Concrete Theatre

Valerie Stafford grew up in Concrete, lived elsewhere in Skagit and Island Counties for almost two decades, then moved back “home” in 2007.

Valerie is the director of communications at United General Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, a senior adjunct faculty member of Skagit Valley College, and also a group fitness instructor (See Encore Fitness!). She’s the president of the Concrete Chamber of Commerce, a board member of Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, and a steering committee member of Imagine Concrete.  Valerie was named the 2011 Business and Professional Woman of the Year by the Skagit Women’s Network and Alliance.

Fred West grew up in the small town of Randle, WA, and over the years has worked in the logging industry, been a professional scuba diver and scuba instructor, and has owned several businesses, including the Whidbey Island Dive Center. He currently owns and operates
West Yachts, a brokerage in Anacortes.

Fred manages our small farm, where a variety of animals  (alpacas, Nigerian dwarf goats, two horses and a mule, Great Pyrenees, chickens and cats coexist very happily.) He has a pilot’s license, plenty of experience in manual labor and thankfully, lots of patience and energy.

We are pleased to announce a new stage in the history of the Concrete Theatre.  Founded in 1923, the Theatre has had a colorful past, serving as an entertainment center for the earliest residents of the town. The Theatre first showed silent films, then the “talkies,” and also featured boxing matches, vaudeville shows and more.

In more recent years, the Concrete Theatre has changed hands several times, but has always been a very unique fixture of Main Street. We are grateful the site has been maintained, and was even added to the Washington State Historical Registry.

We are enjoying the challenge of breathing new life into the Theatre - but we can’t do it without YOUR help. Please go to the Contact Us page and tell us what’s on your mind, let us know what you’d like to see happen here, or anything else that will help create the new future of the Concrete Theatre.

Thanks!

Valerie & Fred

On September 14, 1916, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the Concrete Theatre in Concrete, in northwestern Washington.  The house was showing three Pathé films the week of the blaze, all of which were claimed by the fire.  

Manager C.D. Stickney reported the venue as a total loss, but the Concrete Theatre was eventually rebuilt -- only to be destroyed by fire again seven years later.  

Down, but apparently not out, Stickney again rebuilt the Concrete Theatre, but this time on a lot directly across the street from his original location.  The change in scene apparently did the trick, for Stickney’s third Concrete Theatre (opened in June 1924) has stood the test of time, and is still located at 45920 Main Street.

Today, the rebuilt Concrete Theatre remains a focal point for the community of Concrete.  On June 5, 1987, the theatre was added to the Washington Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation’s list of historical sites.

Sources:

“`Split Reel’ Notes for Theater Men,” Motography, October 7, 1916, p. 811; “Small Town Theater Burns,” Moving Picture World, October 14, 1916, p. 283; “Seattle,” Moving Picture World, April 26, 1924, p. 718; Beverly Critchfield, “A Welcome Return,” Skagit Valley Herald, December 22, 2005. By Eric L. Flom, January 09, 2008. This file made possible by: The State of Washington, Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.

About the Theatre

From the Ashes