Kiggins Theatre, Vancouver, WA, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

The Kiggins Theatre is a single-screen Art Deco cinema on Main Street in downtown Vancouver, Washington, and one of the best-loved landmarks in the city's historic core. Opened in the 1930s, it still shows films and hosts live events, so you can see the building the way it was meant to be used.

The story behind it

The Kiggins dates from the mid 1930s, the era when picture palaces brought glamour to everyday main streets. Its Art Deco styling reflects that moment, and the building has outlasted many of the theatres of its generation. It has been a movie house for most of its life, and it has been restored and kept in use rather than left as a relic.

That continuity is why locals care about it. For many Vancouver residents the Kiggins is a place for first dates, family outings and community screenings, and it anchors the stretch of Main Street around it.

What to look for

• The vertical sign and marquee over the entrance, which give the street a classic movie-house silhouette, especially when lit at dusk.
• The Art Deco lines of the facade, where the geometric styling of the 1930s shows in the way the front is composed.
• The posters and the listings board by the entrance, which show what is playing, from current films to special events.
• The wider Main Street setting, where low historic buildings and street-level shops show how the downtown grew around the theatre.

Tips for your visit

• You can see the exterior at any time, so a quick stop takes about ten minutes. To go inside you need a ticket for a screening or event, so check current showtimes before you go.
• Evening is the best time for photos, when the marquee and sign are lit against the darker sky.
• Pair it with a stroll along Main Street and the neighbouring blocks, where you will find cafes, shops and places to eat before or after a show.
• Downtown Vancouver is compact and flat, so it is easy to reach on foot from nearby parking or from the waterfront area.

See it on a quest

The Kiggins Theatre is one of the places you reach on Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Vancouver, WA, a self-guided walk through the downtown streets. You arrive on foot as one stop of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you get there, and you solve a puzzle on the spot, so you look at the facade and the street far more closely than you would on a quick pass. There is no guide and no group to join, you can start whenever you like, and one ticket covers the whole group.