This theater was a near identical twin of the Factoria Cinemas in it’s original 3 screen configuration. Two 400 seat houses at either end of the building with a 200 hundred seat house between. It opened about 6 months after the Factoria. All booths were identical insofar as equipment goes. New Simplex 35 projectors with lens turrets, rebuilt RCA 9030 soundheads, Xetron 2000W lamphouses. Dolby stereo with CP 50’s and BGW amplifiers in each house. The booth did not originally have platters, SRO seemed to prefer Cinemeccanica towers as film transport devices during this time frame. I worked there in the 1981/82 time frame a few times as a relief projectionist. It was always a nice house to work, SRO took very good care of their theatres as well as their employees. SRO was a class act, they were not a cheap operator.
I drove by on my way back from Portland yesterday. The theatre remains closed but the lobby has been rented out as retail space. The exterior of the building is in perfect condition, the grounds and parking lot are well maintained.
One of the nicest features about working at the John Danz as an IATSE projectionist was the fact that the building was partially built into a slope. At the rear of the theatre was a door that led directly into the booth with only 3 steps up. Also, a reserved projectionist parking spot next to the door.
The Lake was at first a single screen. Judging from it’s appearance, I would guess 1940’s or early 50’s construction. In 1979 or 80, the original auditorium was split and 2 new ones added alongside for a total of 4. It closed when the Fairchild Cinemas opened.
One of several new high rise office towers for Amazon now sits in the site of the KIng. One of the plastic panels from the “King Kat” sign now hangs on the wall of a coffee shop across the street.
Ericrising; I worked there as an infrequent relief projectionist from November of 1981 until October of 1982 when I went full time. When I started, Henry Cannon was the chief projectionist and Jerry Keene was the #2. I replaced Jerry when he left in October 1982. Henry is in his 80’s, still active and happy in retirement. Jerry left town shortly after he left the King.
As of June 14, this former theater is vacant and available for lease. Given the incredible construction boom in downtown Seattle that is presently underway, I don’t doubt that it will be demolished in the not too distant future to make way for yet another high rise.
As a Union projectionist, young and new to Seattle, I got very lucky and wound up running Raiders matinees in 70mm all Summer long in 1981. The booth had been automated by the time I came to the Southcenter. It had a single Century JJ II projector (it’s mate went to the John Danz Theatre in Bellevue), a Christie Autowind 3 platter, Xetron 4,000 watt Xenon lamphouse. Audio was a Dolby CP100 with BGW amps. Original “Voice of the Theater” speakers were still in place. Automation was an SRO Theaters custom made “Commander”. They installed this automation unit into all of their theaters.
The picture on top is indeed the seattle Cinerama. It has been remodeled again since the picture was taken. If the screening of 2001 that you saw was about 3 years ago, it would have been Paul Allen’s own personal 70mm print (newly struck from the negative) for this screening. If you saw it on a Saturday night, I would have been the projectionist who ran it. When running film (rare these days but it does happen) the Cinerama is a 2 projector manual changeover booth with Kinotone 35/70 machines. Theatre now has Dolby Atmos sound and 6K digital laser projection as well.
At the time of closure the Aurora DI was equipped with Brenkert BX-80 projectors, RCA 9030 soundheads, ORC 4,000 Watt Xenon lamps and it was a manually operated changeover booth. No automation ever installed. It still had in car speakers, radio sound was never installed. There had been homes built right up to the property line in the years since the Aurora opened, when the last show of the night started the field attendants had to run around the field turning down speakers where cars had left. The neighbors would be calling the police with noise complaints otherwise.
The McCeachern Auditorium located within the Museum of History and Industry has closed. The Museum has moved to a new location in Seattle and their former home will soon become a freeway.
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.
I am biased (I work here as projectionist) but the SIFF Film Center is quite possibly the nicest small auditorium in the City. Good sightlines, wall to wall screen, stadium seating. The booth is equipped for:
16mm: Eiki model EX9120M with 1200 Watt Xenon lamp
35mm: 2,000 foot reel manual changeover booth with a pair of Century model MSA projectors w/Century analog soundheads and Dolby Digital soundheads, 2,000 Watt Strong Super Lume-X Xenon lamphouses
2K digital projection: Barco model DP2K20C digital projector w/Dolby model DSS 200 server.
