Demolition is scheduled to begin this week on a once-opulent downtown Anchorage movie theater designed by the architect of Hollywood’s famed Pantages Theater.
Anchorage entrepreneur Austin “Cap” Lathrop opened the 4th Avenue Theatre, with nearly 1,000 seats, on May 31, 1947, with a showing of “The Jolson Story.” The art deco theater became the centerpiece of the downtown historic district. But the last movie was shown over 40 years ago, and the building has sat vacant for nearly half that time.
