Roxy Theater

Neighboring business owners welcomed the Roxy Theater as the latest addition to Missoula’s South Side Business District. Although Missoula suffered less than most Montana communities during the Great Depression and was one of the few towns to see its population increase, construction of a new building was still cause for celebration. Oscar and Joan Paisley spent $35,000 on the reinforced-concrete building, whose Art Deco style reflected the possibilities of the modern age. Designed with special attention to acoustics, the 1937 theater offered air conditioning, the latest sound equipment, and seats trimmed with chromium. The Paisleys, who also owned theaters in Hamilton, Stevensville, and St. Ignatius, named it after the famous Roxy Theater in New York. The 630-seat theater showed second-run movies two to three months after their original release for half the price of first-run houses. Adults paid a quarter and children a dime to enjoy a Hollywood spectacular and briefly escape the Depression’s grim realities.

Missoula, Montana · United States