Admiral Theater 162 results

After almost a decade, Dinah Brein says farewell to the Admiral Theater

(Dinah Brein, photographed by WSB’s Patrick Sand on opening night for Star Wars Episode VIII)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In the Admiral Theater‘s long and storied history, the curtain is about to fall on another episode.

This one has spanned almost a decade, including the latest incidence of West Seattle’s moviehouse being brought back from the brink. You might subtitle it “Return of the First-Runs,” though that’s just part of the story.

What’s happening is that next week will bring the departure of The Admiral’s longtime manager Dinah Brein. She says simply, “It’s time.” Her brother, Jeff Brein, is co-proprietor of Far Away Entertainment, an independent regional chain of community movie theaters including The Admiral, and Dinah’s been working for him since 2004, four years before she came to The Admiral, originally doing public-relations work for his PR firm on Bainbridge Island.

After Dinah and her husband Larry McClellan bought a house in West Seattle in 2006, that started to become a somewhat onerous commute. When her brother took over The Admiral, an opportunity arose for her to work much closer to home.

But at first, she wasn’t running the theater.

Read More

UPDATE: ‘Polar Express’ tickets all taken

ORIGINAL REPORT 2:29 PM MONDAY: Want to see “The Polar Express” for free this Saturday? Alice Kuder and some of her colleagues at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor) are sponsoring a free showing at 10 am Saturday (December 9th) at West Seattle’s historic Admiral Theater. This is the third year that they have organized this for their clients and the families of Sunshine Kids cancer patients, but they would love to have a full house, Alice tells us, and so about 40 tickets remain, so they’re offering those free tickets to YOU – “first-come, first served) – 4 maximum per family or group.”

To request tickets, contact Alice: alice@alicekuder.com or voice/text at 206-708-9800.

She and the other sponsors will provide free cookies, hot cocoa, and coffee at the screening (and the Admiral’s concession stand will be open too). If you go, consider also bringing a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. Alice will let us know when the tickets are gone, and we’ll update this announcement then.

MONDAY LATE-NIGHT UPDATE: Tickets all taken!

Seattle Latino Film Festival coming to Admiral Theater for closing-night screening, party

October 1, 2017 8:30 pm
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 |   Admiral Theater | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

That’s the trailer for “The Duel of Wine (El Camino del Vino),” which will have its Pacific Northwest premiere at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater as part of the closing-night celebration for this year’s Seattle Latino Film Festival.

The 9th annual festival showcasing Latin American films starts next Friday night (October 6th) downtown and continues for the following week, at venues around the area, from downtown to Federal Way (see the full list of screenings here) – concluding with the film and closing-night party at The Admiral on Saturday, October 14th. Betty Santiago from SLFF tells WSB that the star and producer of “Duel of Wine,” Charlie Arturaola and Lino Pujia, will be in attendance. We’re mentioning this early so you can get tickets if you want to be there – the film and party are included in your $25, and you can get your tickets online, here.

AT THE ADMIRAL: Panel discussion after ‘Inconvenient Sequel’ opening night Friday

(Trailer for ‘Inconvenient Sequel’)

Just in from the Admiral Theater:

This Friday, we are excited to begin our engagement of “An Inconvenient Sequel,” Al Gore’s follow up to his 2006 pivotal movie, which brought the importance of the global-warming issue to the forefront.

A decade ago, “An Inconvenient Truth” brought climate change into the heart of popular culture. Gore’s follow-up sequel shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. From director Davis Guggenheim, An Inconvenient Sequel, offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s commitment to expose the myths and misconceptions that surround global warming and inspire actions to prevent it.

The movie will normally screen at 7 PM, but Friday starts at 6:30 pm so that after we can bring an exciting and informative Q&A panel of experts to answer questions and teach our audience what they can do in Washington to battle the effects of this very real issue.

The evening will be hosted by Washington Women for Climate Action Now!. This summer, WashingtonWomenCAN partnered with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project to train women across our state to speak eloquently and confidently on the urgent need for powerful climate action. Climate change affects us all, but the impacts and solutions often depend on where we live. This partnership has empowered more than 50 Washington women to speak out in their own communities across our state and to lead us to a clean energy future.
 
The panel will feature Heidi Roop, a climate scientist with a passion for science and communication. She is currently the Strategic Communications Lead for the UW Climate Impacts Group. Heidi’s professional mission is to improve the reach and impact of climate science in order to engage, motivate and catalyze action around climate change.

Additional panelists will be added during the week and hopefully throughout the run of the movie there will be additional opportunities for more speakers and Q&A panels.

As we got ready to publish this, we got word of one more panelist for Friday: Belinda Chin, a Climate Reality Leader and Seattle Parks and Rec Program Coordinator for Sustainable Operations.

‘Part of our heritage’: WSHS alum Timothy Brock to showcase his silent-film-scoring work @ Admiral Theater benefit

July 21, 2017 10:38 pm
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 |   Admiral Theater | West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS culture/arts

(Timothy Brock’s video invitation to Tuesday’s event, courtesy of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The last time composer/conductor Timothy Brock was onstage in West Seattle, he was a WSHS student, performing with one of the school’s musical groups.

During his years at the school, he was involved with them all – band, orchestra, stage band, chamber orchestra, choir – he recalled during a conversation this week outside the Admiral Theater, where he’s headlining the next fundraiser for restoration of the moviehouse’s historic circa-1942 murals:

At 6:45 pm next Tuesday night (July 25th), he will be onstage just a few blocks from his alma mater, in a multifaceted event explained by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which is leading the mural-restoration fundraising campaign:

This exciting evening – to last more than three hours, with an intermission – will start with Timothy Brock being interviewed by his childhood friend, West Seattle’s Dave Beck, a host at KING-FM and longtime former KUOW-FM host.

