Much of the history on the Dime Theater is focused around those who owned or managed the establishment.1 This suggests the theaters used to reputations of the owners more than the popularity of the movies to promote the theater. Coos Bay, or Marshfield as it was formally known at the time, was still in its early years of development. Meaning the town was small enough for the people to know each other well. The theater rarely advertised when or what kind of programs were going to be held, and when there were advertisements in the paper they were most likely short informal notices. However, when formal advertisements were in newspapers, the information was limited to the price of admission, show title, and time of the showing. 'The Dime' was always large in font and notice within the advertisement suggesting the theater was well-known enough for locals to know where it was located and what it was. Suggesting there were few theaters in the area for showing to occur at during this point in history. Since most advertisements about The Dime didn't include specific addresses it suggests that there were few theaters in the area and The Dime was well known enough in the local community for people to know where it was located.
The Dime went through several stages of remodel and periods of shut down due to the reconstruction. One article from the Coos Bay Times in 1908 discussed in detail the manager's pride for the newly developed safeguards the theater had placed in the theater.2 Suggesting that consumers had more concern about their safety within an establishment rather than the new technology advancements coming about. The manager even goes as far as to shame another manager at an opposing theater to emphasize the lack of concern of care they are taking into consideration. This is a valid concern by locals considering the highly flammable material theaters were working with.
There isn't much history on the official start and stop dates of The Dime suggesting that the theater isn't in operation for long or wasn't important enough for the locals to record. Another part of the difficulty could be do the theater having several different periods of closings and reopening.3 The paper never explicitly states how the theater is to be remodeled or what new machinery is being added to the establishment. Suggesting the person writing on the theater wasn't able to get many details on the changes being instated or assumed locals wouldn't care about the changes being made to the theater. Assuming The Dime was one of the few theaters in the Coos Bay Area it is possible locals weren't drawn to the theater because of the experience of being at a theater or even watching films.
