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19-466: The Blue Mouse Theatre (1923) (originally known as Blue Mouse Jr. ) is a small second-run movie theater located in the Proctor District in the north end of Tacoma, Washington . It is Washington's oldest continuously operating theater (a few blocks from the state's oldest bowling center), opened November 13, 1923. When it was designed in the 1920s, the theater was promoted as being one of

38-619: A farmers' market , the second largest in the city, which runs from the last weekend in March through the second-to-last weekend in December on Saturdays. 47°16′16″N 122°29′20″W  /  47.2711°N 122.4889°W  / 47.2711; -122.4889 North Tacoma, Tacoma, Washington North Tacoma (also called the North End ) is a neighborhood in Tacoma, Washington , in

57-639: A center for locals to shop, the District has cultivated a small town "urban village" character. Situated in Tacoma's North End, the Proctor District is home to many small businesses. The Blue Mouse Theatre , built in 1923, is the oldest continuously operating movie theater in Washington and is open seven days a week. The Blue Mouse celebrated its 90th birthday on November 12, 2013 and has been on

76-478: Is still standing at 106 NW 2nd Street and "looks like a theatre from the outside." The Blue Mouse Theatre in Seattle was constructed around 1920 and demolished in 1972 to make way for the construction of Peoples National Bank of Washington's "high-rise banking facility". Proctor District, Tacoma, Washington The Proctor District is a business district in the north end of Tacoma, Washington . Primarily

95-467: The National Register of Historic Places since 2010. The center of the Proctor District is located at the cross streets of Proctor Street and North 26th Street in Tacoma. The 1927 Proctor Street bridge just north of the district was rebuilt in 2006. A major commercial and residential development, Proctor Station, has been a controversial project due to its size and cost. It offers retail on

114-434: The Proctor District and Old Town. The Sixth Ave corridor, Old Town and the Proctor District, have a variety of independent restaurants and shops. Although the area has a traditional heritage of lower middle class residents such as fisherman and ASARCO plant workers (before it was demolished in 1993), the community has a small-town feel. Most north end residents still work in Tacoma as evidenced by commute time figures from

133-672: The United States . The area is most known for waterfront parks and restaurants, Point Defiance Park , the University of Puget Sound , Stadium High School , and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge . The North End of Tacoma has informal and formal boundaries. Informally, the generally accepted boundaries of the North End are 6th Avenue and Division Avenue to the south and Puget Sound to the north, west, and east. Although

152-478: The Blue Mouse Theatre and it has become a community attraction, showing popular movies on a second-run basis. The theater is partially supported by generous community donations. Tacoma glass artist Dale Chihuly designed neon blue mice "seen scurrying across the marquee" for the 221-seat theater. It is located at 2611 North Proctor Street in Tacoma. On January 13, 2010, this Blue Mouse Theatre location

171-526: The finest suburban theaters and was referred to as "Blue Mouse Jr." to distinguish it from the larger downtown Tacoma theater of the same name. The "A spectacular melodrama" The Green Goddess may have been the first "picture show" shown on the theatre's "silent screen". By 1929, the theater was renamed the Proctor Street Theater, according to the Polk's City Directory for Tacoma. The theater

190-453: The ground floor with apartments in the five floors above that. A proposed similar project at the other end of the Proctor District promises to be more controversial with many local residents formed in opposition and attempting to lower the height limitation from 65 feet to 45 feet, a move developers oppose as it will limit the profitability of the project. As of July 2022, the new building, Madison 25 has been constructed and provided 141 units to

209-406: The independent city of Ruston is not legally a part of the city of Tacoma, most residents of Ruston self-identify as being from Tacoma. Formally, the city has designations for each of the eight neighborhoods which are represented by neighborhood councils. These designations are not generally known, but they are marked on city streets by special signs. For the North End, 6th Ave forms the boundary on

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228-552: The neighborhood. A third building, Proctor III, is in development by the Gig Harbor -based Rush Companies. The Proctor District is the site of two public schools ( Washington-Hoyt Elementary School and Mason Middle School). It has a public library ( Anna Lemon Wheelock Public Library ), and a church, the Mason United Methodist Church , as well as a number of charitable organizations. Proctor hosts

247-571: The organ was last used for silent films in March 1928. The theater hosted the first sound picture in Portland in 1926: John Barrymore in Don Juan . Hamrick-Evergreen Theatres closed the venue sometime around 1936 and it was reopened again in 1940 by Paul Forsythe, who "presented family films and kiddie matinees" and "was rewarded with success and a host of good patrons, young and old who became loyal Blue Mouse fans." The theater faced eviction when

266-468: The property was sold, and the building was to be torn down. The Blue Mouse Theatre signage was moved to the Capitol Theatre building downtown in 1958 (which had itself been closed down). The new location at 626 SW 4th St (also listed as Morrison and 4th Avenue, location of the former Capitol Theatre) was in a less upscale neighborhood, but stayed in business until 1977 when the "Blue Mouse Block"

285-788: The south and southeast to 4th St., Puget Sound which runs NE to North, 46th St. on the North to Huson, and back down to 6th on the South. While much of the West End and some the Central District (such as the Stadium District ) are identified with the informal boundaries of the North End, the City of Tacoma identifies these area as separate for purposes of representation and planning. The main commercial areas are along Sixth Ave and in

304-657: Was demolished to "make way for a huge parking facility. According to one account, "There was a faint outcry to 'save the Blue Mouse' but even if it had been a mighty roar, it was to no more avail than the 'Save the Fox ' campaign was in San Francisco in 1963." The Blue Mouse Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon was built in 1921, and lasted only until 1923. It had a Wurlitzer organ and was a "tiny gem" of theater. The building

323-451: Was located at 1131-1133 Broadway. The Blue Mouse Theatre opened in Portland was at 1032 SW Washington Street. The location was originally opened as a Globe Theater in 1912, before being taken over and completely remodeled in 1921 by John Hamrick It used a wurlitzer organ shipped from the factory in 1922. Harry Quinn Mills was organist at the Blue Mouse in 1922 and Dubois Cornish was organist in 1927. According to Balcom & Vaughan records,

342-627: Was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. The Blue Mouse in downtown Tacoma opened as the Apollo theater and had 650 seats. In 1922 it reopened as a Blue Mouse Theatre It was the first theater in Tacoma to show "talkies" and was done in by the city's "failed experiment" with moving sidewalks and was demolished in 1960 to make way for a new street escalator. Showings included The Jazz Singer in January 1928. It

361-583: Was successful and in 1932 was sold. In 1972, it was re-purchased again and renamed the Bijou in 1980, but struggled to compete against area multiplexes and was threatened with becoming an office complex. It was saved in 1993 by 17 activists and preservationists (the Blue Mouse Associates) who bought and restored "the building's original Craftsman-style timbers, stucco, pillars, marble terrazzo and original mahogany doors." The group renamed it back to

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