Brock will reminisce with Beck about their West Seattle upbringing and discuss the fascinating process of scoring silent classics. (Brock earned the label of “Silent-Film Music Guru” from Vogue magazine in May 2016.)

Interspersed will be stills and clips from silent films that Brock has scored. Following an intermission, Brock will introduce the screening of the Charlie Chaplin feature “Modern Times,” for which Brock has restored and re-recorded the original 1936 Chaplin score.

This isn’t Brock’s first trip back home – far from it. His mom and sister live in this area. His oldest son lives in Olympia. That’s where Brock moved at age 18, leaving West Seattle, and eventually spending more than a decade conducting the Olympia Chamber Orchestra. Olympia is where he says most of his “silent-film experiments” were initiated, but he now lives in Europe, where there is more of an appreciation for what he specializes in – composing scores for silent films. And it’s not just an appreciation from the spectator standpoint; Brock explains that silent-film history is taught, and in France, there’s even a program to teach silent-film composition.

His path toward his unique career started with a visit to the now-gone Granada Theater (south of The Junction) at an early age. “I actually came back and said to my mom, ‘this is something I would really like to do – play piano and make music for really old films’. She didn’t know I meant silent films. (I explained), ‘no, these don’t have any words at all, just words (onscreen) and music’. She’s been worried about my career ever since.”

He was age 10 when that interest was kindled. At 23, he was commissioned to write his first silent-film score, for “Pandora’s Box,” a film by G.W. Pabst. Since then, he says, he’s written on average one silent-film score a year. He just completed one for Fritz Lang‘s 1929 “Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon),” a three-hour science-fiction film that he says was the first of its kind. The premiere was last April. He’s now writing a violin concerto for the BBC Symphony, to premiere next season, in 2018-2019.

So what’s it going to be like, to be onstage at The Admiral next Tuesday? we asked.

“It’s the most bizarre feeling to see your name on the marquee of a theater you grew up with,” Brock acknowledged. But also – “It’s great. It’s a little like coming back home and playing for your friends … talking with family and friends about what it is that you do.”

We asked how he views the importance of what it is that he does – Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals recorded Brock’s answer on video:

As you can hear in the video, he listed several reasons – “It’s part of our heritage, specifically for Americans, too … an art form that has obviously died out,” as have most of the people who performed as silent-film musicians. So many of them, Brock explained, performed in symphony orchestras as well as the theater orchestras that played the silent-film accompaniment. And now – “It’s a matter of keeping that art up, learning the craft, teaching it to future generations. One of the reasons I live in Europe is that orchestras of middle- and high-caliber program silent films as part of their seasons.”

The music itself, he added, is of great historical value, with work by composers such as Shostakovich “who liked the idea of writing for this [then-]new art form. … It needs to be kept alive.” Brock’s work includes the silent-film programs for the New York Philharmonic: “It’s important just like any period performances of baroque or Middle Ages [etc.] music.”

And his early music education at West Seattle High School helped lay the groundwork for his one-of-a-kind career. In our conversation, he listed “some fabulous teachers,” including Donn Weaver, who recently retired as director of the West Seattle Big Band.

So come to The Admiral on Tuesday night to see and hear how one of your former West Seattle neighbors is preserving and enhancing film and music history, while contributing to the preservation and restoration of the theater’s historic murals. Tickets are $20 and you’ll want to buy yours online ASAP – go here and choose “Modern Times” at the bottom of the page. (There’s also a $100 VIP opportunity, to meet and talk with Brock and Beck at 5:30 pm.)

RESTORING THE ADMIRAL’S MURALS: Next benefit brings ‘Silent Film Music Guru’ Timothy Brock home to West Seattle

July 9, 2017 7:28 pm
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 |   Admiral Theater | How to help | West Seattle history | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts


(Images courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)

Two weeks from Tuesday, it’s your second chance to enjoy a one-of-a-kind evening of entertainment and help raise money to restore the 75-year-old murals at The Admiral. Here’s the announcement from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:

Restoration of the art-deco underwater murals of West Seattle’s Historic Admiral Theater will get another boost this summer with a one-night presentation by a West Seattle native whose orchestral scores for classic movies of the pre-sound era have earned him the title of the “Silent Film Music Guru.”

The event is called “Timothy Brock Returns to West Seattle with Music of the Silent Giants.”

It will take place at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at the Historic Admiral Theater, 2343 California Ave. SW, sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

This exciting evening – to last more than three hours, with an intermission – will start with Timothy Brock being interviewed by his childhood friend, West Seattle’s Dave Beck, a host at KING-FM and longtime former KUOW-FM host. Brock will reminisce with Beck about their West Seattle upbringing and discuss the fascinating process of scoring silent classics. (Brock earned the label of “Silent-Film Music Guru” from Vogue magazine in May 2016.)

Interspersed will be stills and clips from silent films that Brock has scored. Following an intermission, Brock will introduce the screening of the Charlie Chaplin feature “Modern Times,” for which Brock has restored and re-recorded the original 1936 Chaplin score.

Tickets are $20, and proceeds will go to the Historic Admiral Theater mural restoration led by the historical society. A VIP opportunity, to attend the presentation and visit one-on-one with Brock and Beck beforehand, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the theater. VIP tickets are $100.

You can purchase tickets online here, or at the door. Advance ticket purchases are encouraged, as the event may sell out.

