The Liberty Theatre, later known as the Gem, opened 1 February 1911 at a cost of $20,000. The “photo-playhouse” was to be “one of the most modern motion picture houses in the west,” including “many new features which have not before been incorporated in plans for a motion picture house.” Private loges allowed patrons to enjoy “the exclusiveness and comforts of the opera box.”
Two hundred opera chairs are to be ordered for the Star Theater and sloping floor made, a fine new stage made and the building enlarged and greatly improved.