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Arcata Theatre

theater and movie theater in Arcata, California, United States

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2025
Entity authorityQ4785256 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Arcata Theatre Lounge is a historic structure located in the city of Arcata in Humboldt County, California.

History

George Mann, who controlled the theater businesses in the area, commissioned architect William B. David to design the theater in 1927. Original construction costs ranged between $40,000 to $60,000. Opening night in 1938 featured Thin Ice, starring Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power. The theatre was a success and was soon offering up to six films a week along with added attractions, cartoons like Popeye and Betty Boop, news, and sports. In 1948 the theater was expanded an additional 30 feet to the east to allow for greater seating capacity. The length of the auditorium was increased by a third to accommodate a total of 900 seats. The original proscenium and screen were removed and replaced by a new, cinemascope screen that was larger. Acoustical plaster resurfaced the entire ceiling and a significant portion of the walls, thereby covering the Art Deco border designs and mural. New lighting fixtures, carpeting, seats with air cushions, as well as heating were installed to provide greater comfort.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Arcata Theatre” as theater and movie theater in Arcata, California, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Arcata, Theatre and theater.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1927, 1938, 1948—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1938-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Arcata, Theatre and theater providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Arcata Theatre”, the useful work is to connect “theater and movie theater in Arcata, California, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4785256. Authority coordinates are 40.870, -124.086. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1927, 1938 and 1948.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Arcata Theatre”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Arcata Theatre primary sources, Arcata Theatre archive and Arcata research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Arcata Theatre”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Arcata Theatre” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.