Admiral Theater
2343 California Avenue SW,
Seattle,
WA
98116
2343 California Avenue SW,
Seattle,
WA
98116
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 43 comments found
Grand opening ad from January 22nd, 1942 and May 23rd, 1973 (as twin) has been posted in the photo section.
Thanks all for posting these photos and historical details.
I remember the Admiral from 1952, when I was in 1st grade, and would look out at night from a second floor window at my grandma’s house, mesmerized by the deco neon lights of the theater.
I would love it if anyone has night photos showing the neon “mast”… the P-I photo and other marquee photos do not reveal its true captivating character.
A picture from 1942 that I do not think has been previously posted: View link
Another view of concession stand with mural behind it: View link
Some history and photos on the PSTOS website.
View link
Here is a 2007 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/loul4u
Great 1982 photo! Note the parking sign with arrows. Back when there was PLENTY of FREE parking across the street, instead of condos and retail now.
1982 Photo
Also for A. Alexander…There is a nice interior photo on display at the Seattle Architecture Society under the Rainier Bank Plaza downtown, 3rd level. It’s a photo of the auditorium before it was twinned, probably just as you remembered it. A part of the ceiling and full mural on the wall are visable. It may be what you are looking for (if they can provide you a reprint of it)!
This message is for A Alexander…I could have written the same article!!!!!! Loved to hear that someone remembered that beautiful light in the auditorium with the signs of the zodiac.Sorry to say, I have no photos. I still live in the area & go there from time to time….alot of the theater is still the same. Yes, those were some great times…I went to the admiral almost every saturday for the double feature & would come out of there blinded by the light!! I hope you will find someone who has some photos…keep me posted.
Interesting. They added it to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, even though the original architecture was covered up in the 1940’s. Ironically that designation probably saved the structure.
I used to attend the Saturday double features at the Admiral in the 1950s. I have so many fond memories of the Admiral. Because it was such a huge part of my childhood I want to create a scrapbook page about the Admiral for my heritage scrapbook. Does anyone have any photos they are willing to share with me of the auditorium ceiling before the twining? I remember the beautiful light with the compass theme and the signs of the zodiac. I pray they just covered that up with a dropped ceiling and didn’t remove it. What about the mural paintings on the auditorium walls before they hung the gastly curtins over them? Any asistance anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.
My friend, Dave Fazende, who was operating this theater has passed away suddenly. That is the reason it is now operated by Faraway Entertainment.
A close-up view is here.
Here are more photos that should look familiar to Ken Layton.
I used to service this theater. Roughly 200 to 225 each house.
Does anyone know the seating capacity for each auditorium?
Here is a super nice August 2008 photo.
This is the Admiral Theater website. This one is spelled theater with an “er”. The address is 2343 California Avenue SW.
This is the January 22, 1942 photo linked to twice in above comments. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
It appears to be a slideshow. This is an interior view of the Admiral from that album. Lets see if it moves around.
Apparently you can’t just copy the original page, as the photos seem to jump around. Here is the Portola again:
http://tinyurl.com/3ygpnv
This photo is the same as LM’s on 1/26/07, but apparently it has been colorized. As with the films, not much value to that (in my opinion):
http://tinyurl.com/37bkpy
The left auditorium has always seemed wider to me. Optical illusion, I guess. And thanks for the info re the sound in both houses. I believe at first there was stereo (DTS) in just the left house.
The left hand house has the DTS sound system (I installed it). The right hand house is Dolby type A stereo running thru a Dolby CP-55 processor.