Timothy Brock, who has long lived in Bologna, Italy, is internationally renowned for his orchestral scores for the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and many other silent film classics. Over 30 years, he has composed 27 original scores for silent films, and he has served as the film restorer for the Chaplin estate since 1998. Brock also conducts symphonies in live performances of his scores to accompany presentations of silent films all over the world.

This month Brock is making a rare return to his boyhood community, where, as a 10-year-old in the early 1970s, he watched organ-accompanied silent films at West Seattle’s beloved Granada Theater south of The Junction and drew the initial inspiration for his career, which he labels a “lifelong dream.” (The Granada was razed in 1977.)

To see Brock discuss this West Seattle-based inspiration, go here (or view below – time code 1:20-1:50):

Brock’s mother is Berlena Brock, former board member of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

This unique presentation on July 25 will be the second event this summer to benefit the historical society’s fund to restore the auditorium murals of the Historic Admiral Theater. The first event, a screening of the local documentary “Legends of the Road,” drew 200 people to the theater and raised more than $5,000 for the fund.

The murals date to 1942, when the Portola Theater was converted and expanded to the Admiral Theater. They were covered by curtains when the theater was twinned in 1973 and uncovered as part of the theater’s recent renovation to four screens.

The Historic Admiral Theater became an official Seattle landmark in 1989, following a campaign led by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

More information about Brock is available at his website, timothybrock.com.

FOLLOWUP: ‘Legends of the Road’ screening raises $5,000+ for Admiral Theater mural restoration; another fundraiser ahead

Tuesday night’s “Legends of the Road” screening at the Admiral Theater, to benefit the fund for restoring its historic murals, was a success on multiple levels.

“Pier 4” at The Admiral was almost full by showtime.

(Videos courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Above, pre-film introductions)

In pre-film remarks, executive director Clay Eals of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society – which is leading the restoration effort – observed that the crowd included former mayor Greg Nickels in a Kansas City Monarchs hat. (The Monarchs were the team honored by the high-school baseball players featured in the movie as they “barnstormed” on a 5,100-mile baseball trip in 2000, organized by students from Chief Sealth HS to pay tribute to the Negro Leagues players’ legendary travels.)

Also at the screening – Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick, who’s part of the film, and “Legends of the Road” producer/director Gary Thomsen, the former Chief Sealth teacher whose students carried out the ambitious-to-say-the-least project. They answered questions after the screening, joined by one of the former Sealth students who produced the barnstorming trip (with all the filming done by students too). Before the screening, Kendrick had a story about Seattle barnstorming history, with the Monarchs playing games here against a team called the House of David, which he described as “an all-white religious sect based out of Michigan. … Seattle has long been an important part of this story.”

Every cent raised Tuesday night goes to restoration of the 75-year-old murals, which, as Eals noted (you can see part of one in the video), were hidden under curtains when the theater was twinned in 1973, and uncovered during last year’s renovation work that turned The Admiral into an all-first-run fourplex. With paid admission approaching 200, and a post-film auction of two donated 1942 Monarchs replica jerseys for $600 each, that totals at least $5,000.

Another fundraising effort is in the works, Eals tells us. The formal announcement is expected within a week or so, but you can save the date – July 25th – for a full evening “consisting of an in-person presentation by the world-renowned, France-based ‘silent film guru’ Tim Brock, who scores films for the Chaplin Foundation and countless other films, and who grew up in West Seattle and got the inspiration for his film-scoring career when, as a 10-year-old in the early 1970s, he watched organ-accompanied silents at West Seattle’s Granada Theater, which was razed in 1977. Tim will be interviewed on stage by his childhood friend, West Seattle’s Dave Beck (current KING-FM host and longtime former KUOW-FM host), show stills and clips from films he has scored and, after an intermission, introduce the full-length ‘Modern Times’ by Chaplin.”

As for what’s next for “Legends of the Road,” it’s on the film-festival circuit, having premiered in Kansas City, and heading to Minneapolis. That was part of Tuesday night’s post-film Q&A:

Thomsen hopes to screen it eventually in the cities that were part of the barnstorming-tribute tour. As for here at home, he says its next local screening isn’t scheduled yet but he’s working on another event that might include it. Whenever it happens, you’ll want to take anybody who needs a little inspiration … as Paul, one of the former students, told the audience last night, the project gave him a lot of confidence. Bob Kendrick declared that “every educator should see this film,” to get a view into an “amazing experiential learning project.”

HISTORY X 2: Why you want to be at The Admiral for ‘Legends of the Road’ Tuesday night


(Photos courtesy Clay Eals)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“It has drama, it has charm, it has youthful exuberance.”

So enthuses Bob Kendrick about “Legends of the Road,” the locally produced documentary that will be screened at the historic Admiral Theater tomorrow night to raise money to restore its murals.

Most of all, it has history – history that Bob knows well. He is president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, visiting West Seattle to be part of the screening, which is the story of a Chief Sealth (pre-International) High School teacher and his students who made a groundbreaking 5,100-mile bicycle trip at the turn of the millennium to recreate the leagues’ “barnstorming” trips.


(Bob Kendrick and Gary Thomsen)

That since-retired teacher, Gary Thomsen, was part of our conversation today with Bob and with Clay Eals of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which is presenting Tuesday night’s event.

