Alberta Bair Theater, Performing arts center in downtown Billings, Montana, US.
The Alberta Bair Theater is a 1,394-seat performing arts center at 2801 3rd Avenue North in downtown Billings, on land that was once Charles M. Bair's homestead. It opened in 1931 as the Fox Theater, an Art Deco house designed by Robert Reamer, and was renamed in 1987 after Alberta Bair, who was born on the site and gave the largest donation to its 1980s renovation.
Designed by Robert Reamer in the 1920s, the theater opened in 1931 as the Fox Theater, the last of the Fox Corporation's vaudeville and motion picture houses, built during the Great Depression with budget cuts. After decline in the 1950s and 1960s, a "Save the Arts" campaign bought the run-down building; it reopened in 1987 as the Alberta Bair Theater, named for the donor born on the site. A $13.6 million renovation in 2019-2020 added ADA access and new electrics, and it reopened in September 2021.
The theater's name honors Alberta Bair, the last surviving member of the family that once owned the land; she was born on the site and gave the largest donation to the 1980s renovation. Volunteers usher and staff events, and discounted student tickets with educational materials serve around 25,000 students each year.
The theater is at 2801 3rd Avenue North in downtown Billings, on the site of the former Charles M. Bair homestead. The 2019–2020 renovation made the building ADA-accessible, with new seats and updated electrical systems. It reopened in September 2021.
The theater is the only performing arts center between Spokane, Washington, and Denver, Colorado, fully equipped for major professional touring companies. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose volunteer program handles ushering, clerical work and specialized projects, and its educational programs serve around 25,000 students annually.
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