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A 1931 issue of the Journal of the Royal Institute of Architects referred to Seattle's
Coliseum Theater as "the first of the world's movie palaces." The Coliseum
is an early example of these large-scale, luxuriously-decorated theaters
designed specifically for the exhibition of motion pictures. In 1915,
at the start of the silent-film era, the Coliseum opened as Seattle's
first theater built expressly for showing movies. The Coliseum is one
of the many movie houses designed by B. Marcus Priteca, the official architect
of vaudeville magnate Alexander Pantages's theater empire. Responsible
for the design and remodeling of over 200 Pantages theaters, including
Seattle's Paramount Theater, Priteca became nationally
recognized as an expert in modern, high-quality theater design. Perhaps
his most famous theater was the opulent Hollywood Pantages at the famed
corner of Hollywood and Vine. The Coliseum Theater played first-run movies
until the late 1970s but then sat sadly vacant throughout the 1980s and
early '90s. In 1995, due in part to the Federal
Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program, the deteriorated Coliseum
Theater underwent rehabilitation and its interior spaces were adapted
for use as a clothing store. Today the Coliseum Theater is a very effective
adaptive use project that dramatically illustrates the successful marriage
of commerce and historic preservation.
The Coliseum Theater is located at the corner of Fifth Ave. and
Pike St. The building is open to the public during regular business
hours.
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Coliseum Theater
Photograph by Fred Housel, courtesy of the architectural firm NBBJ of
Seattle |
![[graphic heading] Seattle: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Servicer](graphics/sheader.gif "[graphic heading] Seattle: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Servicer")