Audio processor is a Datasat AP20, crossover is a QSC DCM 30D, amps are all QSC, speakers are all JBL. Dolby 7.1 sound.
I worked here a few times as a fill in projectionist in the early 1980’s. I was the relief projectionist at GCC’s King Cinema located directly across 6th Avenue from the UA. I happened to walk by the site in the early evening on the day they demolished the building. The pile of rubble had that famous “Old Movie Theatre Smell”.
I was in the Woodland about 20 years ago, the floor had been leveled and a dividing wall built splitting the auditorium into a front and back half. At the time I was inside, the back half was a print shop and used the original exit doors that would have been at the front of the house as their entrance. The back half and the former lobby area was in use as a home. The projection booth was a bedroom.
I was a fill in projectionist on several occasions between 1981 and about 1991 at the Midway. It was always a pleasure to work a drive in, most of my career was spent in the multiplexes. The screen at the Midway faced East, the screen at the Aurora Drive In in North Seattle (operated by Pacific Theatres as well) faced to the West. The two theatres often had identical bookings as they were far enough apart so as to not be in competition with one another. The show at the Midway could start 30 – 40 earlier each night as the setting sun was behind the screen rather than shining on it. In the Summer of 1981, I was working both theatres and appreciated the earlier start at the Midway.
I neglected to mention above that Lind is a near ghost town. Population is today about 450, about 1/3 of it’s peak in the 1950’s. The town’s High School closed about 2 years ago and the students are now bussed to Ritzville some 20 miles away. It is in the middle of wheat farming country, the grain elevator is the busiest place in town. Lind is a time capsule of the past, very little has changed since the departure of the Milwaukee Railroad in the early 1970’s.
I was in Lind in September, the exterior of the Empire Theatre building is in very good condition. No graffiti, no broken windows. Renovations were started in 2007 or so (new double pane windows, etc.) but have been abandoned. There is a sign in the window stating that the building has been winterized and the water shut off in the Fall of 2010. The building once housed a diner and had a hotel on the second floor. It is my understanding that the theatre closed in about 1980. It remains vacant today. A local citizen told me that the interior is in “disrepair”. The booth equipment was purchased and removed in the early-mid 1990’s by McRae Theatre Equipment in Seattle. It was a complete and intact 1950’s vintage carbon arc booth, very little had changed since it’s opening.
I think that the theatre visited by PopcornNRoses may have been the Crossroads in Bellevue. Originally a large single screen operated by National General Theatres, a smaller second auditorium was added across the lobby from the original house. Many years later, the large house was poorly split into 3 small auditoriums. It was later demolished and replaced with the “New” Crossroads Cinema
I have to agree with the “pretty dreadful” comment above. I worked here from time to time as a fill in projectionist from about 1982 – 1986. The lead projectionist at the time was the Business Agent for IATSE Projectionist Local 154 and frequently had to take time off for Union duties. I last worked here as temporary replacement for about 3 months in the late Summer and early Fall of 1995. It was my last employment with General Cinema.
I installed the projection equipment and opened as lead projectionist the General Cinema Kitsap Mall 6 (now 8 screens) In Silverdale, WA in January of 1987. As I recall, the Almo’s last day of operation was our opening day, January 15th. The two theatres were less than 12 miles apart and the new shopping mall in Silverdale had stolen away much business from the surrounding area. Downtown Bremerton became a near ghost town for a few years after the mall opened.
This theatre was reopened on October 21, 2014 by SIFF. I am employed as projectionist at their Uptown Cinema. SIFF now operates three theatres, two single screen houses (Egyptian and the SIFF Film Center) and the Uptown triplex. All 5 screens are equipped for both 35mm and Digital Cinema.
This theater, known as the Whidbey Cinema at the time, was my first projectionist job in a movie theater. I was still in high school at the time. After nearly 40 years, I am still employed in the business and have many fond memories of the Tull’s and their theater. It was a well run family business and they treated their employees like family.