Even if you’re not a baseball fan – or history buff – there are reasons to go see it. Read More

TAKE YOUR DOG TO THE MOVIES! NY Dog Film Festival coming to Admiral Theater


(Photo courtesy New York Dog Film Festival)

Another special movie event to look forward to this summer: The second annual New York Dog Film Festival will stop at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater on Sunday, August 6th. And part of the proceeds will benefit West Seattle-based Furry Faces Foundation. Here’s the announcement F3 shared today:

Following its overwhelming success last year in Seattle, and its national tour to 10 cities in 2016, the NY Dog Film Festival will be traveling to 48 cities this year. The 2nd Annual NY Dog Film Festival™ is returning to Seattle on August 6, 2017, at the Historic Admiral Theater, with two programs of completely new films at 3 PM and 5 PM. Dogs will be welcome in the theater, once again delighting the avid dog lovers of Seattle and proving the Festival’s own mission of showing how remarkable the bond is between dogs and their people.

Perfect for dog lovers of all ages, the NY Dog Film Festival™ will feature two programs, each of which features a different medley of documentary, animated and live-action short canine-themed films from around the world. The films illuminate human-canine love and are uplifting, with happy outcomes. Each program runs approximately 70 minutes.

3:00 PM – “Outdoor Adventure with Dogs” (77 minutes)
5:00 PM – “Who Rescued Whom?” (74 minutes)

NY Dog Film Festival™ Founder/ Director Tracie Hotchner, a well-known pet wellness advocate and author of The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know, will bring local dog aficionados together with their dogs as “their movie dates” to share a communal experience of watching short films that celebrate the remarkable bond between people and dogs.

Tickets are $12 for humans and $5 for dogs (service dogs are free). A portion of every ticket will go to Furry Faces Foundation. Purchase advance tickets online by going here.

The Admiral is at 2343 California SW.

‘Legends of the Road’ screening at The Admiral to raise $ for mural restoration

June 14, 2017 12:46 pm
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 |   Admiral Theater | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

The next big event at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater has two big reasons to be on your calendar – the film that you’ll see, “Legends of the Road,” and the cause that you’ll be supporting. From the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:

Restoration of the art-deco underwater murals of West Seattle’s Historic Admiral Theater will get a boost this summer with a one-night screening of a documentary that showcases a project by local students to salute the black baseball barnstorming phenomenon of the early 20th century.

(“Legends of the Road” trailer)

“Legends of the Road,” a feature-length, student-produced film, will be screened at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, at the Historic Admiral Theater, 2343 California Ave. S.W., sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

The film, which won the highest audience rating at the 2017 Kansas City Film Festival, will be introduced by Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and former teacher Gary Thomsen of West Seattle, who led the “Legends” project at Chief Sealth High School. After the film, Kendrick, Thomsen, and several of Thomsen’s former students will be available to answer questions.

Admission will be by $20 donation, which will go to the Historic Admiral Theater mural restoration led by SWSHS. A VIP opportunity, to see the film and visit one-on-one with the featured speakers beforehand, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the theater. This opportunity is available by reservation at a $100 donation.

Both levels of tickets can be purchased online via Far Away Entertainment and at the door.

The Admiral’s murals were revealed during its recently completed renovation process. SWSHS says the mural-restoration campaign will include more special events, as well as details on how proposals for restoration will be sought.

VIDEO: Admiral Theater ‘grand reopening’ celebration, report #2


(Admiral Theater’s historic lobby mural, photographed during celebration by Leda Costa)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It was a night 28 years in the making.

From the time the Admiral Theater was shuttered in 1989 – then saved – its future as a moviehouse was never fully guaranteed, until now, with its transformation to a first-run fourplex, celebrated last night. The gala included a ribboncutting with a “ribbon” made of film (across the center of the photo), presided over by Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals (below left), whose involvement dates back to leading the campaign to save it:


(WSB photos by Patrick Sand unless otherwise credited)

Eals proclaimed that everyone there last night was “standing in history.” The ribboncutting was the kickoff to a night in which four movies, from The Admiral’s “Four Eras,” were screened – as detailed here, from silent movies celebrating the building’s early history as The Portola, through a brand-new (and very popular) film.

This happened six months after the restoration work at the circa-1942 moviehouse started in earnest, more than a quarter century after it was designated a city landmark as part of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society campaign to save it. The company that owned it in the late ’80s abruptly decided to close it in 1989, and said the following year that it might not ever be a moviehouse again.

That was proven wrong after local entrepreneur Marc Gartin bought it in 1992. (He owns it to this day.) He was thanked last night by Sol Baron from Faraway Entertainment, which runs the moviehouse business and collaborated on the renovation plan, which was officially announced two years ago:

(WSB photo, February 2015)

Read More

REPORT #1: ‘Four Screens, Four Eras’ special night @ Admiral Theater

March 22, 2017 7:22 pm
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 |   Admiral Theater | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

The ceremony is over but the “Four Screens, Four Eras” movies are showing one more time each this evening, and you still have time to get to the Admiral Theater (2343 California SW) to enjoy one of them if you’re not there already. We’ll have photos and video from the festivities later, but above – that’s Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals with one of the theater’s historic mural appliques, subject of an upcoming restoration campaign – if you go to one of the special screenings tonight, you’ll hear about that too.

Next showtimes tonight, from the full preview on the SWSHS website:

ERA ONE, the Portola Theater’s opening in 1919: A slate of classic silent films: Charlie Chaplin’s war parody “Shoulder Arms” (1918), plus three shorts, Harold Lloyd’s “The Marathon” (1919) and Buster Keaton’s “One Week” (1920) and “Cops” (1922). “Shoulder Arms” played the Portola Theater in August 1927. Second showtime 8:40 pm

ERA TWO, the Admiral Theater’s opening on Jan. 22, 1942: The Humphrey Bogart detective story “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), which played the Admiral Theater six weeks after it opened in 1942. Second showtime 8:50 pm

ERA THREE, the Admiral’s twinning in spring 1973: The nostalgic comedy “American Graffiti” (1973), which played the Admiral Theater in August 1974. Second showtime 9 pm

ERA FOUR, the renovation of the Admiral to four screens in fall 2016: The new Disney fantasy “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), which is slated to open at the Admiral on the previous Friday, March 17. Second showtime 9:10 pm

More to come in report #2!

