Liberty Theatre
1 S. Mission Street,
Wenatchee,
WA
98801
1 S. Mission Street,
Wenatchee,
WA
98801
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Hey Trolley, do you know what screen number the collapse happened?
According to the website, all programming at the Liberty has been moved over down the street to the old Vitaphone theatre.
The collapse happened at one of the auditoriums while “Brave New World” was still playing. Despite nobody injured, one of the moviegoers yelled “RUN!” before the ceiling came crashing down.
Wenatchee, WA: Liberty Cinema Closed After Roof Collapses [Feb 27, 2025]
The ceiling collapsed during a screening of “Captian America, Brave New World” Tuesday evening. Only two patrons were in the auditiorium at the time, neither was injured. The theater will remain closed until futther notice. The news article below has a picture of the damage.
https://www.ncwlife.com/news/ceiling-collapses-at-liberty-cinema-main-theater/article_13e2d07c-f45e-11ef-9f61-57be90beb9c6.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawIsMLZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdi1fqddCy8xaO
Now operated by Sun Basin Theatres. Website:
http://liberty.ncwmovies.com/ :
A document prepared for the National Register of Historic Places has information about the Liberty Theatre, including the fact that it was designed by architect Edwin W. Houghton.
The February 3, 1951, issue of Boxoffice said that the Liberty Theatre had recently been reopened after remodeling and redecoration. When construction of the Liberty began in 1918, it was Wenatchee’s first brick theater. The first owner of the house was N.I. Neubauer.
The Boxoffice item about the reopening also mentioned three earlier movie theaters in Wenatchee. The first theater built to accommodate both movies and stage shows in town was the Wenatchee Theatre, opened in 1905 by Ed Ferguson. Later there was a Gem Theatre, located in the Olympic Hotel building, and then a Majestic Theatre. No opening dates are given for the latter two houses.
Three new screens have been added this year, bringing the total screen count to 8. This makes The Liberty somewhat unique in that the original theater (with its 3 screens is at the north end of the block, 2 screens in a separate building (originally the Vitaphone Theater) in middle of the block and the new screens in another building at the south end of the block.
photos & history:
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There were originally two theaters in downtown Wenatchee, the Liberty and the much smaller Vitaphone, both located on the same block. The Liberty was triplexed in the mid ‘70s with the main floor left intact and the balcony walled off and split into two small 200 seat theaters.
Sometime during the ‘80s, the Vitaphone was twinned with the small balcony walled off, creating another screen. The two theaters came under joint ownership and became the Liberty, with its current five screens. As noted above, there are two entrances. The 'bank lobby’ entrance is to the original Liberty and was actually relocated from an orginal entrance on the corner. The ‘Eagles Hall’ entrance was originally the Vitaphone.