This Moorish-style motion picture theater was completed in 1930 for its first proprietor, M.R. Matthew, at a cost of $125,000. The plans were prepared by William Cutts of Portland, who designed approximately sixty theaters from the Universal Film Corporation. Planned at the height of the silent screen era, the theater nonetheless was equipped with Vitaphone and Movietone sound systems. The facade of the concrete building was detailed to imitate Moorish architecture. Its stucco finish was accented with brick and tile, and its domed towers, arcaded parapet, and horseshoe-arched windows framed by twisted spiral columns were designed to create the exotic atmosphere of the Mediterranean.
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