Theater District, Tacoma
The Theater District is downtown’s historic performing-arts core, shaped by vaudeville, cinema, and restoration. Its main landmark, the Pantages Theater, opened in 1918 as part of Alexander Pantages’s circuit. Designed by B. Marcus Priteca, it has a Versailles-inspired interior with gilded plasterwork and box seating. Later renamed the Orpheum and the Roxy, it regained its original name after restoration in 1983.
The district also includes the Rialto Theater, opened a few months after the Pantages in 1918 as an elegant photoplay house for motion pictures. Its Beaux-Arts design, plasterwork, cupids, and American eagle motifs reflect the post-World War I period. Nearby, Theatre on the Square adds a modern space for concerts, comedy, film, and community events.
The area also holds traces of lost theatre history. An earlier opera house once stood between the Pantages and Rialto and even hosted Ben-Hur in 1905 with live horses running on treadmills. Destroyed by fire in 1963, it is still recalled through Opera Alley, later known for rough nightlife before its revival with shops and cafés.
The district also includes the Rialto Theater, opened a few months after the Pantages in 1918 as an elegant photoplay house for motion pictures. Its Beaux-Arts design, plasterwork, cupids, and American eagle motifs reflect the post-World War I period. Nearby, Theatre on the Square adds a modern space for concerts, comedy, film, and community events.
The area also holds traces of lost theatre history. An earlier opera house once stood between the Pantages and Rialto and even hosted Ben-Hur in 1905 with live horses running on treadmills. Destroyed by fire in 1963, it is still recalled through Opera Alley, later known for rough nightlife before its revival with shops and cafés.
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Theater District on Map
Sight Name: Theater District
Sight Location: Tacoma, USA (See walking tours in Tacoma)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Tacoma, USA (See walking tours in Tacoma)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Nearby Sights
Walking Tours in Tacoma, Washington
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Travel Distance: 5.7 Km or 3.5 Miles
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