Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
S.H. Kress and Company
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019
1. S.H. Kress and Company Marker
Inscription.
S.H. Kress and Company. . Thirty-six hundred people watched Nomads of the North at the grand opening of the Liberty Theatre in August 1921. A musical score, played on a $47,000 Wurlitzer organ, accompanied the silent film. An overflow crowd of two thousand toured the theaters lavishly appointed interior. The Renaissance Revival style building, designed by Great Falls architect George Shanley, also housed shops, apartments, offices, and a bowling alley. Outside, floodlights illuminated decorative terra cotta while cascading lights mimicked an Italian fountain, and other lights spelled out the name of the eighteen-hundred-seat theater. Two glowing terra-cotta torches atop the cornice emitted red smoke, an illusion created through the use of red lights and forced steam. Like other movie palaces of its day, the Liberty Theatre promised excitement and luxury with dιcor that alluded both to American patriotism and old world extravagance. Thirty cents transported moviegoers into a world of wealth and privilege, and not just on the screen. The Libertys rest rooms and mens smoking room offered patrons “every convenience from maid service to engraved stationery and telephone.”
Thirty-six hundred people watched Nomads of the North at the grand opening of the Liberty Theatre in August 1921. A musical score, played on a $47,000 Wurlitzer organ, accompanied the silent film. An overflow crowd of two thousand toured the theaters lavishly appointed interior. The Renaissance Revival style building, designed by Great Falls architect George Shanley, also housed shops, apartments, offices, and a bowling alley. Outside, floodlights illuminated decorative terra cotta while cascading lights mimicked an Italian fountain, and other lights spelled out the name of the eighteen-hundred-seat theater. Two glowing terra-cotta torches atop the cornice emitted red smoke, an illusion created through the use of red lights and forced steam. Like other movie palaces of its day, the Liberty Theatre promised excitement and luxury with dιcor that alluded both to American patriotism and old world extravagance. Thirty cents transported moviegoers into a world of wealth and privilege—and not just on the screen. The Libertys rest rooms and mens smoking room offered patrons “every convenience from maid service to engraved stationery and telephone.”
Erected by The Montana National Register Sign Program.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture
Location. 47° 30.326′ N, 111° 18.011′ W. Marker is in Great Falls, Montana, in Cascade County. It is on Central Avenue near 4th Street North, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 409 Central Avenue, Great Falls MT 59401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 19, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 22, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 370 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 22, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
