5th Avenue Theatre

The 5th Avenue is more ornate than the Chinese in Hollywood. I love both theatres. I wish someone would give this theatre a proper marquee. This theatre needs both a vertical and canopy marquee lit in neon. The front of this theatre is so boring with a proper marquee. The interior of the theatre is breath taking. brucec

The 5th Avenue is more ornate than the Chinese in Hollywood. I love both theatres. I wish someone would give this theatre a proper marquee. This theatre needs both a vertical and canopy marquee lit in neon. The front of this theatre is so boring without a proper marquee. The interior of the theatre is breathtaking. brucec

Theme theatres were a big part of the Movie Palace phenomenon, and the dazzling 5th AVENUE is certainly among the finest of its type in the nation, and especially since it is one of the few of its type surviving! It was/is so grand that the Theatre Historical Soc. of America sought to do an entire ANNUAL on it in 1984, and the resulting 46-page booklet with both vintage b/w photos as well as full color modern photos is a fitting tribute to this example of high Chinese art. It reveals that the auditorium was modeled upon the imperial throne room in the palace of the Forbidden City in Peking, but in a much larger scale. One has to see the photo of the enormous dragon "grasping for the pearl of perfection" (the white globe of the chandelier) to fully appreciate how vast and elaborate this 'temple' is. The booklet shows in a photo the unusual construction with the entire theatre inside the mass of an office building, thus having a special superstructure needed to hold up the floors of offices above the theatre. Enjoy this example of a fine ANNUAL reflecting one of America's finest theatres.

PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either "Marquee" or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on the sidebar of their first page the link "PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List" and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The "Marquee" magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall ('portrait') format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long ('landscape') format, and are anywhere from 26 to 40 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to loan it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]

Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.

Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at: execdir@historictheatres.org
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)

Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM--4PM, CT)

Anyone out there know of a movie theatre my wife is thinking about that serves cocktails, serves food to you, has nice seating, etc...downtown seattle I guess....we're new here.

Sounds like the person asking about the movie theatre service cocktails and food is thinking of the old Music Hall, which at one point was the home to a dinner theatre, presented by Greg Thompson's Follies. It reopened in the 80's as the Emerald Palace, with a similar format. The Music Hall, which began as the Fox, was torn down in the early 90's --- very sad.

I am visiting Seattle this week and had the opportunity to visit this eye-popping gem. The manager let me in for a quick peek and it is breathtaking. There is so much to see and feel...As Lucy Ricardo once said, it's like a bad dream after eating too much Chinese food, only in this case in a good way. Every surface is covered in something ornate, but I was especially impressed by the auditorium dome, which features a huge golden dragon. Even my 13-month old daughter broke into a big grin when I had her look up at it. I am so jealous that people once paid 25 cents to come see a regular movie show in this dizzy den. In a word, wow.

This theatre, to use Ben M. Hall's immortal phrase, 'out-Chinesed Grauman's Chinese'. Long may it reign!
Amongst many highlights are the exit signs, beautifully done!

The Fifth Avenue's house and stage are not symmetrical, due to the fact that it's shoe-horned into an office building. The walls of the auditorium angle at slightly different angles, and the back wall of the stage is not parallel to the proscenium.

This is a beautiful theatre. I worked there many times after it became a musical theatre house. The basement was given over to the Eddie Bauer store on the lower level, making it a little difficult to load heavy musical instruments into what is a truncated orchestra pit without a pit elevator.

There are some photos of this theater from 1926 on this site. Enter theaters as a search term and browse the photos:

http://content.lib.washington.edu/imls/kcsnapshots/index.html

The 5th Avenue Theatre opened on September 24th. 1926.

The Fifth Avenue Theatre was operated by the Evergreen State Amusement Corp., which was one of the subsidiaries Fox Theatres, National Theatres and later National General Theatres.

Here is a 2001 article from the Seattle Times about the 5th Avenue and other theaters:
http://tinyurl.com/ytlkp

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978

Skinner Building *** (added 1978 - Building - #78002756)
Also known as Fifth Avenue Theatre
1300--1334 5th Ave., Seattle
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Reamer,R.C.
Architectural Style: Other, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Area of Significance: Architecture
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Museum
Current Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Museum

Here are a few interior photos.

When the theatre opened it was part of the Pacific Northwest Theatres Inc. chain, which would later becaome part of the Fox Theatres chain. (see my May 4th. 2006 post for the other chain names)

The theatre did a Full Dress Rehearsal and Pre-Performance on Thursday, Sept. 23rd 1926.

The opening feature was Cecil B. DeMille's "Young April".

This website has information on the Wurlitzer organ and some photos.

Does anyone know if the Wilkes Theater in Seattle is listed under an other name or if it ever showed movies? See photo link:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-desmo/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/imlsmohai&CISOPTR=1865&CISOBOX=1&REC=39

The Wilkes Theater is listed here as the Alhambra Theater. Click here.

1984 Photo

1986 Photo

Additional information can be found here.

The 1984 and 1986 pictures posted above on April 29, 2009 are not of the 5th Avenue. They are of the Music Hall (formerly Fox) Theater in Seattle that was demolished around 1991.

Thanks. I'll post those photos on the Music Hall listing.

After 30 years, Seattle's 5th Avenue has a new vertical marquee.
http://www.siffblog.com//a_sign_a_sign_005283.html
http://www.siffblog.com//and_the_next_day_005284.html