photobyjohnbo

Cellpic Sunday—The Lihue Theater

Lihue Theater

May 2025.
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii.

This Spanish Mission–style landmark has survived hurricanes, disco balls, and roller skates—and today, it stands as a restored tribute to community resilience and architectural grace. The Lihue Theater opened in 1931 with a floodlighted façade and over 880 seats. Kids lined up for the Saturday matinees to watch their superheroes of the day, Flash Gordon (1936) and Superman (1948). Then came the cartoons and the B-Westerns.

Their parents spent their evening at the movies watching dramas and Oscar winners, such as Min and Bill (1930), Grand Hotel (1932), and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). Social dramas like The Good Earth (1937), gangster films like Scarface (1932), and Screwball comedies like It Happened One Night (1934) were often featured as second-run, discounted movies.

By the mid-1970s, the curtain fell on the Lihue Theater’s run as a movie house, marking the end of more than four decades of screenings. Like many small-town theaters, the building didn’t go dark. Over the years, it transformed into a luau hall, a discotheque, and even a roller rink.

Hurricane Iniki struck in 1992, leaving the structure battered but not broken. Preservationists stepped in, and what could’ve been a demolition became a restoration that celebrated the theater’s façade while reimagining its interior as senior apartments. The ornate lobby and foyer were carefully restored to reflect the theater’s 1930s character. At the same time, the cavernous auditorium was transformed into 21 affordable apartments for seniors. The building was renamed the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Apartments, and its rebirth earned recognition from the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in 2000 for excellence in adaptive reuse. Today, the lobby serves as a quiet gallery space, preserving fragments of the theater’s cinematic past for residents and visitors alike.

About the photo: I had to wait until the busy Kuhio Highway was free of vehicles passing in front of the building. I waited probably five minutes until a slight break in traffic allowed me to capture a couple of photos with my Samsung S23 Ultra. I selected the best one to share and made basic adjustments using Adobe Lightroom Classic. I then transferred it to Luminar Neo to use the app’s Remove Power Lines tool in the Erase module. Unfortunately, that tool was unable to find and remove the power lines, a rare occurrence. At that point, I transferred it to Adobe Photoshop and used the Find Distractions > Wires and Cables function, which did a nice job of removing lines from a nearby power pole. I then cropped the image to eliminate the pole and called it finished.

I invite fellow bloggers to join in by creating their own Cellpic Sunday posts. There’s no set theme—the only rule is that your photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule is simple: link your challenge response to this post or drop a comment here with your link so others can find it. And remember, despite the name, there’s no penalty for sharing on a day other than Sunday.

John Steiner

43 comments

  4. A finely captured photo that roused great memories of back when movies and radios were the only entertainment offered media-wise. Our little far-less-grand showed the same movie twice a week on Saturday and Sunday. 25 cents a seat. White River, 23 miles away, charged 10 cents a seat and had movies on Wednesdays, as well. Draper, 7 miles away, a different same movie on Saturdays and Sundays, offering indulgent parents or teens over 16 who had their license and folks willing to lend a car the chance to see three different movies a week. Not often done, but the only entertainment offered other than church, ballgames and “Uing Main Street.” Sound familiar?

    Reply

    • Thanks, Judy! Growing up in a big city in the age of Cinerama, movies for me were once-a-year spectacles that brought me to neighboring Los Angeles for a visual and aural extravaganza.
      As a young man of 18, I moved to a small Minnesota town and made great friends with the main projectionist at the local theater. I paid my admission and knew the way to the projection booth where I sat, high above the audience, watching through the little window. And then, of course, the movies at the local drive-in, first with dates, then with my wife and family.
      I’m glad you reminded me of my early experiences in the heyday of motion pictures. In these days of streaming, something has truly been lost. Sorry for going on about those times.

      Reply

      • Please please go on!!! I love such responses. I had forgotten about drive-in movies. We had to drive 60 miles away to see one but they were big thrills. Once when my sister and I, both in our 20’s, went to see a drive-in movie in Tucson, my mothe rsat in the back seat with a butcher knife in case we were assaulted..ha. She was five inches shorter than me and 40 years older!!!

  5. Fantastic! Excellent photo and a stunning facade, John. I love that second story’s elegant pinnacle…I think it’s called. As always, I enjoyed the history of the building. Love to see these grand buildings given new life. Thank you for your generous insight into the processing of your photo.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Brad. We didn’t stop to see the lobby as we were “on another mission,” so I’ll have to wait until next time to check it out… Look at me, thinking I might be there again. >grin<

      Reply

    • For some reason, even though it shows my profile when I comment, today when on your site, I got an error each time I tried to comment. The error said, “You must be logged in to comment.”
      Here’s my comment for your post:
      Your post taught me something. I thought gathering sap was an autumn thing, like a harvest.
      You’ve showed me the error of my ways.

      Reply

      • Hi! I’ve had similar issues on other people’s posts and have to add comments via the reader. It’s a peculiarity of WP.
        I am glad that you enjoyed the post. Here in New England, the traditional first day of tapping is February 14, but I’ve never seen a winter when we tapped that early. Very late February is more likely.

  13. Nice shot of an Architectural beauty but, as always, you have a gift for detailing the history in a most interesting way. Nicely done. I really enjoyed this post. pp

    Reply

  19. What a wonderful piece of local history you’ve captured here. It’s amazing how this building has lived so many lives, from cinema to roller rink to senior apartments, while still preserving its character. Beautiful photo and story.

    Reply

  21. Love the site! I blog about the New York Mets, mets-madness.com feel free to check out my blog, this link is the correct one if you scroll all the way down on my blog you can subscribe, can you please follow mine too? Let’s help each other grow! -Mikayla Scotlynd Littrell, MetsMadness.

    Reply

  22. What a great piece of local history. It’s amazing how a single building can hold so many memories, from movie nights and cartoons to discos and roller skating. I love that it was preserved and given a new life instead of being torn down.

    Also, waiting for that perfect break in traffic is so relatable when trying to get a photo! It definitely paid off, the shot turned out great.

    Reply

Leave a reply to Kara Simone - The Up Side Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.