The location of the Centre Theater and Shops (NE corner of Broadway and State in Salt Lake City) is the historic site of the first Utah irrigation in 1847. The Knutsford Hotel, Sears Roebuck, and the Auerbach department store then occupied the site for many years until 1935 when the building was demolished as being “unsuitable for modern needs.” In 1936 the Auerbach Company announced the building of a modern theater building and 21 single-level stores on the property (Auerbach’s plans).

The Art Deco-style theater was designed for motion pictures and also had a fully equipped stage. The building was constructed of concrete and fronted with decorative terra cotta (Auerbach’s plans) with a 90-foot tower and a neon-lit circular marquee that resembled the Empire State building (Centre Theater; Roper). Other modern attributes included: a wide 116- foot lobby luxuriously decorated with mirrors and featuring the newest “cove” lighting; the newest and most comfortable type of theater seat with plenty of space for the knees; an RCA High Fidelity sound with “Magic Voice of the Screen” technology; earphones for the hard-of-hearing; and an air conditioning unit that providesd regulated temperatures at all seasons (Smith, Streamlined modern beauty).

The original Auerbach announcement predicted 1400 seats at a cost of $200,000 (Auerbach’s plans) but it came in at 1,623 seats (Quist) and $375,000 (Evans). The Centre Theater was opened on December 24, 1937, with Carole Lombard & Fred MacMurray in “True Confession”.

The Auerbachs sold the Centre to Intermountain Theaters in 1942. Intermountain replaced the original 24-foot screen with a 56-foot screen reducing seating to 1,174. The theater was then sold to ABC Intermountain Theatres (1970), Plitt Theatres (1974), and Cineplex Odeon (1987) (Smith). In 1989, Cineplex Odeon let its lease run out so the owners could demolish the building. A new office tower was built on the site, along with a bland six-screen multiplex (Quist).