Movie Theaters

14 Locations | Curated by Julian Boughton

As Euro-American settlers moved west in the mid-1800s, demand for live entertainment followed. Early opera houses hosted traveling performances such as operas, stage plays, and musical variety shows and functioned as community centers. In Montana, richly ornamented theaters such as the Ming Opera in Helena or the McDonald Opera in Philipsburg provided residents a luxurious escape from daily cares. The 1907 Babcock Theater in Billings featured balcony seating and a retiring room, earning it the reputation as the finest theater in the Northwest.


As moving pictures emerged in the late 1890s and early 1900s, existing theaters adapted for silent films, adding screens, film projectors, and organs. As films gained in popularity, New York City’s opulent 2,989-seat Mark Strand Theatre, built in 1914, became America’s first movie palace.


Movie palaces were just as, if not more, ostentatious than early theaters. Common features included velvet curtains and seats, carpeted floors, multiple balconies, and ornate gilded light fixtures. By the 1920s, movie theaters such as the Rialto Theatre in Deer Lodge or the Roman Theatre in Red Lodge welcomed laborers and managers alike to view silent films, and later “talkies,” which incorporated recorded sound.


Movie theater architectural styles varied widely. While the Art Deco style was popular nationwide in the 1920s, Montana architects chose a variety of designs. With their highly ornamented Beaux Arts, Bavarian-inspired Swiss Chalet, or exotic Spanish Eclectic designs, the buildings enhanced the magical spell cast by motion pictures. Though diverse in character, nearly all of Montana’s early twentieth century movie houses shared recessed entries for displaying posters and prominent marquees. Brightly-lit neon marquees caught the attention of passersby and could often be seen for blocks.


Some Montana movie theaters declined during the Great Depression while others flourished. In Billings, more than one third of the theaters closed by 1932. Towns like Fort Peck and Forsyth, which benefited from local industry or economic recovery projects, saw new or remodeled theaters. Despite ever-changing technology and challenging economic factors, many historic Montana theaters still operate, recalling the heyday of movie palaces in Montana.

Constructed in 1907 during a period of robust city growth, the Babcock replaced the original Billings Opera House, which was destroyed in a catastrophic fire. Owners first planned a four-story commercial block, then a seven-story building, but only built the two-story base. The first floor features…
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The town of Three Forks, born to serve as a division point for the Chicago, St. Paul, and Milwaukee Railway, took root in 1908. As the town grew to a sizable settlement of 2,300, the Empire Theatre opened to serve local audiences. Manager David R. “Slim” Byrd attracted traveling troupes on their…
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Original rusticated and ashlar concrete blocks and the 1935 ROMAN marquee distinguish the façade of this early movie theater. Austrian immigrant Steve Roman built the theater in 1917. One of fourteen sons, nineteen-year-old Roman came to Red Lodge in 1897 to work in the mines. He launched into the…
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The first building in Bozeman expressly constructed as a theatre, the Ellen opened in December 1919. Calling it “a superb piece of architecture,” the Bozeman Chronicle praised the 800-seat theatre as “the most modern … in the state.” Bozeman architect Fred Willson designed the two-story Beaux Arts…
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“What you hear and what you will see will linger in your memory like a beautiful dream,” proclaimed the Powell County Press when the Rialto Theatre opened with a glittering production of the opera Robin Hood in May of 1921. The Butte architectural firm of Arnold and Van Hausen designed the theater…
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“May You Prosper Well in Your New Theatre with Your Steadfast Faith in Forsyth,” read one of the many ads that filled the August 28, 1930, Forsyth Times. Car and clothing merchants joined building contractors and suppliers in congratulating Anthony Wolke and Frank Faust on the construction of their…
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An optimistic, cheerful nature and keen sense of humor helped make legislator, contractor, and engineer David Manning instrumental in getting Montana “out of the mud.” A champion of Montana’s rural communities, Manning initiated significant improvements across Montana’s sparsely populated areas:…
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Seattle-based theater architect B. Marcus Pinteca (1890-1971) drew the plans for this remarkable structure in 1930. However, the Depression delayed interior finishing and the $200,000 movie theater did not open until 1936. The Washoe Theater and Radio City Music Hall in New York were the last two…
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When President Roosevelt authorized the Works Progress Administration construction of the Fort Peck Dam in 1933, the “instant” town with a population of 10,000 created a need for social and recreational diversions in this remote area of Montana. The Army Corps of Engineers designed and constructed…
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Neighboring business owners welcomed the Roxy Theater by purchasing more than a page of newspaper advertisements recognizing “the latest addition to Missoula’s South Side Business District!” Missoula suffered less than most Montana communities during the Great Depression—it was one of the few towns…
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