SIFF Cinema Uptown
511 Queen Anne Avenue North,
Seattle,
WA
98109
511 Queen Anne Avenue North,
Seattle,
WA
98109
8 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Seattle International Film Festival (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: AMC Theatres, Loews Cineplex, SRO Theaters, Sterling Theaters, Inc.
Architects: Benjamin Marcus Priteca, Victor W. Voorhees
Functions: Movies (Film Festivals), Movies (Foreign), Movies (Independent)
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Uptown Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
206.324.9996
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- May 20, 2014 — SIFF makes theatre moves
- Oct 23, 2011 — Seattle Film Festival's new home opens
- Aug 9, 2011 — SIFF to reopen Uptown
- Nov 24, 2010 — AMC to shutter historic Uptown Cinemas in Seattle
The Uptown Theatre was originally opened by Hamricks Theatres on May 25, 1926 as a single screen movie house with John Barrymore in “The Sea Beast”. The Uptown Theatre received an Art Moderne style facelift in the 1940’s, including its present marquee.
On February 8, 1985, two additional screens were added in adjacent properties, each seating about 170. The original 500-seat auditorium remained intact. The building next door, that was previously a restaurant was torn down (keeping the original façade) with the building of Seattle’s first stadium seating auditoriums. 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 22 comments)
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.
SIFF now own the Uptown Theatre,
The SRO chain added two more screens in adjacent property in 1984, not 1989.
In reference to markinthedark’s question, AMC left all booth equipment in place. The theatre had been on life support (very poor business) for some time before AMC closed it, everything throughout the theatre was in pretty rough shape. SIFF has retained 35mm capability in all 3 houses and has also installed digital on all screens and installed a second 35/70 Century projector in Booth 1 to give us 2 projector changeover capability in the large house. The smaller houses have single projectors w/platters. I work for SIFF as a projectionist.
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The Uptown’s year-long run is mentioned in the piece.
Opened on May 25th, 1926 by Hamrick’s theatres and reopened with 3 screens on February 8th, 1985. Grand opening ads posted.