This splendid art nouveau movie theatre was the gossip of the city when it opened in 1929, but only nine months later the owner, Thomas O'Brien, went broken and fled, taking with him the week's profits and an usherette. During World War II a cabaret show in the basement was well-liked with Allied servicemen in transportation to the battlefields of the Pacific.

One of the entertainers, Freda Stark, is said to have appeared frequently wearing nothing more than a coat of gold paint - now the coffee shop at the front of the Civic bears her name. The building reopened in late 1999 after being closed for widespread redecoration. To see the best of the Civic, do not limit your visit to standing outside. Sit down to a show or movie, look up to the ceiling, and you will notice a replicated night sky.