Uptown Theater (Washington, D.C.)

Last updated

The Uptown Theater
Uptown Theater, Washington, D.C.15084v.jpg
Location map Washington DC Cleveland Park to Southwest Waterfront.png
Red pog.svg
Location within Washington, D.C.
General information
TypeTheater
Architectural styleArt Deco
Location Northwest, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates 38°56′06″N77°03′31″W / 38.9349°N 77.0585°W / 38.9349; -77.0585
Completed1936
Height
Roof171 feet (52 m)
Design and construction
Architect(s) John Jacob Zink

The Uptown Theater, known as The Uptown (formerly Cineplex Odeon Uptown or AMC Loews Uptown 1), was a single-screen movie theater in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1936, it hosted the world premieres of such movies as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jurassic Park . It closed in March 2020. [1] [2]

Contents

Its screen was the largest commercial movie theater screen in the DC Metro area outside of the Smithsonian Institution. [1] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. [3]

History

Opened on October 29, 1936, [4] the theater was designed by architect John Jacob Zink, whose firm designed over 200 theaters across the United States, and the 14th built by Warner Brothers in Washington, D.C. [5] The exterior is constructed of yellow and red brick and the facade is partially faced in limestone fluted panels. The limestone features typical Art Deco motifs, including zigzag patterns and floral reliefs. The marquee includes streamlined aluminum bands. The main entrance to the theater is below this marquee. Two one-story storefronts flank the theater entrances. [6]

The Uptown has a curved screen, 70 by 40 feet (21 by 12 m), one of the largest in the area. The theater originally seated 1,120, but a $500,000 renovation in 1996 decreased capacity to 850. Nothing remains of the original decor.

In December 2010, the theater's Norelco 35mm/70mm projector was dismantled and replaced with a Christie Dual-Projector 3D system for the opening of Tron: Legacy .

In March 2020, AMC Theatres announced the closing of the 84-year-old theater, as AMC's lease on the space was about to expire. [7] Unlike many temporary closures that hit the D.C. region in 2020, the closure of the Uptown Theater is permanent and does not seem connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]

In October 2021, officials with Landmark Theaters confirmed reports that they were in negotiations to lease and reopen the theater. [9]

In May 2022, the D.C. government's Historic Preservation Review Board voted 7-0 to add the theater to the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites and to nominate it for addition to the National Register of Historic Places. [10] In December 2022, the NRHP listed it among the week's additions. [3]

Film premieres

Detail of Uptown Theater sign Uptownclevelandparkwashdc.jpg
Detail of Uptown Theater sign

Related Research Articles

<i>Jurassic Park</i> (film) 1993 film by Steven Spielberg

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen, and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. The film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a wealthy businessman John Hammond (Attenborough), and a team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs. When industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic shutdown of the park's power facilities and security precautions, a small group of visitors, including Hammond's grandchildren, struggle to survive and escape the now perilous island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movie theater</span> Venue for viewing films

A movie theater, cinema, or cinema hall, also known as a movie house, picture house, picture theater or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoria for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IMAX</span> Large-screen film format

IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loews Cineplex Entertainment</span> American theater chain

Loews Cineplex Entertainment, also known as Loews Incorporated, was an American theater chain operating in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odeon Luxe Leicester Square</span> Cinema in London, England

The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the first Dolby Cinema in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinerama Dome</span> Movie theater in Hollywood, California

The Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pacific Theatres. The Cinerama Dome continued as a leading first-run theater, most recently as part of the ArcLight Hollywood complex, until it closed temporarily in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in California. The ArcLight chain closed permanently in April 2021, with the theater never having reopened. In June 2022, it was announced that there were plans to reopen it and the former ArcLight Hollywood under a new name, Cinerama Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC Theatres</span> American movie theater chain

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. It is the largest movie theater chain in the world. Founded in 1920, AMC has the largest share of the U.S. theater market ahead of Regal and Cinemark Theatres.

A roadshow theatrical release or reserved seat engagement is the practice of opening a film in a limited number of theaters in major cities for a specific period of time before the wide release of the film. Roadshows would generally mimic a live theatre production, with an upscale atmosphere as well as somewhat higher prices than during a wide release. They were commonly used to promote major films from the 1920s–60s and build excitement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Edward Theatre</span> West End theatre in Westminster, London

The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.

Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain founded in 1974 in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Landmark consists of 34 theatres with 176 screens in 24 markets. It is known for both its historic and newer, more modern theatres. Helmed by its President Kevin Holloway, Landmark Theatres is part of Cohen Media Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cineplex Entertainment</span> Canadian entertainment company and movie theater chain

Cineplex Inc. is a Canadian operator of movie theater and family entertainment centres, headquartered in Toronto. It is the largest cinema chain in Canada; as of 2019, it operated 165 locations, and accounted for 75% of the domestic box office.

Magic Johnson Theatres is a chain of movie theaters, originally developed in 1994 by Johnson Development Corporation, the business holding of basketball player-turned-entrepreneur Magic Johnson, and Sony Pictures Entertainment through a partnership with Sony-Loews Theatres.

Super Panavision 70 is the marketing brand name used to identify movies photographed with Panavision 70 mm spherical optics between 1959 and 1983. It has since been replaced by Panavision System 65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Cinerama</span> Movie Theatre in Seattle, Washington

The Seattle Cinerama Theatre is a landmark movie theater in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The theater opened in 1963 and was renovated in the 1990s after its acquisition by Paul Allen. The Cinerama was closed in May 2020. At the time of its 2020 closure, it was one of only three movie theaters in the world capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films. In 2023, the theater was purchased by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and reopened on December 14, 2023 as SIFF Cinema Downtown due to trademark issues with the "Cinerama" name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Theatres</span>

Star Theatres was an American movie theatre chain, initially owned and operated by Loeks Star Partners and Loews Cineplex Entertainment, and later by AMC Theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4D film</span> 3D film with physical effects that occur in the theater

4D film is a presentation system combining motion pictures with synchronized physical effects that occur in the theater. Effects simulated in 4D films include, but are not limited to, motion, vibration, scent, rain, mist, bubbles, fog, smoke, wind, temperature changes, and strobe lights. Seats in 4D venues vibrate and move during these multisensory presentations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiplex (movie theater)</span> Movie theater complex

A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens or auditoriums within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an extension or expansion of the building. The largest of these complexes can sit thousands of people and are sometimes referred to as a megaplex.

In September 2021, AMC Theatres began airing a commercial starring actress Nicole Kidman in its theaters and on television. The ad, written by screenwriter Billy Ray, was intended to spur theater attendance following the COVID-19 pandemic by highlighting the "magic" of the movie theater experience. In the ad, Kidman enters and sits alone in an empty AMC theater while delivering a monologue describing in heightened language the pleasures of the moviegoing experience, such as the "indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we've never been before". The commercial became a surprise hit among audiences, who came to appreciate the unintentional campiness of its earnestly rhapsodic style and script, particularly the line "Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this". It has inspired internet memes, parodies, and in-theatre audience participation rituals.

References

  1. 1 2 Alim, Karim; Zagri, Justin; Haas, Howard B. "AMC Uptown 1". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. Fraley, Jason (March 13, 2020). "Uptown Theater, historic host of '2001,' 'Jurassic Park' premieres, closes in DC". WTOP. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Weekly List 2022 12 16 - National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  4. "Cineplex Odeon Uptown". The Washington Post . Retrieved October 16, 2005.
  5. van der Tak, Jean (Spring 1994). "The Uptown Theater" (PDF). Cleveland Park Historical Society. 8 (1): 7. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  6. Wood, Kathleen Sinclair (February 13, 1987). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Cleveland Park Historic District, Washington, DC" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  7. "Uptown Theater, an iconic D.C. movie palace, shuts down". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  8. "The Historic Uptown Theater Just Closed". DCist . Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  9. "Is the Uptown Theater returning to DC? Here's what we know so far". WTOP News. October 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  10. "HPRB ACTIONS / May 26 and June 2, 2022" (PDF). Office of Planning, Government of Washington, D.C. June 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  11. "Why you'll never see the missing 17 minutes from '2001: A Space Odyssey'". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  12. Pagano, Penny (December 5, 1988). "Civil Rights Star in D.C. Film Opening". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  13. Sherrill, Martha; Thomas, Dana (June 11, 1990). "THE FILM, THE FLASH THE SMILE". The Washington Post . Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  14. Roberts, Roxanne (June 10, 1993). "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DINOSAURS". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  15. Weinraub, Judith (October 20, 1990). "COSTNER'S SIOUX CEREMONY". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  16. Martin, Karen (November 23, 2018). "Dances With Wolves (1990)". Flashback. Northwest Arkansas Gazette. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  17. "'The Guardian' Has Premiere in D.C." MSN Movies. MSN. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  18. Klimek, Chris (August 2, 2018). "An Oral History of the Uptown Theater". Washington City Paper. Retrieved September 9, 2018.