Chief Theatre
215 N. Main Street,
Pocatello,
ID
83201
215 N. Main Street,
Pocatello,
ID
83201
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The Chief sign lives on.
https://idahostatejournal.com/news/local/relight-the-night-has-big-plans-for-neon-signs-in/article_e1f03b65-d962-5878-b37e-164fca790d13.html
Handsome marquee and blade signage. Dramatic building. Pictures of interior would be great.
The category should be “demolished” not closed. The theatre was destroyed in the 1993 fire and there’s a parking lot there now. The neon Chief sign was saved and has been restored. It will soon be displayed on the former site of the theatre. See this article
This web page has a timeline for the Chief Theatre, and one photograph.
Here is an October 1955 ad from the Idaho State Journal:
http://tinyurl.com/yhlr4gr
My dad and grandfather worked on the Chief Theatre as brick masons in the early 1940’s. Maybe some addition or repair. My parents met as mom walked home from Pocatello High School and spotted this cute worker. I have many fond memories as a child and also taking my own children in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The fire was a heartbreak. Glad the mosaic was preserved. Good times!
Ginny
I CAN’T BELIEVE I FOUND THIS SITE. I HAVE SUCH FOND MEMORIES OF THE OLE CHIEF THEATER IN POCATELLO, IDAHO. I LIVED THERE WITH MY MOM FROM 1946 TO 1954 AND DON’T THINK THERE WERE TOO MANY SATURDAYS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD THAT I WASN’T SITTING EITHER IN THE CHIEF THEATER OR THE ORPHIUM TOTALLY CAPTURED BY THE ENTERTAINMENT THEY HAD TO OFFER.
I’M TALKING ABOUT 25 CARTOONS, TWO MAJOR REATURES, SERIALS, SHORTS, NEWS REELS AND SOME “LIVE†PERFORMERS. I SAW BLACKSTONE THE MAGICIAN, HOPALONG CASSIDY, BURL IVES AND AUDIE MURPHY JUST TO NAME A FEW. I WON AN ENGRAVED DUNCAN YOYO AT THE CHIEF FOR “ROCKIN’ THE BABY†DURING ONE OF THE LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS.
AS I REMEMBER TELEVISION WASN’T AVAILABLE, OR AT LEAST WE DIDN’T HAVE ONE AND THAT MADE THE ALL-DAY EVENT VERY, VERY SPECIAL TO ME. IN FACT, SOME DAYS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS THE SUN HADN’T COME UP WHEN I WENT THRU THE FRONT DOOR AND WOULD HAVE SET BY THE TIME I CAME OUT.
I GOT ONE SILVER DOLLAR AS MY ALLOWANCE EACH WEEK AND LOOKED FORWARD TO SPENDING THE WHOLE THING AT THE MOVIES ON STURDAY.
IT DOES MY HEART GOOD TO STEP BACK IN TIME FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE.
THANKS … TOM O’BRIEN
Fox Intermountain Theatres was an affiliated with National General Theatres Amusement Corp. before Mann Theatre bought the circuit from National General.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 edition lists the Chief Theatre with a seating capacity of 1,244.
My father, Paul Reeves, a tilesetter from Salt Lake City, put down this Indian Chief Mosaic in the outer lobby of the Chief Theatre in 1949, nerly 10 years after the theatre was built. My father, mother, sister, and I lived in Pocatello that year. He was very proud of his work on the mosaic. He always said that ceramic tile, when well done, lasts forever. His work on this mosaic, despite everything that has happened to it, proves he was right. He would proud to know that it still exists and can be seen and appreciated on the Internet.
Bruce Reeves
Berkeley,California