John Hamrick (1875 – 1956) was an American
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entreprene ...
in the theater business. He leased and owned a large number of
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
and
movie
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
theaters in the Northwest from at least the early 1920s until the late 1940s.
Hamrick lived in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington and eventually assembled a string of theaters that included the Rex Theatre, which he was in charge of as early as 1913. the
Oriental Theatre in Portland, Oregon, the Beverly, several
Blue Mouse Theatres (including one in downtown
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
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.
[Gary Don Rhodes]
''White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film''
Page 272.
Blue Mouse

Some of Hamrick's theaters were named Blue Mouse. The
silent movie
''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...
''
The Grub Stake'' played at Hamrick's Blue Mouse theaters.
[Eric L. Flo]
Silent Film Stars on the Stages of Seattle
A History of Performances by Hollywood Notables Edition illustrated McFarland, 2009 , , 309 pages His company had theaters in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
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
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
" 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..."
Hamrick's Blue Mouse Theatre in downtown Portland was reported to be "a 1960 victim of Tacoma's regrettable experiment with moving sidewalks." The Blue Mouse (Jr.) was recently restored and is being proposed for historical landmark status.
Other theaters
Hamrick reopened
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
's
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
film showcase the Orpheum Theater (built 1927) in 1934, after it was closed for nearly a year. He "engaged film comedians
Bert Wheeler
Bert Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in vaudeville acts, Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and television. He was teamed with Broadway comic Robert Woolsey, and they went on to ...
…and
Robert Woolsey
Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey.
Early life
Robert Rollie Woolsey (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born o ...
…for a personal appearance at the Orpheum, a popular move that helped revive the house's fortunes, however briefly" while "also attempting to revive the ailing Music Hall Theatre just a couple of blocks away." The Orpheum was torn in 1967 to make way for the Washington Plaza Hotel (now the Westin Hotel). The theater had the "largest theater vault in the world, containing a money chest weighing 1,500 pounds that would put
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...
pirates to shame" and its furnishings and decorations were auctioned.
Hamrick took over the Globe Theater, built in 1912, at 11th and Washington Streets in downtown Portland, remodeling it and reopening it as the Blue Mouse on November 28, 1921. "In each Northwest city, when the Hamrick chain came in and established themselves, their first house was always called the Blue Mouse..." according to one theory, " Mr. and Mrs. Hamrick were visiting in London where they attended a musical play titled 'The Blue Mouse'… They were so entranced by the play that they thereafter named their theatres Blue Mouse… There was also a Shubert production of "The Blue Mouse"."
In 1934, Hamrick announced plans to include Tacoma, Washington in a vaudeville circuit.
Political activities
A February 4, 1933 article in
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 in Washington, Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 ...
's ''Daily Record'' quotes Hamrick as one of the business leaders opposed to a proposed Washington State tax measure at a meeting in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...
. Hamrick was one of those representing the motion picture industry in speaking out against the luxury, occupational and business tax measures during a six-hour meeting.
John R. Jones, a Democrat from
Okanagan
The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...
and chairman of the house revenue and taxation committee, conducted the hearing.
Hamrick said, "We don't think we are a luxury. It isn't fair to tax one industry and not another." He recommended a one- or two-percent tax on grosses at all businesses instead. Frank Newman, owner of 50 theaters in Oregon, Washington, and
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, said the tax would close "most of the showhouses in the state" and said the businesses were not taking in enough money to cover expenses. Smaller theater owners agreed, noting that the number of theaters in the state declined from 472 in 1930 to 212 at the time of the meeting.
February 4, 1933 ''Daily Record'' page 1 (Ellensburg, Washington)
Hamrick residences
The John and Fannie Hamrick residence in Seattle's
Broadmoor, Seattle, Broadmoor neighborhood (constructed 1929-30) was designed by the Seattle partnership
Bain &
Pries in a
Spanish eclectic style.
