Overview

The 1,100-seat Seventh Street Theatre opened in July 1928 with vaudeville acts followed by The Play Girl (1928)  starring Madge Bellamy. There was a formal dedication by way of a locally-made film featuring the Mayor (George Brault), the Chamber President, the Rotary President, the Kiwanis President, and other notable local figures.

The theatre was built at a cost of $175,000 by Ed Dolan and Olaf T. Taylor of the Hoquiam Amusement Company and designed by local architect Edwin St. John Griffith in conjunction with Seattle-based architectural firm Huntington & Torbit.

The theatre was the first Atmospheric theatre in the Pacific Northwest and was designed with a Spanish garden theme. Construction took six months and the general contractor was Nelson & Johnson. Griffith described the Atmospheric night blue ceiling as “giving the sky effect with myriad of tiny stars twinkling [to] create that atmosphere of restfulness which recently has become the most desired thing in theatre decorations”. In November 2024, theatre manager Meredith Bullard noted that  “The sky is lavender, not blue, and it is a true Pacific Northwest sky”.

The theatre’s lobby features a mosaic-tiled fountain that was originally filled with goldfish. While the fountain no longer runs, its craftsmanship is an artful reminder of the theatre’s top-tier architectural design. The lobby features mythical creatures in the form of the stenciled likeness of the fabled Ornythorinkus, Vampus Cat, or Sidehill Gouger. Similar to the mythical Scottish Haggis, the Sidehill Gouger has legs shorter on one side than the other which explained its ability to live on steep mountain slopes and evade capture.

The theatre’s 2-manual, 4-rank Wurlitzer organ (opus 789) was removed from the theatre in 1944. In the late 2000’s the organ was purchased by a donation primarily from Tom Quigg and Pat Oleachea, and moved by truck back to the 7th Street Theatre where it arrived on 20th March 2008 and was subsequently rehoused and restored.

According to EverGreene Architectural Arts  “the theatre closed in 1957 due to dwindling sales and the rise of television. It was purchased by a local couple in 1976 with the intention of restoration, but real efforts weren’t undertaken until 1986 when the Grays Harbor Community Concert Association purchased the building and the non-profit group Friends of the 7th Street Theatre was formed. In 1987 the groups were successful in getting the 7th Street Theatre listed on the National Register of Historic Places”.

In 2002 the nonprofit group 7th Street Theatre Association was formed as an amalgamation of, and successor to, the Grays Harbor Community Concert Association and the Friends of the 7th Street Theatre. The 7th Street Theatre Association  manages the theatre to this day and continues to push for its restoration back to its 1928 roots.

The building was added to the City of Hoquiam’s Historic Register in 2008, and the now 900-seat theatre produces events showcasing local artists as well as showing classic movies.

In the Summer of 2025, EverGreene Architectural Arts  restored the painted features of the theatre’s exterior, including two feature murals of sailing ships.