Uptown Theatre

3426 Connecticut Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008

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SethLewis
SethLewis on March 14, 2020 at 5:18 am

Saw 12 Monkeys here with a nearly full house on the Saturday night after the 1997 blizzard…people were desperate to go out. Great Chinese restaurant next door – sizzling rice soup! Also saw American President and Twister here with decent crowds

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on March 13, 2020 at 10:34 pm

Oh wow. What sad news among everything else that is going on. The Washington Post has an article today on the closing online. I’m surprised the venue was kept open this long to be honest. My last experience there a decade or so was poor. I think I saw Dreamgirls here. Ok, that was 15 years ago.

I suppose when they got rid of their 70mm projectors it sealed its fate as just another theater. The opportunity to offer counter programming with occasional 70mm retrospectives gone. Not that the AFI Silver doesn’t do them, but honestly, its not as immersive as the Uptown.

Maybe we should write Jeff Bezos to buy the property and do a Paul Allen and modernize and restore the Uptown ala Seattle’s Cinerama. :) How cool would that be? Restore 3-strip Cinerama, 70mm, maybe do an IMAX laser install, or Doug Trumbull’s new HFR 3D laser system.

I’d do it but I’m $9,999,999 short of being a multi-millionaire. :( :)

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on March 13, 2020 at 5:51 pm

Hello- from NYC-

was this closure(hopefully temporary) something that was talked about in a hush hush way for years like the Ziegfeld or was it a sudden thing that shocked even the staff of the theater. its like the 86th St. East in Manhattan. the theater closed the last week of May 2019 and even many staff members weren’t even aware it was closing.

SethLewis
SethLewis on March 13, 2020 at 4:12 pm

A huge shame…a great place to see a movie

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on March 13, 2020 at 12:37 pm

AMC confirmed they will no longer operate the theater. “Yesterday was AMC’s final day of operations at the location and all associates have been provided the opportunity to move to nearby AMC locations,” AMC director of corporate communications Ryan Noonan told WTOP. https://wtop.com/entertainment/2020/03/uptown-theater-historic-host-of-2001-jurassic-park-premieres-closes-in-dc/

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on March 13, 2020 at 6:16 am

Many loving tributes online over time, including this article https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/film-tv/article/21016116/an-oral-history-of-dcs-uptown-theater

Michael R. Rambo Jr.
Michael R. Rambo Jr. on March 12, 2020 at 5:15 pm

It could also be that the film they were supposed to get was pushed back. I don’t know.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on March 12, 2020 at 2:01 pm

Hello from NYC-

is there any further info as to whether this theater
is closing? I’m still heartbroken over the closing of
the Ziegfeld.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on March 12, 2020 at 1:39 pm

No movies listed after today! If closing, I hope another movie operator takes over the Uptown!

markp
markp on March 12, 2020 at 12:51 pm

I don’t know if I saw this right, but on facebook today, someone posted to Cinema Tour that this theatre is going to close. Is this true??

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 18, 2020 at 9:42 am

Giles, perhaps the Uptown was still using side masking in April when you witnessed the mistake, and as you stated, did not have reserved seats, but changed both factors by July? As I stated, Knives Out is flat, meaning 1.85, but was not masked in December. Being in Philly, last I was at Mazza Gallerie was December 2017, when some screens did use masking. If I lived in DC, I’d visit both the Uptown & the Mazza Gallerie more.

Giles
Giles on January 17, 2020 at 10:28 pm

Off the top of my head, I know that Mazza does side horizontal masking for ‘flat’ movies on screen 1,2 and 4. The Uptown to my knowledge has also done this for 1.85 AR movies. They really screwed up last year’s presentation of ‘Missing Link’ which was a scope movie, but side masked off the left and right sides of the image. For ‘Missing Link’, in April, there was no assigned seating but by the time I saw ‘The Lion King’ in July they had added seat numbers/assigning

markp
markp on January 17, 2020 at 12:27 pm

Its AMC. They don’t use masking in any of their theatres.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 17, 2020 at 6:29 am

In December, I enjoyed seeing Knives Out at the Uptown. Seating is now reserved! When did reserve seating start- they didn’t have it last December. And, the “flat” (not scope) movie was not matted/masked. I had not seen a flat movie at the Uptown in years. When did the theater stop matting flat movies?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on July 12, 2019 at 1:55 pm

Hello-

I thank everyone for replying to my post about Circus World’s roadshow run at this theater “in Cinerama”. its run of only 3 weeks still baffles me. did it not have any advance sale?

Local619
Local619 on July 11, 2019 at 9:26 pm

Per the Washington Post.. Circus World was running 11-17-64.. Lili ran 11-20-64 to 12-24-64.. Father Goose then ran 12-25-64 until 3-7-65.. The theatre was closed 3-8 & 3-9 then The Greatest Story Ever Told opened 3-1-65 with advance mail order ticket sales.

Mark_L
Mark_L on July 9, 2019 at 7:22 pm

While I don’t have 100% of the data, the average run of CIRCUS WORLD was about 11 weeks. The Uptowns may have been the shortest.

There is a gap in Cinerama showings at the Uptown from 11/16/1964 – 3/8/1965. I have no idea what ran at the Uptown during that period.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on July 9, 2019 at 4:41 pm

Hello-

I did in fact ask the question a while back and I mean
a while back but it was kind of you to answer the question again. the one bit of info on the list that still has me scratching my head is the roadshow run of Circus World “in Cinerama” at this theater which lasted only 3 weeks. I admit it wasn’t exactly Oscar material but I watched an HD transfer on YouTube and thoroughly enjoyed its colorful hokey-ness. the film’s roadshow run “in Cinerama” in Manhattan lasted I think 14? weeks.

MSC77
MSC77 on July 9, 2019 at 3:33 pm

bigjoe59: Didn’t you ask this a while back? And, if I remember correctly, it was answered with a venue by venue breakdown of the roadshow bookings. Anyway, the answer you’re seeking can be found in the article Showcase Presentations in Washington, DC.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on July 5, 2019 at 5:43 pm

Hello from NYC-

during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972) which theaters in D.C. aside from this one and the Warner did the studios use on a regular basis for their roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on January 13, 2019 at 4:28 pm

Hello-

on the photo page is an ad for the World Premiere opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. right above it is' an ad for the roadshow engagement of Camelot at the Warner. said theater was fully renovated but no longer shows films. would anyone know the last big studio film to play an exclusive engagement here?

moviebuff82
moviebuff82 on January 11, 2019 at 5:32 pm

Now called the AMC Uptown 1.

moviebuff82
moviebuff82 on August 3, 2018 at 3:27 pm

I wonder if any president has visited this theater since it’s in DC. I know there’s a theater in the White House used solely for the president and his family.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on August 3, 2018 at 2:52 pm

That is the post, Steven, thanks, though the copy & paste does work for me as to the 2001 70mm Imax link.