‘THE SHIP SAILS AGAIN’: Admiral Theater celebration announced for March 22nd

Maybe you’ve already been to the movies at the remodeled-into-a-fourplex Admiral Theater. Even if you haven’t, it’s finally time to officially celebrate the reinvention of West Seattle’s only moviehouse. Just announced by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:

Just two years shy of 100 years old, the Historic Admiral Theater will celebrate its recent $1.7 million renovation with a unique evening saluting four key periods in the history of the art-deco, nautical-themed moviehouse.

The event on the evening of Wednesday, March 22, is called “The Ship Sails Again: Four Screens, Four Eras.” Launching the event will be an indoor ribbon-cutting (using film instead of ribbon!). Also, the long-dormant outdoor ticket booth will come alive with public office-holders and volunteers distributing keepsake postcards commemorating the evening.

On the bill for this special evening will be four programs, each representing a turning point in the theater’s history and featuring films that have played the Admiral or its predecessor, the Portola Theater (which was in the building that is the current theater’s lobby):

* ERA ONE, the Portola Theater’s opening in 1919: A slate of classic silent films: Charlie Chaplin’s war parody “Shoulder Arms” (1918):

Plus three shorts, Harold Lloyd’s “The Marathon” (1919) and Buster Keaton’s “One Week” (1920) and “Cops” (1922). “Shoulder Arms” played the Portola Theater in August 1927. Showtimes: 6:50 and 8:40 p.m.

* ERA TWO, the Admiral Theater’s opening on Jan. 22, 1942: The Humphrey Bogart detective story “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), which played the Admiral Theater six weeks after it opened in 1942.

Showtimes: 6:30 and 8:50 p.m.

* ERA THREE, the Admiral’s twinning in spring 1973: The nostalgic comedy “American Graffiti” (1973), which played the Admiral Theater in August 1974.

Showtimes: 6:40 and 9 p.m.

* ERA FOUR, the renovation of the Admiral to four screens in fall 2016: The new Disney fantasy “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), which is slated to open at the Admiral on the previous Friday, March 17.

Showtimes: 6:20 and 9:10 p.m.

Tickets for each program will be regular prices: $11.50 for adults, $9.50 for children (under 13) and seniors (60+) and $10.50 military. Those purchasing a pair of tickets for an early-evening show and late-evening show will receive a complimentary bag of the Admiral’s famous popcorn.

Advance ticket purchases are encouraged because of the expected crowds that evening. Advance tickets can be purchased at the theater, 2343 California Ave. SW, or online here (click “Buy Tickets Online” in upper right corner).

The ribbon/film-cutting ceremony will take place at about 5:30 p.m. on the stairs inside the theater lobby. Participating in the ceremony will be a pair of public officials and West Seattle residents:

* Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, of District 1 (West Seattle and South Park), marking the city’s role in the 1989 landmarking of the Historic Admiral Theater, resulting from a grassroots campaign led by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

* King County Council Chair Joe McDermott, of District 8 (West Seattle, Vashon Island and parts of downtown), who championed the 4Culture “Building for Culture” grant of $95,000 that assisted in the renovation of the Historic Admiral Theater in 2016.

Also participating in the ceremony will be representatives of Far Away Entertainment, which operates the Historic Admiral Theater, and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

Other participants will include West Seattle residents Maryanne Tagney and David Jones, winners of a Historic Admiral Theater package at the historical society’s 2016 Champagne Gala Brunch.

The outdoor ticket booth will be open for the distribution of keepsake postcards at 5 p.m. Working the booth in shifts will be Herbold, McDermott, and volunteers from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

Before each screening that evening, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society will speak briefly about plans to restore the 1942 underwater murals that are now exposed on the interior walls of the outside walls of the theater. In the lobby, the historical society also will have an informational booth about the mural restoration.

*************

The Historic Admiral Theater: a timeline

* 1919: The Portola Theater (the same building as the current Admiral Theater lobby) opens.

* Jan. 22, 1942: The Admiral Theater opens.

* Spring 1973: The main auditorium is cut in two, and the moviehouse becomes known as the Admiral Twin Theater.

* Jan. 29, 1989: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society pickets in front of the Admiral on closing night and launches a city landmark campaign for the moviehouse.

* July 1989: The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board designates the Admiral a city landmark.

* April 2, 1992: The Admiral reopens after a closure of more than three years.

* Fall 2016: The Historic Admiral Theater undergoes $1.7 million renovation and expansion to four screens while retaining all landmarked historical features, including underwater appliqué murals exposed for the first time in more than four decades.

* March 22, 2017: “The Ship Sails Again: Four Screens, Four Eras” grand reopening celebration.

Though this is a “grand reopening” celebration, The Admiral has stayed open through the remodeling work, and is currently showing (corrected lineup) “Hidden Figures,” “Logan,” “Lion,” and “Kong” in both 2D and 3D.

Hoping to see ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ in West Seattle?

