I.F. Arts Council asks public for memories about Colonial Theatre

The Colonial Theatre in Idaho Falls is turning 100 years old next fall. To celebrate, the Idaho Falls Arts Council, which runs the theater, needs the public’s memories.

“We want to know, you know, why it was important to someone because we know why it’s important to us now,” said Amy Carr, marketing manager for the Idaho Falls Arts Council.

The theater was opened in 1919 as a vaudeville theater. It became the Paramount Movie Theatre in 1929 and remained that until the early 1990s. It was then gifted to the Idaho Falls Arts Council, along with the two adjacent buildings, and remodeled into the Willard Arts Center. Its original name was restored. The Arts Council is putting together a book about the theater, featuring photos, artwork and memories from those who visited it in the past 100 years.

“I talked to a gentleman today who remembers riding to the theater on his bike with his friend on the handlebars,” Carr said. “We want that memory and we want the memory from the people who helped during construction, during the remodel, and we want the memory of the, you know, the usherette in the early ’30s that helped sell the candy from the candy counter.”

The Arts Council plans to do roundtable interviews early next year to get the book ready in time for the centennial celebrations next fall.

“We know that some of those older memories are going to be harder to find, but we hope we can find a few people out there who remember the really early days,” Carr said.

If you have a memory you would like to share with the Idaho Falls Arts Council, you can contact the council by email at acarr@idahofallsarts.org or you can call 208-522-0471 to get more information.