Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
1225-31 Vandercook Way,
Longview,
WA
98632
1225-31 Vandercook Way,
Longview,
WA
98632
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Columbia Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: SRO Theaters, Sterling Theaters, Inc., Tom Moyer Luxury Theatres
Architects: Day Walter Hilborn, George B. Purvis
Functions: Movies (Classic), Performing Arts
Styles: Italian Renaissance
Previous Names: Columbia Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
360.575.8499
Manager:
360.575.8499
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Nov 12, 2008 — Theatre seats for sale
The Columbia Theatre was originally opened as a vaudeville and silent film house in 1925. It was remodeled in 1936 to the plans of architect Day Walter Hilborn. It continued as a movie theatre for many years, and was actually scheduled to be torn down in 1980. However, it was saved and renovated to become a live performance venue.
The Columbia Theatre is a beautiful reminder of Longview’s history and serves as a center for the performing arts.
Contributed by
Kristin Knutson
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Theater is located at 1225-31 Vandercook Way, Longview, Wash. 98632-4001 and the phone number is 360-423-1011.
Here is a January 2009 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mt4jok
Back in the early 1990s, they had a special event to re-open this theater. I went with a friend. They did some live vaudeville acts, and then showed the 1925 silent file “The Phantom of the Opera” with Lon Chaney. The film was accompanied live by an organist and a few other instruments.
It’s a really beautiful theater. The company that was responsible for the renovation has a nice photo of the interior.
At one time this was operated by Tom Moyer’s Luxury Theatres.
The Columbia was never a Moyer theater. The local owner sold to Sterling (SRO) after WWII. SRO sold it to the City of Longview in 1983. The city leases it to the nonprofit Columbia Theater Association for the Performing Arts.
Functions should also include: Movies (classic)
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the Columbia Theatre in Longview as a 1936 project. There’s no indication of how extensive the remodeling was.
The 1936 remodel was probably the removal of two tiers of box seats on either side of the stage, impractical for the movies that had become the main programming. That space was covered by ornate screens backlit by subtle lighting.
The photos I mentioned previously (see Apr 8, 2014 post), are no longer there. However, they can still be found on the Internet Archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200301074009/https://cplinc.com/work/projects/columbia-theatre-performing-arts-renovation/