Midvale Main Street · Since 1918
A Century of Entertainment
Six names. One enduring stage on Main Street.
One Address · Many Eras
The room changed because Midvale changed.
For more than a century, this address has made room for moving pictures, live comedy, community theatre, concerts, celebrations, and the audiences who give every era meaning. “Circa” identifies periods where the surviving local record is approximate.
1918–c. 1945
The Iris Theatre
The address entered Midvale’s story during the silent-film era. With roughly 250 seats, the Iris gave local audiences a neighborhood picture house at a time when motion pictures were reshaping American entertainment. It established this stretch of Main Street as a place people gathered after work, on weekends, and for shared cultural experiences.
c. 1945–1975
The Burk Theatre
Renamed the Burk Theatre, the room remained part of everyday Midvale life through the postwar years. The Burkinshaw family carried the theatre through changing film technology, shifting audience habits, and the rise of television—keeping a single-screen neighborhood cinema operating for roughly three decades.
Late 1970s–1980s
Gazebo Theatre & Main Street Cinema
After the Burk era, the building continued adapting under the Gazebo Theatre and Main Street Cinema names. These transitional operations reflected a changing entertainment market, but they also preserved the address’s public purpose: people still came here to watch, gather, and experience something together.
c. 1990–2000s
The Comedy Circuit
Bill “Spin” Spinning brought live comedy and Las Vegas energy into the room. The Comedy Circuit marked an important shift from screen-first entertainment to immediate, performer-to-audience connection. Tile murals and other details from this era remain visible inside the venue today.
2010s–2022
Midvale Main Street Theatre
Tammy and Stephan Ross carried the live-performance tradition forward through children’s theatre, community productions, and locally created shows. Actors, directors, designers, volunteers, and families made the building a working community stage and gave a new generation its own memories here.
July 2022–Present
The Pearl on Main
John Simianer and Peyton Wunderli purchased the building in July 2022 and committed to keeping it active. Working with Technical Director Taylor Dunn, they expanded the room’s identity across concerts, comedy, dance, theatre, film, private events, church gatherings, and community programs. The Pearl preserves the building by continually activating the space—not by freezing it in time.
The next chapter is already on stage.
The building’s history stays alive every time the doors open and a new audience takes its seat.