Bain & Pries design partner Lionel H. Pries was deeply involved in all aspects of the design, which, at the time was characterized as "
Santa Barbara Spanish."
The house has complex rooflines, few windows (in favor of interior courtyards) and an interior with "exposed beams, arched openings", and thick walls.
[Caroline T. Swop]
''Classic Houses of Seattle: High style to Vernacular, 1870-1950''
page 188, 194-195, 247, 252 Decorative carvings and paintings adorn the beams, lighting fixtures are made of hammered metal, and tiled steps lead to a sunken living room.
It may have been designed to evoke aspects of the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
film industry.
The house was said to evoke the
Spanish Renaissance
The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries.
This new focus in art, literature,
Quotation, quotes and scienc ...
design motifs of his Music Box Theatre with "wrought iron balconies and gates, round stair tower," stenciled beams, heraldic shields, and castone fireplace.
Hamrick also had a house in the "Little Tuscany" area of
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
. It was built by 1942 and featured in ''California Pictorial Magazines Spring edition showing "photographs of it by Maynard L. Parker, with interiors by decorator R.D. Harrell and featuring furnishings by Barker Brothers of Los Angeles." The text read: "the entire effect of the house is light, high-spirited, gay and cheerful, a faithful reflection of the mood of the desert resort." The Hamricks were said to have commissioned
Alber Frey and
John Porter Clark to add a sun room – or
lanai
Lānai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's on ...
in 1947, and several rooms were reportedly redesigned by
Arthur Elrod
Arthur Dea Elrod, Jr. (August 8, 1924 – February 18, 1974) was an American interior designer, perhaps best known for the Elrod House his home in Palm Springs, California, which he designed in collaboration with architect John Lautner in 1968. ...
, a local interior designer, in 1956-57.
Personal life
Hamrick was buried at the Acacia Memorial Park in
Lake Forest Park,
King County, Washington
King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...
.
Hamrick, his 11-year-old daughter and another girl were also involved in a car accident in 1920, during a period when he was proprietor of the Rex theater.
["Auto Crashes Into House In Wild Run"](_blank)
February 26, 1920 page 1 ''Ellensburg Daily Record'' The car, being driven by Hamrick, plunged downhill, over sidewalks and embankments, and crashed into the house of Hans P. Fogh on Howell Street tearing "through the wall into the house, brining up against a piano". No one was injured, although "five were endangered", including Miss Anna Fogh who was thrown from a couch, and damage to the residence was estimated at $1,500 with $100 of damage to the automobile.
Theaters
*
Temple Theater (1932), also known as Masonic Temple Building, Heilig's Theater, John Hamrick's Temple Theater, 47 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, Washington. Designed by
Ambrose J. Russell and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, 1993
* Blue Mouse Theater downtown Tacoma, Washington
*
Blue Mouse Theatre (originally known as Blue Mouse Jr.) in Proctor District of Tacoma, Washington's oldest continuously operating theater.
* Blue Mouse Theatre Portland, Oregon. Opened in the Globe Theater (1912) after a complete remodel (1921). Moved with signage to the Capitol Theatre building in 1958. Demolished 1977.
* Blue Mouse Theatre Corvallis, Oregon. (1921) Closed 1923.
* Blue Mouse Theatre Seattle (1920) Demolished in 1970.
*
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (opened as the Portland Publix Theatre before becoming the Paramount Theatre after 1930) is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States. Part of the Portland Center ...
purchased existing theater to be part of Evergreen theater chain in 1936.
* Egyptian Theater in
University District, Seattle
The University District (commonly the U District) is a neighborhood and a major district in central northeastern Seattle, Washington, comprising several distinct neighborhoods. The main campus of the University of Washington (UW) is located in ...
.
Seattle’s Venetian Theater reopens on February 11, 1927
Eric L. Flom, February 25, 2006 History Link
References
External links
PR Web story on Hamrick House Palm Springs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamrick, John
American entertainment industry businesspeople
Businesspeople from Seattle
1875 births
1956 deaths