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The Queen was built in 1947 and had a 540-seat auditorium and a large lobby.
In
December 1977, Consolidated Amusements renovated the theater, spending between
$8,000 and $9,000 on new equipment, including a completely new sound system. A
new screen was to be installed in the beginning of 1978. At the time,
the Queen was showing second-run films.1
In 1993, Consolidated Theaters opened a new 8-screen theater near the Queen. For
a while both theater tried to show first-run movies, but the new Gateway 8
drew away most of the business from the Queen. Consolidated
thought about impact the Gateway 8 would have on the Queen before they built
it, but "the primary consideration was that the
opportunity at the Gateway far outweighed the opportunities at the Queen."2
The Queen closed 23 December 1994, with a sale pending on the property. In
April 1997 the Bountiful City Council approved a plan to demolish the
Queen theater and build a Deseret Book store in its place. Consolidated
Theaters, which still owned the property, was going to lease it to
Deseret Book.3
1. "Queen to reopen", Deseret News, 23 December 1977, C8
2. "Once-Majestic Queen Theater Dethroned",
Deseret News, 15 March 1995, page B3
3. "Curtain falling on stately old Queen", Deseret News, 30 April 1997, page B2
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