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Movie Theaters in Yakima, Washington

The movie theaters of Yakima have a distinctive pedigree. A number of theaters in the city were owned and developed by Fred Mercy, a hat-maker from New Jersey. Lavish money was spent on some of the buildings, especially the Capitol Theatre, originally a place to go to enjoy vaudeville acts or be engrossed by the live theater. The Capitol is also the largest hall of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Mercy kept the theaters in his family, and they have remained family-owned for 90 years. There is more to seeing a movie in Yakima than what's on the screen -- there's the stories of the buildings themselves.

  1. The Majestic Theatre

    • The Mercy family had a history of theater ownership going back four generations. In 1912, Fred Mercy Sr. (1877-1948), who made hats for a living, bought the old Majestic Theatre, a small theater seating only 250; eventually, it was expanded to 800. By the time Mercy bought the Liberty Theatre in 1918, he owned the Yakima, Avenue and Empire theaters in the city as well. After various incarnations over the years, the Majestic returned in the last 10 years, renovated as a 10-screen "state of the art" theater, its name a recognition of Fred Mercy's original movie house and its 90-year legacy.

    The Liberty Theatre

    • The Liberty Theatre was started up in Yakima County by a Dr. Johnson in 1915. Three years later, a pair of vaudevillian brothers took over the management of the Liberty Theatre, changed its name The Grand, and devoted most of the theater's evening hours to vaudeville acts. However, in March of 1918, Fred Mercy stepped in and took over the Grand Theatre and changed its name back to the Liberty Theatre. Crowds were literally fighting to get in to the place.

    The Capitol Theatre

    • A few years after he bought and renovated the Majestic, Fred Mercy decided he wanted a great vaudeville hall. In 1920, the Mercy Theatre opened its doors. One year later, it was officially renamed the Capitol Theatre. The Capitol went through several incarnations over the next few decades, alternately being used for live theatre and movies. In 1975, almost burned to the ground. Massive renovations and repairs were performed, and the Capitol opened a few years later in 1978 as a National Historic Site, run by the City of Yakima.

    The Princess Theatre

    • While certain theaters have a stellar history and have remained in Yakima for decades, others have not been as fortunate. The Princess Theatre, for example, was built during World War I and shut its doors in the early 1970s. Renovations have been ongoing throughout the intervening years, a project that has not been successful. After a decade of troubled renovation, the theater's owners are considering making an application to the City to take over the theater and demolish it.

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