At 6:30 p.m., as the sun began to set, the audience, decked out in mostly black outfits and band T-shirts, let out a loud cheer. In the space above the front entrance, where previously a simple black awning had hung, an art deco-style marquee flickered to life, illuminating the busy stretch of Main Street.
The marquee, a replica of the theater’s original marquee from 1924, was designed to commemorate the building’s 100th anniversary. Fabricated by Mesa-based Arizona Commercial Signs, the replica sign features engraved hieroglyphics, copper-hued pineapple finials, and the iconic image of King Tutankhamun’s mask. Surrounding the structure, LED lights mimic traditional incandescent bulbs and offer a golden glow when illuminated. A large electronic display announces upcoming shows.
“We’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” says Michelle Donovan, owner and operator of the venue. “We thought that with this being the 100th year, it would be a good time to have it made and to celebrate. It’s like the finishing touch for the facade.”
The influence of ancient Egypt
The Nile was born at a time when Americans were fascinated by all things Egyptian. In the early 20th century, archaeologists regularly were discovering new tombs, temples and treasures in the northeast African country. Then in 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter uncovered what would become one of the most significant archaeological finds in history: King Tut’s tomb.Brimming with gold and jewels and packed with furniture, artwork and the young pharaoh’s mummy, the tomb sparked what is known as “Tutmania” or “Egyptomania.” Egyptian styles and themes permeated fashion, literature, art and cinema of the time. And Egyptian revival architecture drew inspiration from the geometric shapes and motifs found inside Tut’s burial chambers.
In a fortuitous coincidence of timing, less than two months before the historic discovery, Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre had opened on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Its grandeur and style, combined with the news of Carter’s find, inspired the development of a rash of similar movie palaces.
“Starting in the early 20th century, there was a new interest in things Egyptian. There were a couple of buildings constructed in the Egyptian manner. One was the Tempe National Bank at Sixth Street and Mill Avenue, which was a huge contrast from anything elsewhere in the Valley. It had a white glazed brick that had to have been absolutely brilliant in the sunlight, and it had a strong Egyptian theme,” says Victor Linhoff, president of the Mesa Preservation Foundation.
“By the time the Nile was built, some of the explorations of the pyramids were taking place, and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb had mesmerized the world and brought attention to Egypt. Around the country, it was popular to build movie palaces with an Egyptian theme. In Arizona, the Nile was unique because nothing like that had been built,” Linhoff continues. “There’s no documentation that we’ve seen that shows why the group of people who built it chose that theme, but one can only imagine that with all of the news about Egypt and the excitement of the days of the pharaohs, that it would be the motif they would pick.”
By the early 1930s, there were more than 100 Egyptian theaters across the country. Today, fewer than 10 remain.
High-tech and high-style
The Nile Theater opened its doors to great fanfare on Sep. 2, 1924. Newspapers around the country lauded its development; The Arizona Republic even devoted an entire section to the theater, heaping praise on every detail, from its design to its opening performance.“When it opened, magazines and newspapers from all over the country, all over the world, were congratulating the theater,” notes Mesa historian and documentary filmmaker Bruce Nelson. His 2016 documentary “Nile Theater: An Oasis in the Desert” looks at the history of this landmark building. “King Tut’s tomb had just been found and everybody was doing that kind of thing. It was really, really big at the time.”
The development of the Valley’s first movie palace was a collaborative effort by three of the state’s leading movie moguls: Jo E. Rickards, Harry L. Nace and William Menhennet. The trio hired architect Hugh C. Gilbert to bring their vision to life at a cost of more than $200,000 (more than $3.6 million in today’s economy). They named their theater The Nile.
“Following a thought that has often appeared that the Salt River valley of Arizona is the only rival to the fertile Nile region, the management of the theater conceived the idea of naming their house after the historic river of Egypt and carrying out in every way a comprehensive Egyptian plan even in the minutest detail of decoration,” the Republic wrote in an article titled “New Edifice Marks Triumph in Field of Valley Playhouses.”
The building, which occupies a lot 50 feet wide by 150 feet deep, was constructed of red Lehi brick. Outside, a colossal sign ran across the front of the building. Surrounding the theater’s name were the winged sun, which represents the omnipotence of the sun god Re, and a pair of lions, symbols of royalty and the guardians of temples. Below it, the ornamental marquee heralded the current attractions in electric lights.
The Republic wrote, “The Nile Theater … is one of the most beautiful and best-arranged show houses in the Southwest.” In one of its many articles about the project, the newspaper referred to the lobby, “done in characteristic Egyptian scarabs”; the inner lobby, “done in exquisite polychrome tints and embellished Egyptian heads”; and the auditorium, “decorated in characteristic Egyptian color scheme.” The grand organ grill was surrounded by a network of Egyptian plastic art, and the front curtain showcased a reproduction of a scene from ancient Egypt.
The Mesa Tribune noted, “Mesa leads the Southwest with its palatial new theater — The Nile — supplied with every comfort that money and brains can devise — equipped with the best of machines — the finest and most comfortable of chairs — decorated like a king’s palace in pure Egyptian. It is something in the South to point to with pride.”
But the Nile was more than a stunning piece of architectural design. It also was the most state-of-the-art venue in Arizona. It was the first building to feature air-chilling technology. An innovative system blew air over ice stored in an iron bin in the alley behind the theater and vented the cold breezes into the audience chamber through a series of ducts that ran underneath the 700 seats.
“It wasn’t true air conditioning as we know it today,” Linhoff notes. “It was a form of evaporative cooling, but it did a good job of cooling down the theater.”
