Ruby Theatre, Movie theater in Chelan, Washington, United States

The Ruby Theater is a small movie theater in downtown Chelan, Washington, built in 1914. Its stuccoed facade has a central snack bar window between recessed arched entries, sheltered by a projecting marquee lit with bare bulbs. Inside, a narrow rectangular house seats 225 on the main level and 125 in a horseshoe-shaped balcony, with a twelve-foot stage framed by a gilded plaster proscenium.

Built in 1914 for Herbert R. Kingman and Morrison M. Kingman, the Ruby Theater was named after Ruby Potter, the 15-year-old stepdaughter of manager Frank Potter, who moved his operation there from the Gem Theater. The Kingmans sold it in 1919 to a barber named Kelsey from Omak, whose family ran it until 1937. Apart from 1972–1974, it has shown movies for over ninety years and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 7, 1991.

The Ruby Theater was named after Ruby Potter, the 15-year-old stepdaughter of manager Frank Potter, who moved his operation there from the storefront Gem Theater. Frank Potter killed his wife and himself in 1919. The Kingmans sold the theater that year to a barber named Kelsey from Omak, whose family ran it until 1937.

The Ruby Theater stands in Chelan's central business district, on the main street of a small town in central Washington. The original entrance was in the center of the stuccoed facade, under a projecting marquee lit with bare electric bulbs; the lobby runs the building's full width, with doors into the house on either side. The house is a narrow rectangle, so seats in the last rows sit under a small horseshoe-shaped balcony, and the projection room and toilets are on the upper level behind it.

The Ruby Theater was named after Ruby Potter, the 15-year-old stepdaughter of manager Frank Potter, who moved his operation there from the storefront Gem Theater. The stage still keeps its trap doors and lighting, with storerooms and ventilation equipment beneath it.