Egyptian Theatre

The Ada Theatre seated 1201 people.

For much of its history, including when I was growing up in Boise in the ‘60s and '70s, this was known as the Ada Theatre. (Boise is in Ada County.) It nearly fell victim to the urban development that saw most of the surrounding blocks torn down in the '70s but made a terrific comeback. Since the restoration, the theater has changed hands several times and actually closed for a few months when Cineplex Odeon dropped out after showing what some feared would be its final (but appropriate) engagement, “The Mummy.” Not only did another operator come in to save the day but the theater got yet another touchup. This is Boise’s only surviving theater that even predates the 1980s. The last other vintage downtown theater, the Pinney, was demolished in the mid-'60s.