Egyptian Theatre

When the old Dewey Theater on this spot buckled under a heavy snow load, John Rugar replaced it in 1926 with something far more exotic: the Egyptian, built in the Egyptian Revival style then sweeping the country after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb. It seated four hundred for movies and vaudeville and became Park City's first theater wired for sound. A 1963 remodel turned it into the Silver Wheel, home to fifteen years of old-fashioned melodrama; a later attempt to modernize its face was fought off. It hosts live performances still.

What the plaque says

In the early 1900's Park City's social and entertainment needs were served by a number of flourishing theaters and social halls. When the Dewey Theater, originally on this site, collapsed under a heavy snow load, John Rugar replaced it with the Egyptian Theater built in 1926. It was designed to seat 400 and to accommodate both movies and vaudeville. It became the first "sound movie" theater in Park City. After being remodeled in 1963, the building opened as the Silver Wheel Theater, and old fashioned "meller dramas" were performed for the next fifteen years. In 1978 the building's architectural integrity was threatened by an attempt to change its facade to a western motif. Preservation of its distinctive Egyptian features was achieved, however, when the building became the home of Park City Performances in 1981. The Egyptian Revival Style represents a unique period architecture which peaked in America around 1930. Egyptian theaters are rare, and this is one of only two remaining in Utah. Originally the interior contained replicas of Egyptian artifacts. This is a masonry structure with a false front shielding its hip roof. Tiles at the base of the ticket booth and pilasters in obelisk shape reinforce the Egyptian motif.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Park City — 0.3 mi
  Silver built it. Snow saved it.
• Park City Main Street — 0.3 mi
  A historic mining town turned world-class ski and film festival destination
• Park City Mountain — 0.9 mi
  The largest ski resort in the United States, grown straight out of a 19th-century silver town.
• Deer Valley — 1.4 mi
  A ski-only luxury resort above Park City, now in the middle of the largest expansion in U.S. ski history.

More markers nearby

• Giacoma Building (2) Markers — steps away
• The Bardsley Building — steps away
• The First National Bank — steps away
• Hulbert's Drugs — steps away