Scope and Contents Peery’s Egyptian Theater was born out of the worldwide “Egyptomania” sparked by the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. After their Arlington Hotel burned down in 1923, the Peery family rebuilt on the site, commissioning architects Leslie Hodgson and Myrl McClenahan to design a grand Egyptian-themed “Showplace of the West.” The theater opened in July 1924 with twinkling star lights, neon sunsets, and its first film, Wanderer of the Wasteland. Despite challenges through the Great...