Still Old School
The Roxy Theater
Same building. Different decade.
The Story
Missoula's 1937 Art Deco theater on South Higgins, now the town's community cinema. Dollar days, a fire, a long nap, and it's still showing movies.
The Roxy opened on September 24, 1937, with Tex Ritter in Arizona Days. It started as a family-run second-run house in the University District, back when Missoula kept a surprising number of screens going for a mountain town.
It has not had a quiet life. Dollar days. A 1994 arson fire that gutted the interior. A rebuild. Years sitting dark. Then a run under the International Wildlife Film Festival that grew into year-round community programming, which is what the Roxy does now.
For the 80th anniversary in 2017, the exterior and the neon marquee went back to their 1937 look. Same building on South Higgins. Different decade.
Saw a dollar movie here? Tell us which one. We won’t judge the pick.
Why It's Still Old School
A 1937 neighborhood screen that burned, got rebuilt, sat dark for years, and came back anyway. The neon on South Higgins looks like 1937 again.
Photos
Coming soon. Know something that belongs here?
Still There.
- Address
- 718 South Higgins Ave., Missoula, MT, 59801
- Phone
- 406-728-9380
Sources
Got a Story About This Place?
You're Old School Montana if... you were watching the river for runoff the same week everybody else was talking about graduation
You're Old School Montana if... you called it the Mo Club, and the only question was cheese or no cheese
What do you say?
While You're Here
Remember This? · Missoula · '80s
Remember This? The Merc, The Bon, and the Drugstore That Outlasted Both
The Missoula Mercantile sold wagons, groceries and furniture, then became The Bon, then Macy's. The lights went out in 2010. Somehow the old pharmacy corner made it.
Still Old School · Missoula · Before '50
Still Old School: The Oxford Cafe Never Got Around to Locking Up
On the corner of Higgins and Pine since 1883, and it doesn't close. Still pouring coffee and plating chicken fried steak with JJ's gravy long after downtown locks up.
Back When · Missoula · '90s
Growing Up in Missoula in the '90s, With Your Math Teacher in the Next Aisle
Higgins Bridge, a university town that still acted like a town, and Friday plans that didn't need a group chat. Also, your math teacher in the grocery aisle.
Been Here Awhile
Bernice's Bakery
Four owners, all women, and the ovens still on early.
Montana Original
Missoula Club
Warm beer, cold burgers. Allegedly.
Still Kicking
Paul's Pancake Parlor
Eighteen kinds of pancakes. Nobody asked for a brunch concept.