The Rex Theater at 3809 Yakima Ave., in Tacoma’s Lincoln District, was built in 1919 and stayed in business until 1958. It has 650 seats which included a nursery so mothers with young children could see the films. The property owner was Martin Steffen. In 1958 it was converted to the Tacoma Calvary Temple, a church. And in 1980 it again became a theater, but this time it was porn. I believe the property stood vacant for a while and now it is occupied by the New Restoration Christian Ministries.
A movie database site with this picture can be found here http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/9489 The movie on the marquee is Four Hours to Kill (1935, A murderer eludes his guard and escapes into a theater where the lives of those in attendance are affected by the danger of his presence.)
Update, January 2017: I stopped by again today to capture the theater. It is looking pretty sad. I have hopes that it will be fixed up during the district’s revitalization this year.
I love your blog. I am currently doing research on this building as it is ON THE MARKET! I would love to see it restored!! Thanks for your beautiful blog. 🙂