John Hamrick

John Hamrick (1875–1956) was an American entrepreneur in the theater business. He leased and owned a large number of vaudeville and movie theaters in the Northwest from at least the early 1920s until the late 1940s.

Hamrick lived in Seattle, Washington and eventually assembled a string of theaters that included the Rex Theatre, the Oriental Theatre in Portland, Oregon, the Beverly, several Blue Mouse Theatres (including one in downtown Tacoma, Washington and the Blue Mouse (Jr.) that is still open in Tacoma's Proctor District), the Music Box Theatre, the Riviera Theatre, and the Roxy Theatre. Hamrick also owned several theaters in Seattle and is generally credited as being the first Seattle theater owner to show "talking pictures."

The Oriental Theatre in Portland had 2,500 seats and in 1932 tickets cost 25-35 cents. Offerings included horror movies such as White Zombie. The Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma had 650 seats and brought in $2,100 during White Zombie's one-week run.

Some of Hamrick's theaters were named Blue Mouse. The silent movie The Grub Stake played at Hamrick's Blue Mouse theaters. His company had theaters in Tacoma, Washington including the Proctor Street Blue Mouse Theater (called Blue Mouse Jr. to distinguish it from the one in downtown Tacoma) that has been in continuous operation (except during renovations) since 1923. The theater was may have been named after one in Paris, France that Hamrick attended in 1919. Fitzherbert Leather, an architect from London, designed the "garden style arts and crafts" building and it was built by Henry Sanstrom for $20,000. Movies were changed three times a week by manager George C. Greenlund.

Theater chain growth was reported during 1922 when Hamrick "bought the Apollo at 11th Street and Broadway, renamed it the Blue Mouse, then opened the Blue Mouse..."

...
Wikipedia