Murray Theater
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The Murray Theater is an important historic building in the United States.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Murray Theatre survives as one of Salt Lake County's best examples of the Art Moderne style in theater architecture.
The theatre is located at 4961 South State Street in Murray, Utah. It was opened just in time to screen two of Hollywood's first major color films: Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.
The Murray Theater was built in 1938 by Tony Duvall, who built the Gem and New Iris theaters in Murray, and Joseph L. Lawrence, who built the Villa and Southeast in Salt Lake and the Academy in Provo. A. B. Paulson, who was likely the architect of the Murray, also designed the Villa Theatre. Carl F. Fors was likely the general contractor for both theaters as well - as Fors & Johnson for the Murray, and Carl F. Fors and Sons for the Villa. The Murray Theater opened on 28 October 1938, showing “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Hawaiian Holiday”
The Murray Eagle reported the new theater had a white front: “...amply lighted with the latest type of (fluorescent) lighting and the marquee and vertical sign trimmed in ruby red. The box office and entrance has been furnished in stainless steel. The lighting in the foyer and inner lobby is all in indirect tubing and is designed to blend harmoniously with the delicate wall decorations and the heavy red floor carpets. The spacious auditorium is fitted with full upholstered chairs which are so situated that every patron may have an unobstructed view of the screen. The auditorium is also lighted with concealed tubing. The aisles are five and one-half feet wide. The latest Mirrophonic sound system and projection equipment has been installed. The theater has been provided with air conditioning, as well as large rest rooms with an ‘ultra-modern’ lounge for the ladies.” In September 1964, Art M. Jolley purchased the Murray from Fox-Intermountain Theaters. By the end of January 1965 he completed a $15,000 “modernization program” on the theater. In 1981, Mr. Jolley sold the Murray to another party, but later he took the theater back. In 1989, after the death of Art Jolley, the Jolley family sold the theater to his son-in-law, Steve Webb. Steve Web operated the Murray as a second-run theater, with the help of his wife and children, and his brother. The Murray closed for two days, starting 28 October 1992, so the stage could be enlarged to accommodate live performances. Vandermeide, who had been performing at the Avalon, then moved his hypnotist show to the Murray. In October 1999 the Murray Theater closed suddenly. The theater was to be auctioned in February 2000.
In October 2001, the Murray Theater became the Murray Unity Spiritual Center, lead by the Rev. Phillip J. Smithen. The planned opening date was 27 October 2001, exactly 63 years to the day from when the theater opened. The facade was to be unchanged, but the interior was to be remodeled with a bookstore, a Sunday school, a prayer room, and a new coffee shop. The auditorium became a 550-seat sanctuary.
The Unity Spiritual Center vacated the theater in the summer of 2004 and the theater was then sold in August, 2004 to an investment group led by Randy Krantz. In early 2006 the theater was sold to another party and is currently being remodeled as a live entertainment and dancing venue with a new stage, extensive sound, light and video technology and tiered seating platforms with a large dance floor. A pizza restaurant is also being built in a connected building to the south of the theater and will operate as a part of the theater enterprise. Opening as the Murray Super Theater is scheduled for late 2006.
