Gig Harbor's First Theatre

1925 photo by Marvin Boland

In late 1924-25 Austin and Harriett Richardson and Andrew Gilich built the first theatre building seating 450 people in downtown Gig Harbor.

The first order of business was in February 1925 when the manager, Mr. OM Jacobson of The Movie Show inaugurated a contest to name the new theatre.  The winner would win $10 and the second and third winners would each receive a 30-day pass.

Previously plays, movies and vaudeville acts were performed at the Community Hall.  A couple of those early acts according to news accounts were “The Chorus Lady” starring Pat O’Brien and Margaret Livingston; “The Beloved Brute” starring Marguerite de la Motte, Victor McLaglin and others.

The winning name was Empress Theatre and it opened the doors to a packed house on April 12, 1925.  Bebe Daniels starred in the vaudeville act “Miss Bluebeard” with the Alvord Kiddies as the feature act performing dancing, singing, acrobatics and telling jokes.  For the movie, it was the usual Mack Sennett comedy, followed by Pathe Review with Mrs. Higgins of Gig Harbor, Miss Hazel Hoydon of Tacoma and Mr. J. S. Bogan singing.  Admission was 35 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.

Street scene, December 1949, Frank Shaw Photo

On November 8, 1929, O. M. Jacobson who owned and managed the theatre for the past five years sold his interests to R. P. Burfield, an experienced showman.  The theatre was closed while it installed the updated Holmes Sound Equipment and underwent interior decoration improvements at a cost of $10,000.  The grand opening was scheduled for November 15, 1929,  showing talkies for the first time in Gig Harbor.  It was leased to D. C. Milward and Marvin Dymess of Seattle.  G. Donald Gray, baritone with KOMO and Sidney Dixon of KJR, both appeared at the grand opening.  The new management ran shows on Saturday and Sunday with matinees on both days; prices remained at 35 cents for adults and 15 cent for children with the matinee price at 25 cent for adults and 10 cents children.

In May the front of the theatre building was treated to new decoration which, according to The Peninsula Gateway, vastly improved the building.  On May 30, 1930, Mr. Burfield, manager of the Empress Theatre decided to change the name of the playhouse and has given the high school students the opportunity to choose the new name.  Mr. Burfield and Mr. Richardson, building owner, would pick the best suited name on June 1, 1930.  The name they chose was Peninsula Theatre.  For some strange reason the name suddenly appeared as Peninsulan Theatre with no explanation on November 7, 1930.  But by December 19, 1930 they were back to using Peninsula Theatre again.  By the end of 1930 the theatre started experiencing strong competition from the New Community theatre in Port Orchard.

With the effects brought on by the Depression and other international events including the conflict in Europe, the theatre suffered.  It was renamed The Blue Eagle Theatre and was named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s National Recovery Act.  They planned on opening for programs Friday and Sunday with the first show August 4, 1933 being “King Kong."  Due to the economic condition, it did not succeed and was closed for at least a year.

Peninsula Gateway Ad, 1937

Leona Nikolac, cashier at the Roxy, 1948

On February 14, 1936 the theatre was sold to M. H. Thompson and F. M. Higgins.  However, by June 1936 Mr. Higgins gifted his share to the Thompson family and was no longer involved.  The Thompsons renamed the theatre The Roxy.  Rex Thompson, son of M. H. Thompson, reopened the Roxy with A. E. Merry as manager.  Movies again had become big time entertainment and the Roxy ran three movies every night.  Westerns were very popular in Gig Harbor at the time. 

The Merrys continued to run the theatre until 1955 when Mr. Merry locked the door for the very last time and the building stood empty for a long time.

As time passed, the final occupants were a large colony of working bees that produced a bonus of honey when the building was torn down.     

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Dr. Arthur Seeley Monzingo

When you drive down Soundview Drive coming into downtown Gig Harbor, have you ever wondered about the people who might have lived there in the early 1900s?  Or what families lived in the older houses along the downtown portion of Soundview?  Or whose homes that were demolished to make way for the condominiums like Dolphin Reach at 7221 Soundview or Heron Pointe Condominiums at 7305 Soundview Drive?  

On December 13, 2012 HHM had a blog regarding Thomas W. Maloney and learned that it was his property that was demolished and replaced by Dolphin Reach Condominiums.  And we also learned that Glen F. (Perk) Perkins and his wife Norma operated Perkins Funeral Home which was located at 7407 Soundview Drive which was converted into multi-family units although the exterior of the building looks the same as it did in the 1950s when the Perkins owned it.  The funeral home was moved to Haven of Rest on Highway SR16 once the Perkins developed the property there which the Perkins had originally purchased to use as a cemetery.  The first burial was at Haven of Rest in 1954. 

