ABSTRACT
Seattle is fortunate to have a host of movie theaters that are classy, intimate, and rich with character. Other cities have lost most of their charming theaters to development or to the phenomenon of suburban multiplexes. San Francisco, for all its sophistication, has virtually no older movie theaters left in its down-town or its close-in neighborhoods. Some newer theaters demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the public realm. Some of Seattle's quirky, homespun character used to come from the people staffing the independent theaters who stepped out before each film and introduced it with a bit of personal commentary. The individual theaters were arranged along a tall, interior galleria and each was marked by a distinctive and different marquee. There are some people who understand movie theater architecture. But too many new theaters suffer from being buried in the bowels of a larger building. The Newmark closed its doors, partly because it had no street presence.
