Uptown Theatre

I’m not sure when the Uptown first opened, probably in the 20’s or 30’s. It was a standard neighborhood theater back then. In the mid 1950s, it was transformed into a Todd-AO 70mm house, for the roadshow presentation of “Oklahoma!” The long-run hit from those days, though, was “Around the World in 80 Days,” which must have played there for 18 months or two years. The last Cinerama installation in DC at the Warner Theater in heart of downtown Washington was dismantled following the last three-projection travelogue, “South Seas Adventure,” about 1959 or 1960. When MGM teamed up to make a new series of Cinerama films, the Uptown was revamped as a three-projector Cinerama house, running the two MGM titles — “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” and “How the West Was Won” — for several years. When the three-projector Cinerama system was abandoned, the orchestra-level Cinerama projector booths at the Uptown were removed and the theater converted to a single-projector (balcony level) Panavision 70 Cinerama installation for the first of those films — “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and the subsequent releases, the most successful of which was, of course, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which had its world premiere at the Uptown (in the 2 hour and 40 minute version) on April 1, 1968. Kubrick’s trimmed version (to 2 hours and 19 minutes plus the overture, entr'acte and intermission) was soon substituted (as it was elsewhere) and played there for 18 months or so. It would have stayed longer but MGM was eager to get its final Cinerama project, “Ice Station Zebra,” into release and “2001” was given the boot. After the demise of Cinerama, the 70mm projection equipment remained in the theater, though. Occasionally, blowups from 35mm prints were shown in 70mm there over the years, along with the prestige restoration, in 70mm, of films like “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Spartacus” and “Vertigo.” The theater was renovated in the ‘90s, but I think they left the old, deeply curved screen intact. At least that’s my impression from seeing the restored “Rear Window” there two years ago. “2001” was shown again at the Uptown for one-night only in 1993 as an American Film Institute benefit event to mark the film’s 25th anniversary, and the film returned in new 70mm prints for a brief run in late 2001. It remains a beautiful theater, one to treasure.

2001 begins a 2-week run at the Uptown on November 2nd. I’ve gotta get down there somehow!

I’d also like to know when 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY will be coming to the Uptown. I live in NJ, but since it looks like it isn’t being shown in New York, and the Uptown has a real Cinerama screen, it will be more than worth it to make the trip to DC.

Any idea how to get tickets for the premier of the re-release of 2001 at the Uptown Appreciated. This is a great theatre!

3-strip Cinerama installed from 7 No 1962 until 14 Jan 1964.70mm Cinerama from 19 Feb 1964. 146 degree curved screen.76 ft x 28 ft.

In the mid-1960’s I lived just down Connecticut Avenue from the Uptown and went there often. The comment about the big screen is right on target—I saw “Battle of the Bulge” and “2001” at the Uptown, and they were both visually overwhelming.