Sound Cinema: Roxy Theatre

Roxy Theatre, Bremerton

The Evergreen Echo

The Roxy Theatre came to life during Hollywood's Golden Age. The theater opened in 1941 to fanfare and excitement as a new place of entertainment on the western shores of Puget Sound. The space hosted film and music performances and dazzled passersby with its stunning neon marquee. For over forty years, the Roxy kept people entertained and brought life to downtown Bremerton.

As time marched on, people's tastes changed. In 1988 the Roxy closed. The business was no longer sustainable as many moved out to the suburbs where the malls and big box stores allowed for shopping and entertainment without the need to go downtown any longer. For thirty years, except for a brief stint as a church (as has happened to many former movie houses), the Roxy lay dormant as life moved on around it.

It was in the late 2010s that the Sound West Group, a property development firm based in Bremerton, decided to revitalize downtown, and while owning a theater was not of particular interest to them, they saw the value of a community space. They restored the theater and brought it into the 21st century. The theater became a part of the nonprofit Roxy Bremerton Foundation, which in addition to some operational help from the folks at Far Away Entertainment, brought film back to the Roxy in 2018. By 2023, the Foundation had successfully purchased the building and has become the sole operator of this mixed performance arts space.

The Roxy is in an unassuming part of the building landscape, but as you turn onto 4th St. you can see the neon blade at the top of the building cutting into the sky and marking the theater's place like a beacon calling all movie lovers to it. The theater still has much of the trappings of its original façade. That neon—though not the original as it was incapable of restoration—even unlit, entices and beckons us to the art on display within.

The lobby is uniquely set up as well. As you walk in, there is a sort of landing with tables and chairs as well as upward ramps on either side that lead into the auditorium. Just down a short staircase is the concession stand, which has an old school charm with its candy displays and the smell of hot popcorn. In a space where an old phone booth used to be is a small gift shop with Roxy merchandise. Down another small staircase on either side of the concession stand are the restrooms.

Roxy’s auditorium

The Evergreen Echo

The auditorium, which houses the Roxy's single screen, feels enormous. After going up one of the ramps in the lobby, there is an option to go up a small flight of stairs to stadium seats, or go down a small slope to the seats on the floor. The seats maintain the classic movie theater charm and also offer ample leg room. Among the single screen theaters I have visited, the Roxy feels like it may be the largest of them, as it’s able to comfortably seat 500.

I was at the Roxy for a recent showing of the biopic Tony. The film is the story of chef and writer Anthony Bourdain's (Dominic Sessa) first summer working in a restaurant kitchen. The film eschews the classic biopic structure in favor of a more intimate coming of age story. Tony is a great portrait of a young person at a crossroads. It has terrific performances and even if you know the story, keeps you guessing as to what road Tony will choose to follow. The film is the epitome of the famous phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson that it is not about the destination, it is about the journey.

The Roxy Theatre is not only an excellent place to see a movie, but it shows us how movies have always been meant to be seen. Even as a mixed use arts venue, the Roxy is still a movie house. It’s a time machine into the minds of those who made movie exhibitions into an art form of their own.

Going to a movie theater has become homogenized like much of modern life. The corporate entities go out of their way for you to feel like every one of their establishments operates in the same way with the same seats and same concessions. Even if your particular multiplex has recliners or if you, for some reason, want an experience where your seat rumbles when something happens on screen, these cookie cutter places cannot compare to a gem like the Roxy. The Roxy has the care and character of movie-going with an ambience that cannot be matched. It is the definition of classic style with modern conveniences.