Description

The Fourth Avenue Theatre, also known as the Lathrop Building, is a movie theater in Anchorage, Alaska that has been described as Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Art Moderne in style. Built beginning in 1941 and completed in 1947 after a halt during World War II, somewhat after the heyday of these styles, it was a large 960-seat first-run theater until the 1980s.The theater was designed by B. Marcus Priteca, a leading designer of themed cinemas in America, in association with Seattle architect A.A. Porreca for Cap Lathrop, a prominent Alaska businessman. The theater's lobby featured a gold leaf mural of Mount McKinley, but originally omitted a concession stand, a feature Lathrop felt was inappropriate.The main house was decorated with silver and gold murals by Anthony Heinsbergen and Frank Bouman of Los Angeles, and a rendering of the Big Dipper (a symbol of Alaska) on the ceiling. Murals were done on canvas with reliefs in Masonite leafed with gold and silver. The building's structure is reinforced concrete with travertine on the exterior street level.