Uptown Cinemas
511 Queen Anne Avenue North,
Seattle,
WA
98109
511 Queen Anne Avenue North,
Seattle,
WA
98109
7 people
favorited this theater
Originally opened in 1926 as a single screen movie house, the Uptown Theatre received an Art Moderne style facelift in the 1940’s, including its present marquee.
Later divided into three auditoriums, two seating about 170, and the largest, just under 500. The Uptown Cinemas screens first-run features, leaning towards art films.
As of November 2010, movie operator AMC (which took over the theatre when it acquired Loews Cineplex) announced it would close on November 28, 2010. In August 2011, it was taken over by the Seattle International Film Festival, and reopened as an art house cinema in October 2011.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 27 comments)
I suppose Landmark might be interested; they have already a major presence in the Seattle area already, and the Uptown might be a good fit. On the other hand, Landmark has been pulling back on its operations, having left Austin, New Orleans, and Columbus, OH over the last year or so. If it survives as a cinema at all, it might have to go non-profit. If AMC currently owns the building, it might very well put in one of one those “no-theatrical-use” provisions into the sales agreement.
Uptown will close on Nov 28.
Does anyone know if the theatre is turn-key or did AMC take the equipment?
Like most Theatre chains I bet they cleaned it out.Only theatres I know that still have equipment are GCC locations they closed and Couldn’t sell. Augusta,Ga has an 8-plex closed everything in the Theatre and a Triple at the Closed Mall everything there including Rats,Mark.
I read on a site that AMC holds the lease for another year and will just let it run out keeping the building unused. It would seem the location of this cinema could be a sucessful operation, if the lease was reasonable or the building could be bought, by an independant operator. The major chains just don’t want to be bothered with a 3 screen older building. But this theater seems an ideal situation for an independant operator. With the right bookings and alittle refreshing I bet this place could be quite sucessful.
SIFF has acquired the lease for the next five years and will re-open the place as an arthouse on Oct 21: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2015841004_siff07.html?prmid=head_more
Seattle International Film Festival made this announcement earlier today: SIFF is excited to announce the acquisition of the historic Uptown Theater in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. The historic neighborhood theater will re-open to the public beginning October 20, 2011 in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the new SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center, ushering in a new era of film in the Northwest. http://www.siff.net
The Uptown is officially back up and running!!
The Uptown Theatre had a tiny Wurlitzer pipe organ when it opened: opus 1339, built in 1926 for this theatre was 2 manuals and 4 ranks, a style B stock model. It seems the organ was removed in 1930 and is now (supposedly) at the Presbyterian Church in Oak Harbor, Washington.
The December, 2011, issue of Queen Anne Cobblestone, the newsletter of the Queen Anne Historical Society, said that the Uptown Theatre was designed by architect Victor W. Voorhees. The Uptown opened on May 26, 1926, with 749 seats. The original auditorium lost 234 seats in 1984, when the lobby was expanded to serve two new auditoriums that were built adjacent to the original theater that year.
The current marquee of the Uptown was installed as part of a 1953 renovation which was designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca.