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Ruby Theatre
Chelan, Washington
The Ruby Theatre is believed to be the oldest running film
theatre in Washington state and is certainly one of the oldest
movie theatres in the Northwest. The Ruby Theatre was listed
on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The Building
Herbert R. and Morrison M. Kingman built the Ruby Theatre
in 1914 for $6,500. The building was completed and opened
to the public July 1, 1914. F.J. Potter, who had been managing
the Gem Theatre a few doors away from the new Kingman theatre,
took over management of the new theatre and named it for his
young foster daughter, Ruby. Ruby’s photograph is displayed
in the theatre lobby.
The Ruby Theatre exterior has been changed several times
over the years. It originally had two central doors, an outside
balcony with ornamental iron railing and a projecting marquee.
The preserved original interior features include the horseshoe
balcony, and the pressed metal ceiling with rosette pattern
as well as the plaster proscenium arch, decorated with a rich
floriated design of vines and oak leaves. In the early days
of vaudeville, Mr. J. M. Deeds of Wenatchee furnished curtains
and scenery. An advertising curtain painted by Mr. Carpenter,
and dating about 1920, is now displayed in the Chelan Museum.
The Ruby originally sat 225 on the first floor and 125 in
the balcony. While the theater sat as many as 428 at one time,
it now seats 174.The manager’s office and restroom are
still at the rear of the balcony. A second restroom used to
be located under the stage. The “state of the art”
theatre had telephone communication between the box-office,
stage, dressing rooms and orchestra pit.
Changes and Renovations
The Ruby has seen changes over the years. The equipment had
to keep up with the changes, particularly in the early film
industry. Soon after 1919, two “modern motion picture
machines”, and more comfortable seats were added. The
theatre originally had an organ and player piano, used to
accompany the silent films. In 1922, a new photoplayer was
introduced to the Ruby. Dorothy Bragg Peterson of Manson remembers
playing this remarkable instrument, when she started playing
at the Ruby when she was 16 years old. The photoplayer was
located in the orchestra pit in front of the screen. It used
music on rolls for each film, similar to a player piano. To
enhance the mood of the film, the photoplayer had pulleys
and ropes to operate horns and drums for special effects.
In 1930, because of the growing popularity of films, the
Ruby could afford to purchase talking picture equipment. The
first talkie at the Ruby, “Sweetie”, was shown on
March 20, 1930.
While the horseshoe balcony and tin pressed ceiling have
preserved the early feel of the interior, other changes were
necessary to adapt to the general film industry changes and
standards and to continue to meet the needs of the community.
In 1947, a new “tube” Mirrophonic sound system was
added, along with the Motiographic AA Projector. In 1974,
the arch above the stage was widened by two feet, to adjust
to the new cinema size. The aisles were also widened and lit.
In the 1980’s a thrust stage was added, and in 1989,
the seats were reupholstered.
In 1993, the owners purchased auditorium lights that had
come from the Orpheum Theater in Portland, which was torn
down in the 70’s. In 1995, they painted the interior
and in 1997 renovated the lobby. A new sound system replaced
the 1947 “tube” system in April 1999. Marble from
a turn-of–the- century Portland hotel tops the 1999 candy
counter in the concession area.
The Operations and Management
The first movie shown in the Ruby on August 29, 1914 was Quo
Vadis, an epic set in early Rome. Tickets were 15 cents for
general admission and 25 cents for balcony and the first three
rows. Children’s tickets were10 cents. The cost of a
matinee was 10 and 15 cents, but three potatoes were the price
of admission for at least one matinee in 1914.
While films or “photo-dramas” were usually shown
every day, live shows were also popular. The Ruby hosted a
local orchardist and ventriloquist, King Kennedy and other
celebrities. Through the early years the Ruby was used for
films, vaudeville and minstrel shows, high school debates,
local drama club productions, graduations and concerts.
The motto of the Ruby in 1915 was “Comfort and Courtesy,
Clean, Wholesome Dramas and Good Projection”. After a
year in operation Mr. Potter wrote that the movie house was
attracting a “better class of clientele”, and the
business of entertainment was “dignified, legitimate
and respectable”, which implies that a few townsfolk
were not so sure about that. Furthermore, the quality of the
productions was still developing. Early managers tried to
attract viewers with free coffee giveaways, and other gimmicks.
Educational films and news reels, the use of a film series
(damsel tied to railroad track, how will it end? come to the
movies next week and find out!), and films with famous celebrities,
like Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Charlie Chaplin, Will
Rogers attracted some early loyal movie-goers. By 1925, the
Chelan PTA approved educational matinees for children, which
probably helped boost business.
In 1918, though, the early movies were still an uncertain
business, so Mr. Potter and his wife and daughter moved to
Vantage, WA to manage the ferry. A local movie club was organized
to keep the films going. A year later, R. A. Kelsey, a barber
from Omak, decided to manage the theatre and moved his wife,
five children and an uncle into the building. While their
home was under construction, they lived in two rooms in the
backstage. The uncle slept in front of the screen, while Kelsey’s
sons slept in the men’s restroom. The Kelsey family eventually
bought the theatre and managed it until 1937. After that they
leased it to a series of managers until they sold the building
and business in 1974 to Tony and Sharon Stokes. Leah Sluis
and Dolores Holt owned the theatre from 1978 to1989.
The present owners, Jean Payne Vick and Larry Hibbard purchased
the theatre on April Fool’s Day, 1989, when the community
was at risk of losing its only movie theatre. Gordy Lindner
currently manages the theatre. Except for a two-year closure
from 1972 to 1974 the theatre has been continuously running
as a movie theatre since it opened almost 90 years ago.
The Ruby has remained true to its roots as Chelan’s
community theatre since 1914. Recently it has hosted fundraising
concerts, mock trials for attorneys’ workshops, family
reunions, opera, dance recitals, and the local writer’s
club readings. But the Ruby Theatre also continues its tradition
of showing the best in modern films.
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