Coliseum Theater | |
Location | 5th Ave. and Pike St. Seattle, Washington |
---|---|
Coordinates | 47°36′41″N 122°20′2″W / 47.61139°N 122.33389°W |
Built | 1916 |
Architect | Priteca, B. Marcus |
Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Second Renaissance Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 75001854 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 7, 1975 |
Designated SEATL | January 17, 1978 [2] |
The Coliseum Theater, a former cinema in Seattle, Washington, opened January 8, 1916. [3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, [1] and is also an official Seattle city landmark. [4] Designed by B. Marcus Priteca, it was Seattle's first theater built specifically for showing movies, and was one of the first cinemas anywhere to strive for architectural grandeur. [5] When it opened, it was advertised as "the world's largest and finest photoplay palace." [3] In 1931, the Journal of the Royal Institute of Architects called it "the first of the world's movie palaces." [5]
The exterior features elaborate terra cotta work, and the original interior was comparably ornate. When it opened in the silent film era, it boasted a 7-piece orchestra plus an organist; the giant organ was made by Moller, and the musicians—all Russians—were reputed to be the highest-paid movie theater musicians in the country. Anita King attended the opening night to give a speech dedicating the theater. [3]
The Coliseum continued as a first-run theater into the late 1970s, [5] and continued to show films until 1990. [3] It closed on March 11, 1990, after showing the film Tremors; [6] the building was renovated into a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) Banana Republic clothing store that opened in 1994. [7] The store closed in 2020 and is planned to be replaced by a temporary art space by XO Seattle in 2023. [6] [8]