The Eltrym Theater opened on June 12, 1940 on the corner of First St. and Valley Avenue in Baker City. It replaced the Clarick Theater, which burned down in 1937, possibly due to a smoldering cigarette. Its owners, Frank and Myrtle Buckmiller, got to work planning their new theater. The two were married in 1926 in Canada, and both had a history in the theater business. Myrtle was a child prodigy musician who played organ in the vaudeville circuit and helped her previous husband run a theater in Moscow, Idaho and multiple more later in Seattle. Baker locals who remembered her described her as a friendly woman who loved kids and took pride in providing musical education for them. While working in the radio business in Canada she met Frank, a singer, and the pair eventually relocated to Baker City where she started the Baker Theaters Company. With Myrtle as president and Frank as VP, they owned three theaters in town, and performed music together. While planning the Clarick’s replacement, Myrtle had an idea for a massive four story theater called The Tower, to be the tallest building in Baker City. It was reported to include a suite apartment on its top floor. The idea was eventually scrapped, and Myrtle died in Portland in January 1940. Frank continued plans for the new theater, and decided to call it the Eltrym, Myrtle spelt backwards, in honor of his late wife.
The Art Deco building on the corner of First and Valley was designed by Vancouver, WA architect Day W. Hilborn, who was known in the Northwest for designing many Art Deco style movie theaters, such as the Kiggins Theater in Vancouver, the Cameo in Newburg, and the Sellwood in Portland. The Eltrym is distinct for its blue and pink pastel color scheme, which has remained largely unchanged since the theater was built and is present both interior and exterior. Hilborn aimed to mix cool and warm colors throughout the theater. At the time of its construction, it had red carpeting and seats of ‘coral leather.’ The theater is 58 feet wide and 100 feet in length, and at the time of its construction featured one screen with 700 seats. The original screen is 15x30 feet, and was the biggest in Eastern Oregon at the time. The designs also include room to add a 300 person balcony if crowds were larger than expected. In front of the screen, there is a stage designed large enough to attract roadshows and present local theater performances. It was built with fluorescent carpeting lit up by black light. This feature was rare for theaters outside of major cities during this time, and in a June 1940 newspaper article Hilborn said, “We have here a building that would be a credit to Portland or other large cities.” It was built by A. Ritchie & Company starting in January 1940 and cost $70,000. The Eltrym's first showing was The Ghost Breakers on June 12, 1940. The town was thrilled to have a theater back in this location, and the Baker City High School marching band led a parade to welcome the Eltrym. While The Ghost Breakers was shown on opening day, the theater did not often feature first run showings.
In 1950, Frank Buckmiller sold his theater company to Western Amusement, a management company based in California. He retired after 22 years in the theater business and passed away in June 1953. The theater was then managed by Nolan Hartley. By the 1950s, the Eltrym was the only non drive-in in town, and it has remained that way since. During this decade, the theater showed a fairly standard program of films, including many westerns, romances, and comedies. They also hosted community events and some live performances like the chamber of commerce’s annual variety show, high school dance performances, a minstrel show in 1950, and a meat cutting demonstration for the townspeople in 1955.
In 1960, the Eltrym assumed a new manager, Jim Byars, who would run the theater until the late 1990s. He had it remodeled in 1963, expanding the lobby, adding a new heating system and carpets, and a new Cinemascope screen with better lighting distribution. By 1970, Byars was showing adult films at the Eltrym, receiving pushback from the community. He argued that these films were financially necessary for him to stay in business. During the 70s and 80s, there a number of letters sent to the Baker City Herald complaining about the theater, claiming that the theater was dirty, the manager did nothing to control unruly teens making noise and messes during films, and that it had been far too long since the theater showed a G rated film. In 1997 it was purchased by a couple, Rudyard and Forest Coltman, who, in 1998 remodeled it from a single screen to a triplex, and by 2003 it had installed stadium seating. The Coltmans began showing first run films at the Eltrym around this time.