This theater was a near identical twin of the Factoria Cinemas in it’s original 3 screen configuration. Two 400 seat houses at either end of the building with a 200 hundred seat house between. It opened about 6 months after the Factoria. All booths were identical insofar as equipment goes. New Simplex 35 projectors with lens turrets, rebuilt RCA 9030 soundheads, Xetron 2000W lamphouses. Dolby stereo with CP 50’s and BGW amplifiers in each house. The booth did not originally have platters, SRO seemed to prefer Cinemeccanica towers as film transport devices during this time frame. I worked there in the 1981/82 time frame a few times as a relief projectionist. It was always a nice house to work, SRO took very good care of their theatres as well as their employees. SRO was a class act, they were not a cheap operator.
I drove by on my way back from Portland yesterday. The theatre remains closed but the lobby has been rented out as retail space. The exterior of the building is in perfect condition, the grounds and parking lot are well maintained.
One of the nicest features about working at the John Danz as an IATSE projectionist was the fact that the building was partially built into a slope. At the rear of the theatre was a door that led directly into the booth with only 3 steps up. Also, a reserved projectionist parking spot next to the door.
The Lake was at first a single screen. Judging from it’s appearance, I would guess 1940’s or early 50’s construction. In 1979 or 80, the original auditorium was split and 2 new ones added alongside for a total of 4. It closed when the Fairchild Cinemas opened.
One of many new high rise residential towers now occupies the entire block.
One of several new high rise office towers for Amazon now sits in the site of the KIng. One of the plastic panels from the “King Kat” sign now hangs on the wall of a coffee shop across the street.
Ericrising; I worked there as an infrequent relief projectionist from November of 1981 until October of 1982 when I went full time. When I started, Henry Cannon was the chief projectionist and Jerry Keene was the #2. I replaced Jerry when he left in October 1982. Henry is in his 80’s, still active and happy in retirement. Jerry left town shortly after he left the King.
As of June 14, this former theater is vacant and available for lease. Given the incredible construction boom in downtown Seattle that is presently underway, I don’t doubt that it will be demolished in the not too distant future to make way for yet another high rise.
As a Union projectionist, young and new to Seattle, I got very lucky and wound up running Raiders matinees in 70mm all Summer long in 1981. The booth had been automated by the time I came to the Southcenter. It had a single Century JJ II projector (it’s mate went to the John Danz Theatre in Bellevue), a Christie Autowind 3 platter, Xetron 4,000 watt Xenon lamphouse. Audio was a Dolby CP100 with BGW amps. Original “Voice of the Theater” speakers were still in place. Automation was an SRO Theaters custom made “Commander”. They installed this automation unit into all of their theaters.
The picture on top is indeed the seattle Cinerama. It has been remodeled again since the picture was taken. If the screening of 2001 that you saw was about 3 years ago, it would have been Paul Allen’s own personal 70mm print (newly struck from the negative) for this screening. If you saw it on a Saturday night, I would have been the projectionist who ran it. When running film (rare these days but it does happen) the Cinerama is a 2 projector manual changeover booth with Kinotone 35/70 machines. Theatre now has Dolby Atmos sound and 6K digital laser projection as well.
The Aurora was also the only drive in located within the actual Seattle City limits. The other nearby drive ins were all in the suburbs.
At the time of closure the Aurora DI was equipped with Brenkert BX-80 projectors, RCA 9030 soundheads, ORC 4,000 Watt Xenon lamps and it was a manually operated changeover booth. No automation ever installed. It still had in car speakers, radio sound was never installed. There had been homes built right up to the property line in the years since the Aurora opened, when the last show of the night started the field attendants had to run around the field turning down speakers where cars had left. The neighbors would be calling the police with noise complaints otherwise.
The McCeachern Auditorium located within the Museum of History and Industry has closed. The Museum has moved to a new location in Seattle and their former home will soon become a freeway.
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.
I am biased (I work here as projectionist) but the SIFF Film Center is quite possibly the nicest small auditorium in the City. Good sightlines, wall to wall screen, stadium seating. The booth is equipped for:
16mm: Eiki model EX9120M with 1200 Watt Xenon lamp
35mm: 2,000 foot reel manual changeover booth with a pair of Century model MSA projectors w/Century analog soundheads and Dolby Digital soundheads, 2,000 Watt Strong Super Lume-X Xenon lamphouses
2K digital projection: Barco model DP2K20C digital projector w/Dolby model DSS 200 server.
