Ark Lodge Cinemas
4816 Rainier Avenue South,
Seattle,
WA
98118
4816 Rainier Avenue South,
Seattle,
WA
98118
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Functions should include: Movies (film festivals and independent)
Hello:
We have made it happen! The Columbia City Cinema is gone, but we are very proud to say that The Ark Lodge Cinemas is here to stay! We have received full occupancy and have satisfied the City of Seattle, DPD and most importantly the SFD and can say we have turned the historic former Masonic Lodge building into a safe and secure venue for its Columbia City Citizens and neighbors to come watch first run films in digital projection and sound! We want to humbly thank everyone involved in getting the theater reopened and especially thank the Citizens of Columbia City for never giving up the dream of having their neighborhood theater back! Sincerely- Robert B. McRae, Elia C. McRae, and David A. McRae, proud new owners of the Ark Lodge Cinemas.
The theater will be opening earlier than originally planned under a limited-usage basis with a “Lord of the Rings” marathon on Dec. 8, 2012: View article
The Columbia City has a new operator; it is expected to reopen in early 2013 as the Ark Lodge Cinemas with the previous building code violations corrected. View article
An effort has been launched to reopen this theater:
http://today.seattletimes.com/2011/12/seedarts-raising-money-to-reopen-columbia-city-cinema/
The City of Seattle plays hardball with regulations. I remember when the Parkway Plaza 12 was being built. The electrical inspector required the contractor to wire ALL the surround speakers in conduit all the way to each individual speaker’s terminals! Same for the screen speakers too. I guess they were worried about the speaker wire catching fire?
Well the government always wins out because they have the guns. It’s pretty clear that the owner didn’t have “money” to be good to the Mayor. You know the old saying “be good to the Mayor and Mayor will be good to you.”
The theater owner has given up the struggle to keep the theater open and is closing it as of May 5, 2011: View link.
One would think the State Of Washington would offer alternative fund raising avenues, after shutting down the plan theater owners came up with. There must be some mixed use funding available, incorporating use by one of the nearby schools or something.
The owner of the this theater is now hoping to raise desperately needed cash by selling the theater’s seats: View link
The State of Washington has blocked the proposed stock sale, which most likely means that the theater will be closing soon: View link
It is open (apparently only the upstairs theater was temporarily closed) but struggling financially; the owner is planning to offer shares of stock. If this effort fails, the theater will probably close. Story here: http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/429271_theater29.html
The City had shut them down for a while because of a lack of fire sprinklers.
The Columbia City Cinema is now a triplex with two small 100 seat theaters added on the street level. The original cinema is located on the second floor.
Oops,forgot something: it has 204 seats and is independently owned by Paul Doyle, who ran the Grand Illusion in Seattle’s University District for 20 years.
This is a former Masonic Lodge, not an IOOF hall. The auditorium walls also have the Greco-Roman columns, but smaller than on the facade.