714 Main Street

Roxy Theater   Built 1912

Built by W. D. Buford of Pendleton, Oregon. This was the first building in Lewiston designed to be a theater. It was originally called the Theatorium, then the Granada and later the Roxy. Air conditioning for the theater was provided by an abandoned well shaft under the floor. As the Theatorium, it showed silent movies accompanied by a nine-piece orchestra. Hayden Mann was playing here in 1914, before he took his own band on tour. The Roxy was remodeled in 1952 to accommodate a new movie technique called Cinemascope that used a new type of lens, for shooting widescreen films that could be screened in theatres using existing equipment.

Circa 1916

Theatorium in the background during a parade Circa 1920

Circa 1923

Roxy Theater circa 1935

Circa 1958

The Historic Preservation Commission would like to recognize and thank Steven Branting and the Nez Perce County Historical Society and Museum for the access to and contributions from their extensive archives for this project. Special thanks go to Commissioner Leah Boots for her countless hours of work to make this project a reality.

        This project is supported in part by the Idaho State Historical Society.