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Top right: The lobby of the Parma Motor Vu drive-in where the Manley popcorn popper, the original from 1953, still makes the best popcorn ever. Left: “Sun Valley Serenade” photo courtesy of Sun Valley Resort. Above: The Panida Theater built as a vaudeville and theater house in Sandpoint in 1927 still hosts films and events today. BY PAMELA KLEIBRINK THOMPSON
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itchell Mark and his brother Moe opened what many consider the first movie palace, the one-million-dollar Mark Strand Theater in Times Square, New York City, in 1914, and hired Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel. Roxy introduced uniformed ushers with courtly manners; regal draperies and plush carpeting; soft, colorful lighting and orchestral musicians that played musical accompaniment to the silent movies. Roxy made motion pictures a celebrated event, elevating the movie-going experience into a realm of American cultural importance all over the county. Even in Idaho. Jason Speer became the owner of the Roxy Theater in Cascade, Idaho, with his wife Trisha and Mark and Kristina Pickard in 2006. Built in 1939, the Roxy, a smalltown, single-screen theater with big-city
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tech on the inside, has 238 auditorium seats and 10 cry-room seats, “where parents of little ones can still see the movie if the kids are fussy.” “When we purchased the Roxy our four kids were all at home. We raised them there and taught them how to work the positions. It was a lot of fun for Trish and me to watch them grow while helping run the family business,” says Jason. Before the Speers owned the Roxy they took their kids there almost every weekend. “It was a fun thing to do. That is how we got to know the previous owners and fell in love with the Roxy,” he continues. Jason reflects on special events like having Spiderman swing off the stage and into the auditorium before the opening of the movie or Batman on the roof for a midnight show of Dark Knight. “We told the kids we had a
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ghost named Sam. The old chairs had to be folded up by hand. We would go through after the kids folded the seats and put the center seat back down. Just one seat for Sam. The young kids could never figure it out,” Jason laughs. The Roxy offers a mix of first-run and second-run movies and five live shows a year and also serves many local community needs. Concerts, talent shows, weddings, funerals, just about everything has happened at the Roxy. Jason looks forward to opening seven days a week soon and bringing people together again. His plans include scheduling live events once a month, and maybe even a few comedy shows. “It’s wonderful to hear people laugh,” he says. And for everyone who likes to laugh, the Roxy awaits in Cascade.
