Historic theater in Tacoma’s North End making some big changes. Have a look
Tacoma’s historic Blue Mouse Theatre is getting a makeover. As its website and fundraising campaign describe it: “Old Theatre, New Seats.”
The theater, 2611 N. Proctor St., has been in the process of replacing its seats with new ones. About 77 seats already have been removed so flooring and electrical work could start as new lighting is also being installed.
Not only the auditorium but the lobby flooring is getting a refresh, smoothed and made easier in terms of upkeep.
On Thursday (April 24), the goal was to remove the rest of the existing seats to make way for the new seating — that work being tackled by the theater’s manager, her brother and two theater employees.
The entire renovation project is estimated to take about six weeks.
As theater manager Sue Evans explained in a recent phone interview with The News Tribune, it’s been an evolving process.
“At first, the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act)-compliant area was just going to be the size that it needed to be, and we were going to install 165 seats (total),” she told The News Tribune.
The team then decided to adjust the number of total seats slightly and “expand the accessible area, make it a multi-purpose space and enhance the use of the theater,” Evans explained.
The seats in that section are removable for the multi-use purpose. She added, “We do rent the theater a lot,” for events.
“It’s not all about movies,” she continued. “It’s about whatever people want to rent it for. We do birthday parties and movie clubs and film festivals, and private screenings of filmmakers, and public screenings for filmmakers. You name it.
“That’s the advantage of having an independent theater. We’re not beholden to the big corporate conglomerates, and we can do pretty much whatever we want.”
The theater, which marked its 100-year anniversary in 2023, is funding the new seats through both donations and a matching grant of $50,000 from the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, through its Historic Theater Grant Program.
The program, established in 2021, works to “recognize and preserve historic theaters as an essential element to the economic vitality and social health of any community,” according to program information online.
“We were blessed to get the grant, and we had to match it, which we did and then some,” Evans said. “But now that we’ve really delved into the construction, we’ve had a shortfall, because you never can really estimate what it’s going to cost for all this cement work that we need to do for the handicap accessible area.”
Evans estimated the shortfall at roughly $25,000, so fundraising again is key.
To that end, donations can be made through an online link via the nonprofit Tacoma Neighborhoods Together website. The fundraising link can be found by going to tacomaneighborhoodstogether.org and clicking on the “Events and Partners” tab and then clicking on “Blue Mouse Theatre Old Theatre New Seats Campaign.” The link is also on the Blue Mouse Theatre’s website: bluemousetheatre.com.
To donate
Go to this link for more details and to donate to the Blue Mouse Theatre seat campaign.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
