Sunday, November 09, 2008

Uptown Marquee


Photo & Text Copyright 2008 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

The Uptown neighborhood is west of Seattle Center, bordered by Belltown and Queen Anne Hill. Many of its older business titles and city plot maps indicate this has been the area's name since the late 1800s. I also hear people call this area Lower Queen Anne, perhaps because one of its main commercial arteries, Queen Anne Ave N descends from atop the Hill down into its turf, or perhaps because some realtor adopted the practice of calling lower rent neighborhoods adjacent to upscale areas things like "Lower Pacific Heights" instead of the Filmore ;^). Maybe with the constantly changing residents of its apartments and condos the old name is just being forgotten. There is a thriving nightlife in the restaurants and bars on its commercial streets, and this cinema, the Uptown Theatre, bearing the neighborhood's name has been part of that scene since 1926 when its Wurlitzer accompanied silent films. This marquee dates from the 1940s. It's a little rusty and crusty with a bulb burnt out or neon tube missing or bent here and there, but it still lights up the night!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a neat photo. Not sure I recognize the flick but the name is nice. I enjoyed your write up.

Fashion Schlub said...

I miss the old-fashioned movie marquees. On Long Island we have mostly multiplexes with dozens of theaters....I guess they're practical but they're not nearly as charming...

Bob Crowe said...

Excellent night shot. It's hard to expose correctly for neon signs in the dark. The reflection in the car window is a nice touch.

Petrea Burchard said...

...and you really liked that movie, didn't you!

Anonymous said...

I grew up on Queen Anne Hill and my first apartment was a few blocks away from the Uptown. Love that marquee. Great photo Kim!

Laurie Allee said...

I love this shot so much. Everything about it is like eye candy -- that neon, those colors, the chopped marquis with those wonderful letters. This is just beautiful!

Laurie Allee said...

I just noticed the reflection on that car... perfect!

Danielle said...

Yeah, and it lights up my bedroom until they decide to turn the neon lights off for the night around 10 or 11pm...

>:O