If you’re hoping to see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at West Seattle’s newly renovated Admiral Theater, here’s an update:

Though the official start date is Friday, The Admiral does have Thursday night shows, and manager Dinah Brein wants you to know: “Tickets will NOT be available online or at the theater until this Thursday [tomorrow]. Box office opens at 2 PM. You can buy tickets for either Thursday’s 2D 7 PM show or the 3D 9:40 at that time. ‘Rogue One’ will be showing 4 times a day starting Friday. You can come to the box office at noon starting Friday and buy tickets for any show ON THAT DAY. Remember, our theater is smaller now; only 225 seats so you will want to come early. Lines will be forming outside.”

FOLLOWUP: Admiral Theater’s 2nd new auditorium now open; 3rd and 4th expected within weeks

When we reported last week on the debut of the first of four new auditoriums at West Seattle’s only moviehouse, the city-landmark Admiral Theater, management was hoping to have the second one open by Thanksgiving. So we checked – and indeed, it is open. If you’re going there today/tonight or for the rest of the holiday weekend, you have three movie options, because the theater confirms that both halves of its newly twinned Pier 1 are open, as is Pier 2, where twinning work starts next week. The second new auditorium is showing “Doctor Strange” plus an added early-evening showing of “Moana.”

According to this week’s e-mail newsletter, The Admiral hopes to have the rest of the work done by “mid-December in time for the ‘Star Wars’ (Rogue One) premiere on 12/16.” Also, if you haven’t been lately: “Restrooms have already been renovated as has repainting of the lobby and enhancement of our concessions area. Our goal has been to remain open during construction with crews beginning early each day and finishing their work by the time afternoon movies begin. We recognize that we are still somewhat of an active construction site but have been able to offer movies in a quality and professional environment. The entire project will be complete within a matter of weeks and we look forward to welcoming the community with 4 brand new state-of-the-art auditoriums and the most current digital laser projection and sound quality.”

BACKSTORY: The renovation work began two months ago – three months after a key approval from the city Landmarks Board, a year and a half after the theater’s longtime management announced “an agreement in principle” with its owner to allow the renovations, which they had warned in mid-2014 were essential to the historic moviehouse’s survival.

ADMIRAL THEATER: First renovated screen to debut tonight

movierear

If you’re planning to go to the Admiral Theater tonight, you might be among the first to see a film on a brand-new screen. Via reader tips/questions, and then confirmation with theater management, we learned that the Admiral is debuting the first of its new auditoriums tonight – one of the two it’s been working on for the past few months, as the landmark moviehouse is transformed into a four-screen theater, with stadium seating and other state-of-the-art touches.

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We stopped in for photos after confirming with the Admiral that they plan to launch the first new auditorium tonight, with the 6:30 pm showing of “Fantastic Beasts.” This is the one where old “applique murals” were uncovered during renovation work:

moviemural

With the new auditorium coming online, The Admiral is back to showing two movies at a time (“Doctor Strange” is continuing right now – see the schedule here). We’re told the other new auditorium should be ready sometime next week. Once the two new ones are both in operation, then work can begin on dividing the remaining older one.

Admiral Theater renovations: See what they’re uncovering

September 25, 2016 11:02 am
|    Comments Off on Admiral Theater renovations: See what they’re uncovering
 |   Admiral Theater | West Seattle news

moremural
(Photos courtesy Admiral Theater/Southwest Seattle Historical Society)

One week into the renovation work at the Admiral Theater, here’s the first look inside, courtesy of theater staff and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. The photos above and below show parts of a mural that had been hidden since the theater was split into two auditoriums decades ago.

muralpanorama

See and read more on the SWSHS website. When the work’s all done, the Admiral will have four screens. Right now, it has one – the western auditorium is open while work goes on next door.

Admiral Theater renovation work finally about to start

2016 06-03 Group Hug for the Admiral Theater lowresJS
(Photo by Jean Sherrard, courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society; click here to see full-size version on SWSHS website)

Three and a half months after the “Group Hug” event (photo above) celebrating the historic Admiral Theater‘s impending renovation work, the operators of the landmark moviehouse just got the permit they needed to get going! Here’s the big announcement of what happens next, just in from Jeff Brein of Far Away Entertainment:

With all required city ​building permits in hand, upgrades, expansion and renovations of the Historic Admiral Theater in West Seattle will begin in earnest on Monday, ​Sept.​ 19 with completion expected in November.
 
Moviegoers will be able to see films at the Admiral during the construction period, according to Jeff Brein, managing partner of Far Away Entertainment, the Bainbridge Island-based group that operates the theater.
 
“Our principal goal is to keep the theater open during this process, albeit on a limited basis,” Brein said. “Initially, weekday films will be presented in a single theater, with expanded schedules on weekends. As the project progresses and additional auditoriums are readied we expect the number of movie offerings to increase.”
 
Brein and partner Sol Baron have worked with building owner Marc Gartin for several years to plan a history-based renovation of the iconic 1942 theater, for which the Southwest Seattle Historical Society secured city landmark status 27 years ago. The Gartin family purchased and reopened the theater in 1992 after a three-year closure.
 
The current two-auditorium footprint will expand to four and will feature stadium seating in two larger auditoriums. Additional enhancements will include new, state-of-the-art digital laser projection systems, a 3D auditorium, Dolby Digital sound systems, new seating with beverage cup holders, and upgraded carpeting, concessions area and restrooms.
 
“Additionally,” Brein said, “we have been working with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and plan to reveal and eventually restore the original, interior auditorium murals featuring underwater appliqués that have been hidden since the theater was twinned in 1973. We also have been working together on other improvements, including repainting of the lobby and preservation of its 1942 mural of Captain George Vancouver and other artwork. Other less apparent enhancements will include a revised traffic flow pattern for ticket sales and more open space in the lobby, improved theater floor lighting and an upgrade of the theater’s marquee.”
 
