VIGNETTE > 142 Throckmorton

Hub Theater – ca. 1920 > click to enlarge

This building was called the Hub Theater when it was built in 1915 as a movie theater showing silent films. Musical accompaniment was in the capable hands of Hattie Thompson at an electrically powered organ. Admission to a Saturday Matinee cost 5 cents. The showing included a Wild West Serial. It closed in 1929 when the Sequoia Theater opened with talkies.

Oddfellows Temple – 1967 > click to enlarge

In 1952 the Odd Fellows Temple (IOOF Lodge #399) purchased the building. In 1976 the auditorium was used for Saturday Night Movies featuring foreign films. The Mill Valley Film Festival has its roots here.

In 2003, Lucy Mercer opened the 142 Throckmorton Theatre as a multi-genre performing arts center. Lucy’s eclectic, high quality programming today attracts over 50,000 people to the nonprofit theatre each year. It has become a favorite venue among performers of all stripes for artistic experimentation and collaboration.

A famous painting can be viewed from the landing on the stairway up to the balcony of the theatre. Jules Mersfelder painted this scene of Mount Tamalpais in 1917. The painting deteriorated while hung in City Hall for many years. Steve Coleman, the theatre’s set and scenic designer, restored it. The lobby of the theatre is often open in the afternoon when other art is on display.