Pantages Theatre 1914
(renamed McPherson Theatre)

3 Centennial Square

Architect: Jesse M. Warren
Renovation: Alan Hodgson

Alexander Pantages, a West Coast theatrical promoter who operated a chain of playhouses in Seattle and Spokane, leased this theatre from Messrs. McPherson, Fuller, and Elliot. It is constructed of steel and concrete with a local red-brick facing. The exterior features a modest Renaissance Revival facade with five bays outlined in brick. The high point of what is now called The McPherson Theatre is its Baroque Revival interior. Marble half columns divide the foyer from the auditorium and balcony boxes are grouped under wide segmental arches topped with full-relief plaster cherubs. After a somewhat irregular career, the theatre was willed by Thomas McPherson along with a substantial part of his estate to the city. In 1964-65 the playhouse was restored and the Pandora addition was constructed by local architect Alan Hodgson. The new wing successfully relates to the original structure through the use of similar materials. The renovation programme included an Elizabethan Revival Knot Garden which can be seen from Centennial Square.