The Admiral Theater project team includes Swinterton Builders, CDA Architecture, and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, as well as the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, which approved the renovation in June. Credit also goes to King County Council member Joe McDermott and King County Executive Dow Constantine, both West Seattle residents, for helping secure a $95,000 “Saving Landmarks” grant from 4Culture last November.

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society eagerly anticipates the renovation, said Clay Eals, executive director. “We are thrilled that these many improvements will allow the Admiral Theater to thrive well into the future and can occur without harming – and actually exposing and showcasing more of – the building’s historic features,” Eals said.

“We salute Far Away Entertainment and the Gartin family ownership for their perseverance and heart,” he said.

“This renovation project and the existence of the theater itself wouldn’t be possible without the grassroots effort that saved it in 1989, and the history of this moviehouse, an art deco masterpiece, is a shining example of how neighbors engaging in the landmark process can add economic vitality to the city while building community pride.”

Our archived coverage of The Admiral is here, including our report on the Landmark Board’s approval of the work back in June, and the February 2015 announcement of the agreement between the building’s owner and operators that paved the way for this work.

ADMIRAL BIZNOTES: ‘Mommy Matinees’; Kosara; White Crane Wellness

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BRINGING BABY TO THE MOVIE! While it’s billed as being for “mommies,” the new Friday morning events at the historic Admiral Theater are really for anyone with a very young baby in tow. The Admiral recently launched 10 am Friday showings described as “first-run matinees for parents, nannies, grandparents and caregivers. The sound will be turned down and you’re welcome to bring a stroller, feed your baby, let your baby fuss, cry or coo, and no one will mind! Please note these movies are our regularly featured movies. Children age five and under are free. Adult tickets are matinee-priced.” The movies are first-run films already on the theater’s schedule, so this week’s movies – tomorrow (August 26th) at 10 am – are Florence Foster Jenkins” and “War Dogs.”

KOSARA ON THE WAY TO ADMIRAL: Across the street from the theater, you might have noticed the liquor-license posting for Kosara at the former Zatz Bagels, which closed in June 2015 at 2348 California SW – we’ve received more than a few questions about it. We noticed it too and have been trying to get more information; the license application includes a familiar name, Plamen Stoyanov, already a West Seattle restaurateur (Amante, Huddle), but when reached for comment, he told WSB he’s not yet ready to go public with the plan. So all we know is that the license being sought is for a restaurant with beer and wine.

WHITE CRANE WELLNESS MERGES WITH WEST SEATTLE WELLNESS: In South Admiral, White Crane Wellness (3435 California SW) has been acquired by West Seattle Wellness, and remains open for what its new ownership describes as “alternative health care services such as, but not limited to, acupuncture, massage, energy work, physical therapy, counseling, organic skin care, and more.” You’re invited to an open house at White Crane on Saturday, October 1st, 1-4 pm.

Admiral Theater renovations get Landmarks Board approval

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

At City Hall, the Landmarks Preservation Board has just unanimously approved the Admiral Theater‘s renovation plans – a key step toward getting the work done in the months ahead.

The board’s approval is necessary because much of the historic moviehouse is protected by the city ordinance designating it a landmark – including its site, exterior, lobby (but not its restrooms or carpet), and the east and west walls with historic mural art.

FarAway Entertainment (the theater operator, not building owner)’s Sol Baron presented the plan, after first describing the Admiral’s ship-evocative design. “What we’re proposing is limited exterior improvements, updating our bathrooms – right now they probably haven’t been updated in decades – make them handicapped-accessible … Main thing we’re doing from our business perspective is converting the 2-screen auditoriums to 4 screens. A corridor that’s actually a tunnel is how we’re going to access them … (they’ll have) stadium seating, it’s going to be a pretty classy place – around 220 seats in 2 auditoriums, the other two will be significantly smaller.”

Baron said the exterior work will be limited, but they’ll be “replacing water-damaged sections of the roof … replacing emergency exit doors … inside, the doors will be painted the same colors …. lobby doors will be painted the same color … we’re not making any chnages in the color or look.” Also some improvements are planned to deal with stormwater issues, including a downspout, and a steel canopy over two alley-side stairwells that “collect water.” Some exterior “patching and painting” is planned, too.

On to the interior: They want to change the bottleneck of how the entry works – requiring you to go through the ticket counter the moment you set foot into the building – so that people have some access to more of a “public space” in the lobby. For one, they’ll transfer condiments to a condiment counter, which will enable the addition of one more concession stand. They’ll reconfigure what’s in the lobby, and also change the look of the concession counters themselves.

(WSB file photo)

Overall, they want to pull as much signage as they can away from the Captain Vancouver mural (above) so that it’s showcased even more.

Enhancing the theme, Baron told the board they’re ordering a custom carpet “that will have nautical themes.” He said some of the mural art that will be uncovered inside the theater is believed to be in OK shape but will need restoration work, and they hope to partner with the community on that. New curtains are planned too.

The only member of the public to speak was Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals, who campaigned to save the theater almost three decades ago when it was in danger of closing forever. “This is a hugely exciting turning point, in fact, it will go down as a landmark year … the theater is a bellwether for the community.” He mentions the 1989-1992 closure, “and in those three years there were many empty storefronts” as a result. “This is what’s going to keep a landmarked business building alive. … The beauty of this is, these changes are being done without harming, and with in fact enhancing the historic features of this building … that caused this board to vote it to be landmarked 27 years ago.” He mentions that the centennial of the building itself (in its pre-Admiral incarnation) is just three years away. “Exposing the murals … will be a tremendously inspiring thing.” He called it “the next phase of a jewel … the only theater in the community … the only theater between the airport and downtown.”

