Alexander C. Gordon

Obituary

March 29, 1872 – August 16, 1943

Theater Man Dies in Boise

August 16, 1943 – Alexander Cornell Gordon, 71, a prominent Boise theater owner and Idaho resident for 45 years, passed away Sunday morning at his home on North Twenty-fourth Street in Boise.

Born on March 29, 1872, in Saranac, Michigan, Mr. Gordon spent much of his early years in Michigan and Minnesota, where he worked with his father in the brick manufacturing business. In 1897, he relocated to Port Orchard, Washington, to run a brick manufacturing operation and contributed to the construction of the Cascade Locks.

Mr. Gordon moved to Weiser in 1898, where he established another successful brick manufacturing plant (Weiser Brick Company.) This facility, operational for 45 years, supplied bricks for numerous structures between Boise and La Grande, Oregon.

In 1916, Mr. Gordon shifted to the motion picture industry in Weiser (Star Theater) and later purchased the Rialto Theater in Boise in 1928. In 1938, he expanded his ventures by building the Rio Theater adjacent to the Rialto.

He married Bessie B. Hamilton in December 1898 in La Grande. Mr. Gordon was a member of Boise Lodge 310, B.P.O.E., and the K. of P. Lodge in Weiser.

Surviving Mr. Gordon are his widow, three sons—Howard Gordon of Weiser, Stanley Gordon, and Harry Gordon of Boise—two daughters, Miss Orpha Gordon of Los Angeles and Mrs. Virginia Cross of Seattle, as well as five grandchildren.

Services will be held Wednesday at Northam Chapel in Weiser, with Rev. Ed Cunningham officiating. Myrtle Lodge of K. of P. will conduct the services at the family plot at Hillcrest. Schreiber and McCann of Boise are handling arrangements.

From The Idaho Statesman – Boise, Idaho – Aug, 18, 1943 – Page 3