing. As NoReturn (second comment back) saw the building still standing in 2016, the repairs apparently succeeded. 114 N. 4th Avenue, #B, is currently the office of American Family Insurance, so I would guess the repaired building has been divided into space for at least two offices.

The two year delay in construction following the original announcement of the theater project in 1912 led to a change of architects. This item is from the February 12, 1914, issue of Engineering News:

“Pasco, Wash.—J. E. Doughty, Arch., Pasco, has prepared plans for the construction of the Pasco Playhouse, to be erected on Lewis and Clark Sts. The estimated cost is $300,000.”
The theater was of course between Lewis and Clark Streets, and I doubt if it cost anywhere near the $300,000 the item claimed, but despite the name “Pasco Playhouse” the item surely is about the Cord/Liberty.

Doughty’s involvement in the project is confirmed by this fairly detailed history of the Liberty Theatre written by Sarah LeCompte in 1984. LeCompte doesn’t mention the name Showbox Theatre, but does in the opening paragraph call it the Liberty-Playtime Theatre.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on March 20, 2017 at 7:31 pm

1943 photo added credit Vintage Tri-Cities Facebook page.

NoReturn
NoReturn on July 3, 2016 at 2:59 am

It sounds like the fire was at the Liberty Theater nearby—I just checked out the old Pasco Theater, and the outside looks pretty good.

KenLayton
KenLayton on August 22, 2013 at 7:19 pm

Yes, it apparently was just a few days from reopening.

thisisjohnbook
thisisjohnbook on August 22, 2013 at 6:37 pm

That’s what I said too when it happened last week. Initial reports had said that police noticed the back entrance was opened, but also didn’t say if that door had been opened beforehand. It was a few days away from getting a public inspection that would’ve made it possible for the new owners to open their mini-mall in there. However, a new article posted at the Tri-City Herald states that the fire may have been due to electrical issues. I’m not sure if that is true, although if the owner was that close from an inspection, this obviously meant that he failed. Here’s the article in question. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/08/20/2531701/liberty-theater-building-blaze.html

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on August 22, 2013 at 6:30 pm

Hello-

i’m sorry to hear of the theater being gutted by fire especially since the structure could have been renovated and saved. as we say in NYC i bet it was “a business fire”. whenever an historic renovatable building in NYC is gutted by fire that always my guess as to what happened.

KenLayton
KenLayton on August 22, 2013 at 6:17 pm

The theater was destroyed by an August 14, 2013 fire. :(

thisisjohnbook
thisisjohnbook on January 22, 2013 at 9:13 pm

Another look at the theater, this time a front view, circa 1940’s. Pasco was once part of Yakima County, thus its placement on a Yakima-based page, but the roof in this photo is the same as it is today, in its present state. http://www.yakimamemory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/memory&CISOPTR=2579&CISOBOX=1&REC=5

thisisjohnbook
thisisjohnbook on January 12, 2013 at 6:47 am

I’ve learned that for a brief time, Pasco High School’s drama class had used this for performances in the 30’s and 40’s. As times changed, it would become a porn theater, which also had the adult book store known as Elmo’s next door.

For years I’ve heard rumors on not why it was finally shut down, but why there were no buyers. Some would say the damage inside was significant, while others would claim that downtown Pasco was not as desirable as it used to be. After decades of being shut down, I read last year that the theater space has been bought and will turn into a Mexican clothing store and boutique, along with a brief display at the entrance of what the building used to hold. Here’s a photo I had taken last year as it was being stripped down, cleared out, and cleaned, a mere shadow of what it used to be. http://i47.tinypic.com/2po60ee.jpg

I do know there were plans in the 1990’s to turn it into a concert venue for local and touring punk and indie rock bands, but the damage inside proved too costly for repair.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 13, 2011 at 9:49 am

The June, 1912, issue of The Pacific Coast Architect ran the following item: “Theater—Pasco. Architect E. W. Houghton, Seattle, prepared plans for a modern theater building, for George D. Cort.” The name Cort must have been a typo for Cord.

Completion of the project was delayed. The following excerpt from a 1917 issue of the legal journal The Pacific Reporter concerns a lawsuit, Lee vs Pasco Theater Co, filed in early 1915: “Some time during the early part of the year 1914, the Pasco Theater Company was organized for the purpose of taking over, completing, and operating an incomplete theater in Pasco, Wash., known as the Cord Theater Company property.”

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on December 23, 2010 at 9:57 pm

Playing on a Double feature was “THE UNDEFEATED” and Tony Curtis in “JAUNTY JALOPIES”.Jan 5 1970.