Fourth Avenue Theatre, Art Deco movie theater in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

The Fourth Avenue Theatre, also called the Lathrop Building, was a 960-seat first-run cinema in downtown Anchorage, built from 1941 and finished in 1947 after a wartime halt. Architect B. Marcus Priteca, working with A.A. Porreca, gave it a reinforced concrete frame with travertine facing at street level. The lobby held a gold leaf mural of Mount McKinley, and the auditorium ceiling showed the Big Dipper. It was demolished in late 2022.

The Lathrop Building, including the Fourth Avenue Theatre, was designed by B. Marcus Priteca with A.A. Porreca for Cap Lathrop. Construction began in 1941, halted during World War II, and the 960-seat theater opened in 1947. It operated as a first-run cinema until the 1980s. The building was demolished in late 2022 after redevelopment plans were approved.

The interior features silver and gold murals showing the Denali and other Alaskan landscapes, creating a visual connection to the region's identity. The ceiling displays the Big Dipper constellation, blending the night sky into the theatrical experience.

The theater stood on the block between Fourth and Fifth Avenues and F and G streets in downtown Anchorage. It was demolished in late 2022, so there is no interior to visit; the owner's redevelopment plan called for partial reconstruction of the facade and signage.

The theater's lobby originally had no concession stand, because owner Cap Lathrop considered selling snacks there inappropriate. Its ceiling carried a rendering of the Big Dipper as a symbol of Alaska, and the main house murals were painted on canvas by Anthony Heinsbergen and Frank Bouman of Los Angeles, with Masonite reliefs leafed in gold and silver.