Pop Culture Palaces

In the early 20th century, when movies were new and vaudeville all the rage, people expected an evening’s entertainment to be a royal experience. Gorgeous architecture housed the new art forms that gave Americans a new way to dream. Seattle was like most cities, alive with ornate theaters whose marquees illuminated the streets. Elsewhere, most of those shrines to dreaming have been demolished, but three survive here. The Moore is the oldest, an intimate venue with a lush interior built in 1907; it now showcases eclectic touring acts from avant-garde theater to jam bands. The 5th Avenue Theatre, built in 1926, features a breathtaking interior evoking China’s Forbidden City and remains Seattle’s premier musical theater venue. Perhaps most stunning is The Paramount, a resplendent structure built in 1928 and restored to its Tinseltown glory in 1995. Its fully convertible seating system accommodates everything from silent films to ballet to Bob Dylan, and its marquee still glistens at 9th and Pine.