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Babcock Theatre

The Babcock Theatre is a historic movie theater in downtown Billings, Montana. Constructed in 1907 as an opera house, it replaced an earlier venue on Montana Avenue. Over time, the Babcock transitioned to a movie theater and was remodeled in the Skouras Style in 1955. After initially closing in 1981, the theater opened and closed sporadically in the following decades under a series of different operators. The City of Billings purchased the theater in 2018, and it is currently operated by Art House. With 750 seats, it is the largest single-screen movie theater in the state.

History
Origins Billings was home to an opera house at least as early as 1886, when the Scandia Association's opera hall was built on Montana Avenue by Billings' Scandinavian citizens. This 400-seat venue had closed by the time prolific local businessman Albert L. Babcock opened the 800-seat Billings Opera House down the street in 1896. Babcock's opera house was practical in design, but fitted with electric lights and figural ornamentation. Its opening dedication was given by Nellie McHenry. The Billings Opera House was a popular venue for plays and traveling shows. However, it was destroyed by fire on September 22, 1906. and in-house orchestra. It even hosted a speech by President William Howard Taft in October 1911. the Fox, and the Babcock. The World closed in 1978, when it was replaced by the two-screen World West theater near Rimrock Mall. The Fox was briefly converted into a multiplex before transforming into a performing arts venue, the Alberta Bair Theater, in 1987. The next year, the City awarded an operations contract to Art House, a local nonprofit operating the Art House Cinema & Pub in a former bowling alley nearby. Under Art House, the Babcock again showed films regularly, regaining its reputation as one of Billings' premiere movie theaters. In 2025, the Babcock's ceiling unexpectedly collapsed, prompting a temporary closure. Art House moved forward with restoring the theater marquee, a project which had already been planned. ==Architecture==
Architecture
The Babcock Theatre Building contains the theater, seven retail spaces, and sixteen apartments. It is located next to Skypoint, marking the symbolic center of the city, at the intersection of North Broadway and 2nd Avenue North. The Babcock retains its period ticket booth, lobby ceiling, chrome handrails, proscenium arch, and wall ornamentation. Above the lobby is a mezzanine level, where the restrooms are located, which opens onto the balcony. The theater and retail spaces were originally accessed from an L-shaped arcade (mallway) inside the building. The arcade remains as an interior hallway with original mosaic tile, as well as glass blocks in the floor that help light the basement spaces below. The second floor—accessed from the storefront between the theater and the alley—has 16 apartments. Most are one-bedroom or studio units. Each apartment has an arched window, entrance, and small delivery door that face the main hallway. Some apartments were previously inhabited by members of the Babcock family, and later by the Lipsker family, who owned the building for over 80 years until 2008. ==Notes==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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