Uptown Theatre
3426 Connecticut Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20008
3426 Connecticut Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20008
60 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 592 comments
This is AMCs ONLY single screen theater.
A former Uptown projectionist who has commented on this page, tells me that until c. 1986, the Uptown’s giant letters on the facade had always spelled out the name in a manner that I think would’ve been like this “U….Up…Upt…Upto…Uptow…Uptown…..U….”
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind 40th Anniversary” (the new 4k restoration only in theaters for one week) is being shown now here. So far as I recall, the 1st classic in many years!
in response to jeffpiatt – there is a ADA certified restroom on the main floor.
Hello-
in reference to sguttag’s comment. many of the most beloved movie theaters across the country were built as very grand neighborhood theaters and only became exclusive 1st run venues years later. for instance the Coronet in San Francisco only became 1st run with the Todd-AO roadshow premiere of Oklahoma in 1955.
Sure, by the 1950s it was 1st run. But it didn’t start out that way.
The Uptown was first-run long before the downtown movie theatres closed. I still have the three ticket stubs my parents and I had for the reserved seat run of SOUTH PACIFIC there.
Yup.
if anything it should get upgraded to Dolby Cinema. Apparently Dolby requires the recliners now for there PLF spec as the seats have a link to the sound system. https://www.amctheatres.com/dolby
The major upgrade is to make it ADA certified as the bathrooms are up a staircase with no lift. if there lucky they have the space to upgrade it to Dine-in other wise it might get stuck on the low traffic Classic brand.
Reclining seats are the LAST thing this theater needs – what a way to cheapen the theaters grandeur – all it needs is a carbon copy of what was done at Seattle’s Cinerama theatre
I hope they put in reclining seats and reserved seating in addition to the updated Uptown sign. It' a true cinema treasure.
It was a sub run theatre. It was “Uptown” because it wasn’t “Downtown”. It became 1st run as the grand downtown theatres closed and people moved further out.
Hello-
a question for devotees of this theater. when this theater opened in 1936 was it built from the get go as a 1st Run venue or was in built as a grand 2nd/3rd run neighborhood theater and only became a 1st Run venue with the advent of the modern roadshow era in the mid-50s?
I have no idea how much it is to showcase Fathom Event satellite feed content or how it’s physically set up as such, but if the few times when it’s actual 4K hard drive DCP – would it kill AMC to present those one off screenings on the big screen ?? Will and would they present the 40th anniversary screening of ‘Close Encounters’ next month ? No, they won’t, but to see these at the Uptown would be more than ideal … (sigh) oh well
To me it seems AMC plans on continuing their lease on t his theater. Any thoughts?
Article: AMC Backs Off Plan To Replace Uptown Theater Sign On Historic D.C. Theater
if they did that they’d have to remove the curved screen to eliminate the inverted fisheye lens flaw, maybe take away the front two rows and add ceiling speakers – go full on twelve channel. If anything AMC really needs to do in order to add bling and attraction is go the ‘laser’ and immersive audio route, this theater deserves state of the art amenities.
I wonder if the upcoming closing of the IMAX theater at the museum of Natural History in DC might make this theater a target for a digital or even laser IMAX screen. It might make more profit that way.
Hello Again from NYC-
I thank everyone for their reply. specifically to Myrna38717. you mention sometimes the Uptown having a decent crowd and sometimes not. I find that fascinating. I have often gone to the many large screens in Manhattan and there are only a few people present. so when the film has a overall HUGE opening weekend I wonder where the grosses came from. also I have gone to the same theaters and encountered a rather decent crowd but the film has an overall lackluster opening. interesting to say the least.
sadly there are a number of premium large format screens in and around DC that offer laser projection and/or Dolby Atmos sound which when compared to the Uptown ‘experience’ are superior
Having seen what I saw with “Spider-Man: Homecoming” the Uptown has a potential to equal or even better what those screens offer.
The Uptown is not owned by AMC so they have no option of selling it. They can walk away when their lease is up (whenever that is).
While the UPTOWN sign is saved, they plan to remove the iconic neon tubes and replace with LED. To me, that isn’t good either and I think the community has a card to play here. AMC plans to add an AMC sign above the UPTOWN one. Fine, in order to do that you not only have to retain the neon of the original sign, the added AMC sign should be required to also be neon to match (it should look like it belongs).
And with that, get a stipulation that they are required to maintain the signs such that the letters cannot remain non-functional for any extended period of time. Say, 3-weeks or so after a portion has failed, they should be compelled to have it working again.
bigjoe59 — Yes. There are a couple of other second-run theaters, and the Air & Space Museum does do 1st run features on the Imax screen, but the Uptown is the only non-museum single screen 1st run movie theater in DC. I think.
Mikeoaklandpark & moviebuff82 — AMC doesn’t own the Uptown. They lease it from the Pedas family, which used to run it (along with many other DC movie houses) up till the 1980s. Not sure when the lease is up or how well AMC does with it. It’s a bit of a mystery. When I go, there’s usually a good-size crowd but sometimes it’s pretty empty, and it’s been years since I’ve seen it full.
Hello From NYC-
Is the Uptown the last single screen 1st run movie theater in D.C.? there’s only 1 left in Manhattan, the Paris.
Smart move given that AMC is in a world of hurt right now…http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-amc-stock-20170801-story.html I’m surprised that this theater has survived so long.
I am amazed that AMC has not sold or closed this theater since they hate operating single screen theaters. Point in case Lowes 72nd East in NYC