The facade has gone from orange to purple to green, but the bas-relief obelisks featured on the outside of Main Street’s Egyptian Theatre have stood firm for a century. The theater has seen ups and downs in its 100 years, from community-led financial rescues to becoming a Sundance staple for the film festival’s 45-year run in Utah.

Construction for the Egyptian began in 1922 on the site of Park City’s Dewey Theatre, which collapsed under a record snow load in 1916. Building of the new theater began the same year that the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb sparked a global vogue for Egyptian-inspired architecture, arts, films, and fashion. Park City’s piece of this trend opened on Christmas Day in 1926. The design advice of a contemporary Egyptologist informed its decorative motifs of lotus leaves, scarabs, and hieroglyphics. Today, it is one of only two Egyptian theaters still standing in Utah, alongside Peery’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden.

The Egyptian played a landmark role in Utah film history from an early date; it was Park City’s first movie theater to show “talkies,” when sound revolutionized the silent film industry. It hosted live performances as well as films, a tradition that continues today; the theater recently converted to an all-live-performance venue, with its YouTheatre programs offering youth performing arts classes and productions.

In 1963, the theater was restyled closer to its geographic roots as the Silver Wheel Theatre. With a new marquee and orange facade, it looked more Western than Egyptian, reflecting Park City’s mining heritage and evolution into a ski and resort town. In 1981, it got a new lease on life as local fundraising, backed by Debbie and Randy Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies, supported a refurbishment and turned it into a home for Park City performances and a venue for the nascent Sundance Film Festival. It hosted numerous breakout film screenings during the festival, including the premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in 1992. 
In the 1990s, the Save Our Stage community group formed to repurchase the theater after foreclosure, enabling the 1998 renovation and the Egyptian’s continued role as a Main Street icon. Its storied film legacy may now be part of the past, but its renewed focus on live and youth performances ensures the Egyptian will be a part of Park City’s future. 

At the Egyptian: Summer & Fall 2026

    Electric Avenue: The 80s MTV Experience (July 2 & 3)
    Frozen–The Live Musical (July 8–12)
    Shrek the Musical Junior (July 24 & 25)
    Sixpence None the Richer (Aug 20–22) 
    Mason Jennings (Sept 24–26)
    Thriller–Odyssey Dance Theatre (Sept 30–Oct 7)  

For a full list of upcoming performances, visit parkcityshows.com