The Egyptian Theatre is located at 328 Main Street in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

in the United States. It has also been referred to as the Mary J. Steiner Egyptian Theatre or Egyptian Theatre in Park City and is built in the style of Egyptian-themed theatres from the 1920s that followed the discovery of the tomb of

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

History

The Egyptian Theatre was built on the location of the old Dewey Theatre, which collapsed under a snow load in January 1916. Construction began in 1926, and the first production, by John Alphonso Rugar (1883–1970), debuted on Christmas Day of 1926. It was built with a stage for potential vaudeville acts but was used primarily as a movie house. The design of the building was a replica of Warner's Egyptian Theatre in East Pasadena, California, and

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

C.R. Berg of Seattle was consulted on the theater's theme and decor. The Christmas opening featured a performance of "A Wonderful Sign of a Magical Time". The theatre was used as a saloon, a cinema house and live performance theatre during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and a period of severe local emigration in the 1950s. The theatre was eventually renamed the Silver Wheel Theatre in 1963, just in time for the town to rebound as a ski and resort city. Live theatre continued to be presented through this period, and in 1981, it became the home to Park City Performances after a renovation process. The increased diversity in productions helped the theatre carry on as an active venue well into the 1990s. The Save our Stage community group was formed during this period, and on February 14, 1998, the Egyptian Theatre reopened after the completion of a major reconstruction and refurbishment effort. The cost of the renovation is estimated to be at $1.5 Million.

Significance

The Egyptian Theatre was part of a national and worldwide fascination with the contemporary discovery of the tomb of

King Tut Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

in Egypt. Many cinema and performance theatres around the nation were either refurbished or constructed with the Egyptian theme in mind. The design and construction of the theatre was supervised by an Egyptologist from Seattle, WA. The result of the accurate use of the historic details was a beautiful theatre with many of the most recognizable symbols of Egypt, including the lotus leaf, scarabs, hieroglyphics and symbols of life and happiness. Originally the theatre was built to seat 400, but later renovations reduced that number to the present capacity of 310. The Egyptian Theatre was the first sound movie cinema house in Park City, Utah. The

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

has used The Egyptian Theatre as a cinematic house for almost as long as the festival has existed; one of its oldest and most recognizable venues. This theatre is one of only two Egyptian-style theatres in Utah. The other example is that of

Peery's Egyptian Theatre Peery's Egyptian Theater is a movie palace located in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. History Peery's Egyptian Theater was built after the fiery demise of the Arlington Hotel in 1 ...

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

. Besides these two theaters, the Salt Lake Masonic Temple is the only other

Egyptian Revival Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's French campaign in Egypt and Syria, invasion of ...

building still extant in Utah.

References

External links

{{commons category *https://web.archive.org/web/20060513163249/http://www.egyptiantheatrecompany.org/history.html *http://utahtheaters.info/TheaterMain.asp?ID=61
360 Virtual Tour
*http://utahhistoricalmarkers.org/era/end19th/park-city-egyptian-theater/ Cinemas and movie theaters in Utah Egyptian-style theaters Theatres in Utah Sundance Film Festival Theatres completed in 1926 Egyptian Revival architecture in the United States Buildings and structures in Park City, Utah Tourist attractions in Summit County, Utah Event venues established in 1926 1926 establishments in Utah

History

Significance

See also

References

External links