Audio processor is a Datasat AP20, crossover is a QSC DCM 30D, amps are all QSC, speakers are all JBL. Dolby 7.1 sound.
I worked here a few times as a fill in projectionist in the early 1980’s. I was the relief projectionist at GCC’s King Cinema located directly across 6th Avenue from the UA. I happened to walk by the site in the early evening on the day they demolished the building. The pile of rubble had that famous “Old Movie Theatre Smell”.
A Target store now occupies the entire former Newmark Mall, including the former theatre space. The residential tower remains in use as apartments.
I was in the Woodland about 20 years ago, the floor had been leveled and a dividing wall built splitting the auditorium into a front and back half. At the time I was inside, the back half was a print shop and used the original exit doors that would have been at the front of the house as their entrance. The back half and the former lobby area was in use as a home. The projection booth was a bedroom.
I was a fill in projectionist on several occasions between 1981 and about 1991 at the Midway. It was always a pleasure to work a drive in, most of my career was spent in the multiplexes. The screen at the Midway faced East, the screen at the Aurora Drive In in North Seattle (operated by Pacific Theatres as well) faced to the West. The two theatres often had identical bookings as they were far enough apart so as to not be in competition with one another. The show at the Midway could start 30 – 40 earlier each night as the setting sun was behind the screen rather than shining on it. In the Summer of 1981, I was working both theatres and appreciated the earlier start at the Midway.
I neglected to mention above that Lind is a near ghost town. Population is today about 450, about 1/3 of it’s peak in the 1950’s. The town’s High School closed about 2 years ago and the students are now bussed to Ritzville some 20 miles away. It is in the middle of wheat farming country, the grain elevator is the busiest place in town. Lind is a time capsule of the past, very little has changed since the departure of the Milwaukee Railroad in the early 1970’s.
I was in Lind in September, the exterior of the Empire Theatre building is in very good condition. No graffiti, no broken windows. Renovations were started in 2007 or so (new double pane windows, etc.) but have been abandoned. There is a sign in the window stating that the building has been winterized and the water shut off in the Fall of 2010. The building once housed a diner and had a hotel on the second floor. It is my understanding that the theatre closed in about 1980. It remains vacant today. A local citizen told me that the interior is in “disrepair”. The booth equipment was purchased and removed in the early-mid 1990’s by McRae Theatre Equipment in Seattle. It was a complete and intact 1950’s vintage carbon arc booth, very little had changed since it’s opening.
I think that the theatre visited by PopcornNRoses may have been the Crossroads in Bellevue. Originally a large single screen operated by National General Theatres, a smaller second auditorium was added across the lobby from the original house. Many years later, the large house was poorly split into 3 small auditoriums. It was later demolished and replaced with the “New” Crossroads Cinema
I have to agree with the “pretty dreadful” comment above. I worked here from time to time as a fill in projectionist from about 1982 – 1986. The lead projectionist at the time was the Business Agent for IATSE Projectionist Local 154 and frequently had to take time off for Union duties. I last worked here as temporary replacement for about 3 months in the late Summer and early Fall of 1995. It was my last employment with General Cinema.
I installed the projection equipment and opened as lead projectionist the General Cinema Kitsap Mall 6 (now 8 screens) In Silverdale, WA in January of 1987. As I recall, the Almo’s last day of operation was our opening day, January 15th. The two theatres were less than 12 miles apart and the new shopping mall in Silverdale had stolen away much business from the surrounding area. Downtown Bremerton became a near ghost town for a few years after the mall opened.
This theatre was reopened on October 21, 2014 by SIFF. I am employed as projectionist at their Uptown Cinema. SIFF now operates three theatres, two single screen houses (Egyptian and the SIFF Film Center) and the Uptown triplex. All 5 screens are equipped for both 35mm and Digital Cinema.
This theater, known as the Whidbey Cinema at the time, was my first projectionist job in a movie theater. I was still in high school at the time. After nearly 40 years, I am still employed in the business and have many fond memories of the Tull’s and their theater. It was a well run family business and they treated their employees like family.