Newmark Cinemas

Photo from the Mark Campbell collection.

1401 Second Ave #301 Seattle WA 98101

Information for this tour was contributed by Mark Campbell.

This theatre was a bad idea all around. Opened in 1993 in an unpopular downtown shopping center at the base of a residential tower, the Newmark Cinemas had 5 medium-to-small auditoriums. In typical Cineplex Odeon fashion, the auditoriums had little slope and actually sloped up near the screen.

Auditorium decor was also in very Cineplex fashion with painted grey walls and strip-lighted pink and purple sound deadening panels hung in intervals. All screens were Dolby Stereo equipped and a DTS Digital unit was later added to the largest screen, but made little noticeable difference.

At the time, Cineplex Odeon had a near-monopoly on first-run mainstream theatres in the downtown Seattle zone. The only other first run theatres were operated by Landmark and booked art-house fare. The Newmark always received less desirable bookings than Cineplex's other downtown area venues at the time: the Cinerama (pre-remodel), City Centre, and the Uptown. Often it would play move-overs from these theatres. A noted exception was when "Sleepless in Seattle" opened during its first few weeks of operation on 4 of the 5 screens.

The Newmark seemed built on the cheap in comparison to its slightly older, more luxurious neighbor the City Centre. (The Cinerama and Uptown were SRO-era theatres).

Around Christmas 1996 Cineplex opened the Meridian 16 a few blocks away. The Newmark went fully move-over except for the surprise booking of "Scream" which Cineplex must have had little faith in compared to the public. The theatre went discount in early 1997 and was shuttered soon after that. Office space now occupies the old theatre.

Photos from the Mark Campbell collection.

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Last featured 2002-12-27. Last edited 12/11/2022.