Dewey Theatre

328 Main Street,
Park City, UT 84060

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Florence Theater

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The Dewey Theatre was opened December 26, 1898, as a playhouse by James Ivers and James Keith. On May 7, 1910, an advertisement in the Park City Record Read: “Florence Theater, Formerly The Dewey Theater.” Three big acts and 3,000 feet of first run films. In November 1910 it was again referred to as the Dewey Theatre.

On March 1, 1913, it was reported the new balcony was finished, adding at least 400 to the seating.

The Ogden Examiner reported snow caused the collapse of the roof of the Dewey Theatre on January 18, 1916. Panic was adverted when management assured the audience there was time to get out. The roof finally fell in about midnight totaling $8,000 damage.

The theater never reopened and there were stories in the Park City record bemoaning the unsightly remains and calls for demolition of the disgrace to the city. The construction of a new theater was announced in September 1925 and on December 25, 1926, the Egyptian Theatre opened on the site.

A nugget of revisionist history was published in the Park Record July 26, 2022: “Again, in 1916, when the Dewey Theatre’s roof collapsed after heavy snow, no one was hurt since the theatre manager sped up the silent film to get the audience out of the building earlier than scheduled.”

Contributed by Ron Pierce

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 22, 2022 at 5:42 pm

The acquisition of the Dewey Theatre at Park City by the the Isis Motion Film Company of Salt Lake City was noted in the April 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon.

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