Uptown Theatre

Opened as the Empress Theatre, it was later renamed the Paramount Empress Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and finally Uptown Theatre.

The theatre was demolished to make way for the ZCMI Center shopping mall. Because of concerns from the mall’s owner, LDS Church, about the showing of R-rated movies, a new theatre was not built to replace the Uptown Theatre. The mall is also closed on Sundays.

Recent comments (view all 13 comments)

lostmemory on September 14, 2005 at 1:28 pm

Here are some photos of the former Uptown Theater in Salt Lake City. Click on photos to enlarge.

utahguy on July 17, 2007 at 10:40 pm

The ZCMI Center is being demolished, as far as I know, in the big downtown re-do that the LDS Church is doing.

lostmemory on May 23, 2008 at 2:14 pm

This is a photo of the Empress Theater at 53 South Main Street. Date given for photo is January 14, 1913.

kencmcintyre on November 17, 2008 at 10:17 pm

Here is an article about the demise of the Uptown. Date is 7/21/71:
http://tinyurl.com/6zjx5r

lostmemory on February 6, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Here are some photos of the Empress:

1911 interior view

1911 exterior view

1911 Interior view 2

1912 exterior view

1913 rear of building

rivest266 on February 22, 2010 at 6:38 pm

Marcus Loew’s taken it over on September 11th, 1914
ad is at View link

rivest266 on February 27, 2010 at 1:01 pm

The ad that ronp mentioned on June 6th, 2009 can be seen at View link

kencmcintyre on March 18, 2010 at 8:00 pm

The Uptown can be seen in this night shot circa 1950s:
http://tinyurl.com/y9z9b8j

Mike Rogers on December 28, 2010 at 1:34 pm

Henry Fonda had a nice run with “THE MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD WOMEN” here at the UPTOWN in October of 1959.

Tinseltoes on June 12, 2012 at 10:28 am

Here’s a view of the Paramount Empress in a 1920 trade journal: archive