The property at 7305 Soundview Drive was a home and hospital to a well known and remembered doctor in Gig Harbor if you are of a certain age.  But for the rest of us, Dr. Arthur Seeley Monzingo is unknown.  Although his home was demolished and Heron Pointe Condominiums were built in its place, Dr. Monzingo's place in Gig Harbor's history needs to be recounted for those unfamiliar with him.

Dr. Monzingo was born to Thomas M. and Mary A. Monzingo in Coin, Page County, Iowa on April 15, 1877.   He had two sisters, Julia Eliza and Martha Bertha, and one brother John Johnson.  Dr. Monzingo became a general practice physician and married Lydia Ellen Iles (which is also spelled Isles) in 1898.  They had two boys Hershel Lorenzo and Forest Leon. Lydia died in 1913 and I was unable to discover what happened to the two boys. Arthur and Lydia had evidently divorced prior to her death. 

Because records show Dr. Monzingo married Bernice Florence Green in Boise, ID in 1910.  Arthur and Bernice had a son, William George June 25, 1915 and a daughter Jean Bernice May 7, 1912.  Unfortunately their daughter died shortly after birth. 

Dr. and Mrs. Monzingo & Bill

Arthur became a member of the Pierce County Medical Society in November 1906, and was the first physician to practice in South Tacoma.  

Dr. Monzingo's name appears on the roster of attendants at military training camps 1913-1916, page 173, by Military Trining Camps Association (US) 1916 - 451 pages…Monzingo, Arther S., 2611 North Union Ave., Am. L. '15.

Arthur, Bernice and William (Bill) moved to Gig Harbor in 1926.  He made house calls while living in a hotel on Harborview Drive, until his combination of both a house and hospital at 7305 Soundview Drive was completed the following year.  Dr. Monzingo named his new home Holly Home.  The structure was unique in that it was built in the popular Spanish style and stuccoed.  Behind the house/hospital he planted a holly grove hoping for an annual profit of up to $10 per tree for cut boughs.    

But more importantly, Dr. Monzingo saw himself as a "country doctor".  To him, this designation meant that he attended to his patients whenever and wherever they were when they needed medical care.  His transportation started out like many doctors in 1906 as a buggy and horse, but as time when on he was able to update to a Hudson.  Yes, it was the model with the spare tire on the outside rear.  The Hudson carried him all over the Peninsula making house calls, some as far as Longbranch.

In 1926 Dr. Monzingo was 49.  He had served in the military, and he suffered from intestinal cancer.  Unfortunately, the medical field had not yet developed any treatment for the cancer other than allowng the patient to continue their normal way of life until the cancer killed them.  Dr. Monzingo outlived his cancer, but 17 years after arriving in Gig Harbor died of a heart attack.  Many felt that the overwork due to the shortage of doctors during WWII exaggerated his stress and physical condition causing the attack.

When surgery was required, he had his hospital in town, and one of his best friends, Dr. Harold Ryan, although a dentist, assist him as an anesthetist.  Surgeries involved child births, appendectomies among other things.

This man was well loved by his friends and patients alike and all had stories of his generosity and caring.  He also used his skills in the medical field for animals.  One of the favorite stories involved his favorite red hen.  The hen loved to roost on the spare tire of the Hudson.  Sometimes, the Doctor forgot to lift the hen down when he had to go on a house call.  When he returned home, he naturally would look for the hen.  When he couldn't find her, he would get back in the car and go look for the hen regardless of how tired he himself might be.  And many times, the hen would just be sitting at the side of the road - waiting, wherever she had fallen off.  She knew the doctor would be back to pick her up.

Another fun story was the time the doctor was working in the garden in the rain looking like a hired yard man when a patient drove up and shouted out the car "Is the Doctor in?  The doctor suggested they just go in and make themselves comfortable while he got the doctor.  He entered the house through the back door, washed up and then appeared in the waiting room.  The patient never connected the doctor and the yard man.

The Doctor was also a lover of baseball, the Peninsula Singers, talent scout for the minstrel shows at the Roxy, working in his garden and holly grove.  Dr. Monzingo was a well-rounded person and loved by the community.

1931 Peninsula Singers Organized by Dr. Monzingo - 1st Year

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.