The building also featured an advanced lighting system. According to the Republic, “On either side midway between the floor and ceiling there runs a continuous trough of transfused colored lights, which are changed at will to serve the several effects necessary in atmosphere presentation of the pictures. These troughs of lights which ornament the walls of the theater are broken at the interactions with Cleopatra Egyptian heads and the heads are diffused with colored lights, softening them to neutral tints.”
Five years after they opened The Nile, the team of Rickards, Nace and Gilbert designed and built the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix.
A temple of entertainment
From its inaugural viewing of “The Sea Hawk,” the silent film adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s 1915 novel of the same name, to vaudeville shows, wrestling matches and live performances, the Nile was the place to go for entertainment. Folks would travel from downtown Phoenix to see Charlie Chaplin imitators and bicycle shows.“You have to remember that this was a transition time,” Linhoff says. “In some cases, people were still using horses and wagons. It was a day trip to ride in a car on mostly dirt roads all the way between Phoenix and Mesa.”
It also was a time of segregation. When the Nile first opened, it was a whites-only establishment. At the time, minstrel shows were a popular attraction. “Arizona was one of the main lines for minstrel shows coming from the north down or from the south on the way to San Francisco. And this was one of the main venues. Some of the biggest minstrel superstars came through here,” Nelson says.
The Nile desegregated in 1938, but even then, Black audience members had their own seating section in the back of the theater.
Following World War II, interest in the great movie palaces waned. The development of more theaters, including the Orpheum, and the expansion of television, played a role in their demise. The Nile was no different. By 1951, the theater closed its doors.
The building was stripped of its Egyptian ornamentation and redesigned into a retail space. Over the next 30 years, it served as a clothing store. The main floor was divided, and tenants included a sewing machine business and a jewelry store.
“When it was redesigned for a retail space, a lot of the original detail that could have been saved was pulled out. It probably went to a landfill,” Linhoff notes. “It’s sad that nothing was saved.”
Second — and third — act
From 1994 to 2002, the Nile operated as a live music venue for goth, punk and hip-hop. Some of the top acts of the time performed at the Nile, including Marilyn Manson, Sublime, Blink-182, Rancid and Mesa’s own Jimmy Eat World. But what was once a sparkling symbol of culture in the East Valley had since become a focal point of criminal activity.According to a 2003 report by the Mesa Police Department, during a three-year period, the Nile was the site of a homicide, several stabbings, firearms violations and numerous drug- and alcohol-related arrests. Nearby businesses complained about vandalism, loitering, fighting and litter. A performance by the band Eroticide resulted in several violations for sex acts and public sexual indecency. And in May 2000, NBC’s “Dateline” aired an expose of the illegal drug use by teens at raves at the Nile, with its hidden cameras capturing ecstasy sales within 30 seconds of entering the venue.
“It was a lot rowdier then,” recalls Donovan, who used to frequent the club during her high school years.
The Nile closed in 2002, and the building was taken over by Faith Harvest Church, which remained in the space until the building was sold and transformed once again into an entertainment venue.
Donovan has been managing the Nile since 2009.
“We had to overcome a lot of hurdles that the previous version of the venue created,” she explains. “Mesa had kind of a bad taste in its mouth about the Nile Theater, but I feel that we’ve been able to change the perception of that. And by leaning into the history and the importance of the history of this building, it allows people who live downtown, or people who come downtown, to take ownership of the space because it’s been here for so long. It’s kind of like a beacon of what it used to be, but at the same time, we’re providing entertainment, so it’s like mixing old and new.
“And I think it’s important for historic places in downtown to still look and feel the way they did, because it makes it feel established,” Donovan continues. “You can’t get an original Lehi brick 1924 building that’s still being used to entertain people. You can’t remake that authenticity.”
In recent years, the Nile’s exterior and interior have received much-needed renovations. In 2018, the city of Mesa removed the universally disliked colonnade that blocked views of local businesses and prevented buildings from receiving historic designations. At that time, the stucco coating was removed from the Nile’s facade, revealing the original Lehi brick exterior.
Inside, Donovan renovated the lobby and the bathrooms and painted the interiors. The coffee shop that was once sublet was brought in-house under the same name. It opened in 2015 and serves locally roasted coffee, pastries and a vegan food menu.
Two summers ago, the entire sound system was overhauled to a state-of-the-art L-Acoustics system. And best of all, proper air conditioning was added. “We don’t have investors,” Donovan notes. “So everything that we renovate is using money that we’ve made and are reinvesting. It’s brick by brick, and we’re improving as we can.
“We’ve prettied her up a lot since I used to come here,” Donovan adds with a smile.
These days, the theater offers three performance spaces: the lobby/coffee shop, the upstairs main venue and the basement Underground. In any given week, the Nile can host 21 shows, from poetry readings in the coffee shop to metal bands in the main room to hip-hip in the Underground.
With an overall capacity of almost 1,300 people, crowds can gather rapidly. But Donovan is quick to point out the differences between the audiences of today and those of the late ’90s. “We’re an all-ages venue, and our job is to create a safe space for kids to come to where their parents feel that it’s OK. It hasn’t always been that way,” she says. “We don’t want to upset our neighbors, and we don’t want the Nile to live up to its past, so we make sure that we’re doing everything we can to be respectful to downtown.”
Part of that respect is returning the Nile to its former glory. And Donovan’s work has not gone unnoticed.
“The Nile has been a cornerstone of downtown Mesa since it first opened its doors as a theater in 1924. It was one of the premier spots in town, where families and friends would gather to catch the latest films and live performances,” says Mesa Mayor John Giles. “Michelle’s stewardship has been a tremendous benefit to Mesa. She’s not only preserved the historical essence of the building but also reimagined it as a community hub. The building is a reminder of our city’s rich history, and Michelle’s dedication is ensuring that it will continue to be a point of pride in our community for future generations.”
