Arcata Theatre
theater and movie theater in Arcata, California, United States

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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.