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Guild 45th Theatre
2001 Photo from the Dave Felthous collection
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Landmark Theatres
2115 N 45th St
Seattle WA 98103
(206) 633-3353
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| Record #2578 |
Opened: 1919
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Capacity:
Architect(s):
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none |
| Also Known As: Paramount, 45th Street, Bruen's 45th Street |
Information for this tour was contributed by Dave Felthous. The larger of the two Guilds, two doors east of the newer screen, is one of the oldest movie houses in Seattle. This 400-some-seat theater opened as the Paramount, then was forced to change its name when Paramount Pictures built its cavernous Paramount Theater downtown in 1928. The owner chose the rather mundane name "45th Street."
(The Paramount name lives on in the Wallingford neighborhood, however. A beauty salon, which apparently took its name from the theater, continues under that name although it has relocated several blocks away from its original site near the theater.)
The 45th Street ran mostly "third-run" films until 1958, when owners Bob and Zella Clark converted to an arthouse policy and altered the name to Guild 45th. There were fewer foreign films imported back then, and the Clarks had trouble getting the better ones, which usually went to the Ridgemont Theater, several miles away on Phinney Ridge, or its sister theater, the Edgemont, in the north suburb of Edmonds.
The 45th Street eventually returned to subsequent-run films and was taken over in the 70s by Randy Finley's arthouse Seven Gables circuit, which did extensive interior remodeling that allowed a much larger screen. Small retail space immediately west of the theater became the home of the snack bar and an extension of the existing, small lobby.
Eager to add a second screen to his popular theater, Finley attempted to purchase an old house on the lot just west of the theater. Unable to accomplish that, he settled for the lot two doors down and in 1983 opened a cozy stadium-style cinema with 200-plus high-backed seats. (The old house presently is a pizza restaurant!) Both theaters use the name Guild 45th, so it's impossible to tell in newspaper ads what film is playing at which theater.
An early name for today's Guild 45th was Bruen's 45th Street. The large, stylish "45th" lettering from the Bruen's theater survives today as part of the Guild 45th sign/marquee.
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Last updated 2002-12-27.
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