Discount Cinema 150
2131 6th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
2131 6th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 70 of 70 comments
Thanks Michael! Corrected, it opened in October, NOT November of ‘69. Still a far cry from 1962! And STILL a crime the place is gone.
“This theater, which opened in 1969”
“The twin-cinema (Seattle’s first) was built in 1962 to exploit two of the postwar film business' big-screen fads, 70 mm and Dimension 150.”
“In fact, the theater opened in November of 1969.”
Okay…I looked this up recently in The Seattle Times. The real deal is: the theater opened on October 3, 1969. The debut attractions were “Easy Rider” (on the “150” screen) and “3 Into 2 Won’t Go” on the “70” screen).
Also, long ago I e-mailed Clark Humphrey about that column in The Stranger from 2002. There are several errors in it: First, as mentioned by Michael Coate, Dimension-150 did not exist in 1962. In fact, the theater opened in November of 1969. The first ‘Star Wars’ never ran 24 hours a day! I attended the film MANY times in ‘77/'78 and the showtimes were 1:45pm, 4:30, 7:15 and 10:00pm only. He may be thinking of 'Empire Strikes Back’ or ‘Jedi’ perhaps. And finally, UA did not lease the theatre to a local operator until after the summer of 1990. ‘Die Hard 2’ (in 70mm) was actually the last first-run film to play there. “Demolition Man” was the name of the wrecking company that tore the theatre down. A little advertising for themeselves?
After 3 years, the “entire” theatre is now gone including the marquee signs! There is nothing on the property. I had mixed feelings about the marquee sign not being demolished. A cruel reminder of what used to be there.
Katie, I have some bad news about those signs. They are gone as of today. I am staying right around the corner from this site, and this morning they took down the marquees, leaving just the “United Artists” sign atop. As I looked into my bag to grab my camera to take a picture of that sign, and the construction worker next to it BANG it was gone, falling 50 feet to the ground. Jesus! Just like that. And I missed it. It stood there for years yet in the 30 seconds I wanted to capture it….
The theater was torn down in 2002, and those dated, old signs still stand on the corner. There’s nothing there. Just a big empty parking lot. I swear, those signs are there to taunt theater lovers.
Dimension-150 did not exist in 1962.
I was here only once, on August 21, 1992, to see Brian De Palma’s Raising Cain. Here is an “obituary” by Clark Humphrey that appeared in a column in the paper The Stranger in 2002:
“The United Artists Cinemas 70/150 at Sixth and Blanchard was finally demolished on November 15, four years after the United Artists (UA) chain abandoned its only Seattle branch. The twin-cinema (Seattle’s first) was built in 1962 to exploit two of the postwar film business' big-screen fads, 70 mm and Dimension 150. The 70/150 had its most famous moment as the local first-run home for the original Star Wars in 1977 (at the height of the film’s popularity, the movie ran there 24 hours a day). In the mid-‘80s, the UA chain leased the house to local operators, who briefly renamed it the Seattle Cinedome (no relation to the national Iwerks CineDome chain). UA retook operation of the 70/150 in 1992, operating it for six years as a discount house with midnight cult-film screenings. For its final demise, workers put up one final title on its long-empty marquee: DEMOLITION MAN.”
The UA Cinema 150 was among the theatres included in the original limited-market launch of “Star Wars.” The UA Cinema 150’s 5/25/77 opening-day gross, as reported in Daily Variety, was a house record $8,300.
Thanks Colin. Great Photos (but also sad) photos!
Mark, I do! Several of the interior after some pre-demolition took place (you get the idea what it looked like), and exterior before and during demolition. Glad to send some your way if interested, e-mail me at:
Does anyone have pictures of this theatre inside and out?
Dominique, I thought I kept track of movies shown at the UA 150 second run during the nineties as I continued to attend it frequently, and I don’t recall any of the films you mentioned. ‘Saturday Night Fever’?? Where these specialty/midnight screenings of some sort?
I do agree with you 100% the UA should have beed saved along with (if not instead of) the Cinerama. The Cinerama is cool of course, but the UA had true charm!
God I absolutely loved this theatre. It was my favorite!!! It had the coolest sunken bathrooms and real velvet curtains. It was just huge. The aisles were great, tons of legroom. It was a true cinematic esperience. The saddest part is (to me) is that I never even went to it in it’s heydey, just when it was a second run theatre in the nineties. And it was still the coolest ever. Even now that the cinerama is working and wonderful (thank you Paul Allen!), I still wish it was the UA-150 that could have been saved.<p>
Probably the best film I ever saw there was ‘From Here to Eternity’, which was wonderful. however, I still had loads of fun with ‘Saturday Night Fever’, ‘Rumble in the Bronx’, and ‘Wildthings’. I will never forget this magical place.
Yes, who could forget “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 70mm at the Southcenter Theatre in 1980! I once heard the Southcenter boasted the LARGEST screen in the Pacific NW. Not sure if it was true or not compared to the Cinerama or UA 150.
Paul Allen’s got money invested in the new Cinerama. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Wish I’d known about the seat sale at the UA 150. Would’ve bought a roomful. As for the UA 70, I think it was always a 35mm moviehouse. As for ET, yes, it opened June 11, 1982 on the UA 70 side and then moved to the UA 150 when the 70mm print was released sometime in August of that year. I’ve also been lamenting the loss of the great Southcenter theatre (demolished for a restaurant).
Yes, I had always been curious about the Seattle UA 150 curtain. The rigging and motors must’ve been very complicated because of the curve. I regrete not taking a closer look at it the day I was there buying my seats. I remember it was frozen in the raised position.
I don’t know much about the UA70 as the 150 received all the attention. One could assume it was intended to show 70mm, however the equipment was always 35. I remember that E.T. originally opened on the UA70 screen but was quickly moved to the 150 in 70mm.
I’ve been in dozens of Cinerama, CineMiracle and D-150 houses, but this is the ONLY one where there was a rising contour curtain on a curved track in front of the screen. Must’ve taken motors the size of a Volkswagen to lift that thing. Anybody have any info the UA70 right next door?
This was a very special and unique theatre in the Seattle area. Everyone loved it! It should never have been allowed to become run down by United Artists, closed and finally torn down in 2002. It’s sad, these large screen theatres are being demolished all over the country. Hmm, wonder how long the remodeled Cinerama will eventually last?
Some of my fondest memories are going to movies at the UA. Yes, the theatre and screen were enormous and had a great Dolby Stereo sound system (for the time), but additionaly it simply felt “majestic” and intimate at the same time. Just staring at the huge red and beige curtian, waiting for it to rise gave you a rush of anticipation no matter what movie you were about to see. A feeling and ambiance you just don’t get from today’s multi-plex theaters!
Before the theatre was torn down, the seats were for sale @ $5 each. So I bought several for my home theatre. What a great souvenir!
Sad to see dust and rubble at this site on a recent visit to the city. Used to come down from Vancouver regularly to see Star Wars in 70MM Dolby stereo and those memories are some of my favorite movie-going experiences. Here’s to progress, yecccch.