Landmarks Board member Deb Barker (a West Seattleite) said that “cleaning up the mural in the lobby really makes a lot of sense …” Board member Rob Ketcherside said it will be good for the mural art to be seen by more people. Barker said, “What’s there now, you really have no idea that the side walls (hide the murals).”

Baron explained that all this is essential to make the theater a successful commercial venue, and that the building’s owner had looked at other possible uses, but continued operation of a moviehouse would be vital to truly honoring the reasons it was made a landmark.

With that, the board voted unanimously to give its approval. As noted in our coverage of the “Group Hug” event outside the theater earlier this month, Baron expects the work to get going by mid-August.

VIDEO: ‘Group Hug for The Admiral’ honors historic ‘neighborhood moviehouse’

2016 06-03 Group Hug for the Admiral Theater lowresJS
(Photo by Jean Sherrard, courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society; click here to see full-size version on SWSHS website)

10:58 AM: After a burst of excitement this morning, with a crowd including about 800 elementary-school students and former mayors Greg Nickels and Norm Rice, The Admiral District is getting back to the usual dull roar. The “Group Hug for The Admiral” photo event, organized by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, went off flawlessly, with photographers Jean Sherrard and Brad Chrisman atop a lift truck across the street from the historic theater, hailed as a classic “neighborhood moviehouse.” (Updated) Here’s what the crowd looked like on the ground:

hugkids
(WSB photos/video from here down)

The speakers included theater operator Far Away Entertainment, Sol Baron told WSB that the renovations to convert it into a fourplex – the reason to capture this moment in time – are expected to start by mid-August, provided the final permits come through. (added) You’ll hear him in this clip, introduced by Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals, who emceed and organized the event:

12:37 PM: More of how it unfolded: Plenty of orange-vested adults (the vests were loaned by Highland Park Elementary) were there to help ensure the safety of the students, who walked from each participating school – we rolled a bit of video as each arrived:

First, the most distant school, Schmitz Park:

Then, Alki:

Finally, the nearest school – about half a block south – Lafayette:

Along with those we’ve mentioned earlier, speakers also included the principals of all three participating schools – Shannon Hobbs-Beckley from Alki, Gerrit Kischner from Schmitz Park, and Robert Gallagher from Lafayette – as well as Jim Kelly from 4Culture (which donated $95,000 to the Admiral renovation project) and Shannon Braddock from County Councilmember Joe McDermott‘s office:

hugdinitaries

The principals voiced appreciation for their students’ chance to be part of a moment in local history:

The theater, its operators stressed, will remain open throughout the renovation work later this year. We’ll find out more about the specifics as the plan goes to the city Landmark Preservation Board – whose approval is required because of the theater’s landmark status – later this month.

Mayor Nickels, as introduced by Eals, represented this area on the King County Council when The Admiral closed – in danger of never reopening – in 1989. The Admiral enhances our area’s “sense of community,” he pointed out, also lauding Eals for organizing the campaign to save the theater, which reopened in 1992. Mayor Rice was in office at the time of the reopening and said The Admiral continues to “symbolize West Seattle … and the people who care so much about it.”

P.S. From-above SWSHS photo added 10:30 am Saturday!

REMINDER: Admiral Theater ‘Group Hug’ tomorrow morning

In case you missed our original mention and are going to be in The Admiral District at midmorning tomorrow (Friday), a reminder that almost a thousand students will be there too, for the “Group Hug for The Admiral” event. As reported here last week, it’s a big photo op to commemorate the soon-to-start major renovations at the historic Admiral Theater, organized by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which did the same thing for the Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge on the first Friday of June last year. SWSHS executive director Clay Eals says neighbors in the area all have received a notice; students will start arriving, on foot, around 9:30 am, from Alki, Lafayette, and Schmitz Park Elementary Schools. The ceremony/photo is set for 10 am; former mayors Norm Rice and Greg Nickels (an Admiral-area resident) are scheduled to speak to them briefly. No streets will be closed but a few parking spaces in front of the theater will be off-limits for the duration of the event.

West Seattle’s Admiral Theater to get a ‘group hug,’ as renovation work nears

(June 2015 photo by Jean Sherrard, courtesy SWSHS)

Remember that scene at the Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge last year, with hundreds of local students photographed in what Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals dubbed a “group hug,” to commemorate the start of its restoration? Something similar is about to happen for another West Seattle landmark – again on the first Friday in June. This time, it’s West Seattle’s only moviehouse, the Admiral Theater. Hundreds of area students will gather outside the theater at midmorning on June 3rd (one week from tomorrow) for another “group hug,” to be photographed from above, as the theater gets ready to launch its renovation project. No street closure, but things will be a little crowded outside the gas station/mini-mart next door; Eals tells us that’s where they’ll be gathering.

(WSB photo from February)

Speaking of the Admiral’s renovation work, which ultimately will turn it into a fourplex with lots of upgrades to its lovable-but-worn interior, readers have been asking about its status. So we checked with The Admiral’s Dinah Brein, who says the city permit process has had them in a holding pattern. “They are backed up 4-6 weeks. We initially were hoping to start first couple weeks of May, but now they won’t probably review until the end of June. At that point, depending on if they have any questions, comments or concerns that we need to address, we will have to resubmit again for their approval. We are thinking that we should be good to go no later than end of August, which would be good because the movies slow down until mid-October for the holidays.” That’ll be close to a year after the originally hoped-for timetable for getting the work started; the agreement between the theater’s owners and longtime operator Far Away Entertainment was announced early last year.