Today the Theater is primarily a movie house, but also features live performances.
The Egyptian Theatre opened for business with "Don Juan" April 19, 1927.
On the 24th day of April, 1926, the Recorder of Ada County accepted the Certificate of Incorporation of the Main Street Building Company. This Company, with three stockholders, Mr. Leo J. Falk, Mr. Harry K. Fritchman, and Mr. Chas. M. Kahn, each with one (1) share, hired Tourtellotte & Hummel, Architects, for theatre design. J.O. Jordan & Sons,
Contractor, built the structure. Seven businesses: the Arcade Buffet, the Mishking Clothing Store, Adolph Ballot-watchmaker, Jones Furniture Co., Miller and Love's cigar store, Peter Menderta's barber shop, and Li Noodle house were demolished, clearing space for the theatre (Idaho Sunday Statesman April 4th, 1926).
Located on the corner of Main and 7th Street (now Capitol Boulevard), Boise, Idaho, the Egyptian, known also as the Fox in the 1930's, the Ada in the 1940's and again as the Egyptian in the late 1970's, is the last of the downtown single screen theaters. It has survived the Pinney, the Rio, the Rialto (originally the Iris), the Strand (originally the New Boz, eventually the Granada, now the Blues Bouquet), the Grand (later the Boise), and the Majestic.
The Egyptian was placed on the National Register of Historic Places November 21, 1974, sold to the Boise Redevelopment Agency September 1, 1975, and then re-sold in June, 1977 to Boise businessman Earl Hardy; thus surviving a peculiar form of convulsive cultural self destruction known as "Urban Renewal".
In 1978-79, working with Hummel, Jones, Shawver, Miller, P.A. Architects, Mr. Hardy used personal funds and preservation grants to address code, functional and aesthetic liabilities. Subsequently, Mr. Hardy established the Hardy Foundation, Inc. which now owns the building. Presently, the Egyptian Theatre is operated by the Egyptian Theatre Company. The 1999 restoration of the Egyptian was commissioned by the Hardy Foundation, Inc.; Project Architect, Gregory A. Kaslo, AIA.
The Auditorium Proscenium (Historic American Building Survey, HABS No. ID-3) - The proscenium, with much gilded detailing, is the main feature of the auditorium. A large winged scarab, detailed in the drawings, holds a sun disk with uraeus, and is above the cornice torus within a painted geometric star motif panel. Completing the gilded scarab ornament, symbolizing the birth of the sun and centered above the stage are flanking horizontal reed bundles set with three swan-like figures on stylized water. Below, the outer proscenium arch formed by three corbels which at each side are supported by engaged columns.
At each end of the outer proscenium is an affronted war chariot patterned after the "King Seti I Fighting the Hitites" fresco, sacred vulture. Beneath the horses, at each side, a fallen warrior holds a mace and axe. Though an invention, the warriors and the extensive hieroglyphic infillings, like all the painted figures, are accurately depicted, with some license, in terms of ancient Egyptian art. Reading from left to right on the outer proscenium are symmetrically arranged scenes frequently depicted in the "Book of the Dead".
The three figures of the middle corbel depicts a youth with a characteristic side hair knot holding a plume fan above a Pharaoh wearing the crown of Lower Egypt with additional divine symbols, who acknowledges the sun god, Amon-Re, with a double plume, double uraeus, and sun disk crown. This scene is terminated with an afterlife god, Osiris, mummy figure in a sarcophagus framework.
Above the upper left corbel, the Pharaoh, on the right, presents an offering to the seated sister deities, Nephthys (Goddess of the Dead), in front, and Isis (Goddess of Rebirth). Separated by cartouche frames, the central "sun barge" located below the scarab is probably a corruption of the Egyptian "Journey of the Sun" and the classical River Styx-Hades myths. Lack of space at the top of the proscenium seems to have necessitated a simple ferryman conveying three hieroglyphic deity representations across stylized water.
The scene of the upper right corbel depicts a Pharaoh making an offering to a seated Osiris. A second Osiris mummy figure introduces the group to figures of the middle corbel which includes the god of embalming, Anubis; the Pharaoh, wearing the crown of Lower Egypt; and a boy attendant with a side hair knot and a plume fan. The lower corbels are ornamented with a lotus-papyrus band and each corbel is typically edged with a dart border which volutes around paterae at each semicircular end. The soffits are ornamented with continuous coil spirals with centered lotus motifs. This pattern is doubled on the ceiling between the arches.
The inner proscenium arch is characterized by trios of seated harpists flanking a group of figures probably depicting mourners, which are separated from the harpists by mastaba tomb indications and Osiris mummy figures. The false corbel of the inner proscenium has similar dart bordering and lotus-papyrus bands with lotus ornamented soffits. Centered in the corbel recess is a spread winged, sacred vulture between cartouche frames and hieroglyphic representations of various Egyptian deities also depicted on the abacus of the engaged columns.
cachegame