Endangered Places 2011 generously sponsored by:

Egyptian Theater

Statistics

• Built: 1922, converted to a theater in 1925
• Architect: Carl F. Berg
• Designation: National Register of Historic Places
• Significance: Main Street, architecture and interior design, social history – reputed to be one of only 4 remaining Egyptian Theaters in the U.S.
• Current Status: Shuttered, though with much of its original features intact, including the Wurlitzer organ. Although the city purchased the building in 2006 with laudable preservation goals, the Japan earthquake led Coos Bay to immediately close the building because of structural safety concerns. Today it is off-limits, its glorious interior locked up, its future depends on us.

History

In November 1922 something special was discovered that would spark the imaginations of a few of Oregon’s up-and-coming architects. But this discovery wasn’t in Oregon. It wasn’t even in North America. It was in Egypt. In November 1922, King Tut was uncovered and the discovery led to a decade of Egyptian revival architecture in apartment buildings, bridges, and… theatres.

History continued...

In 1925 a former Coos Bay garage was converted into the Egyptian Theatre. Although the theater was altered some between 1925 and 1950, it still embodies much of its revival flair. Original Egyptian style décor, light fixtures, furnishings, hand-painted vaudeville flats and a Wurlitzer pipe organ remain today just as they were during the days of Great Gatsby and prohibition.

Estimates for seismic and other renovations exceed $3 million. A daunting, but not impossible task – and one that is essential to the renaissance of Main Street Coos Bay. The HPLO hopes the Egyptian will open again one day soon.