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==History==
==History==
===Planning, design, and construction===
===Planning, design, and construction===
The president and general manager of Pacific Northwest Theatres, Inc., Harry C. Arthur, believed Seattle to be a place of growing importance in the motion picture industry in the mid-1920s, and consequently as the place to invest for the long term.<ref name="ST_09-04-26">{{Citation |title= Seattle's future is best in nation says theatre man |newspaper= [[The Seattle Times|The Seattle Daily Times]] |pages= p. 10 col. 1-2 |date= [[1926]]-[[September_4|09-04]]}}</ref> Arthur's company absorbed a competing chain of 40 theatres by 1926, and sought further expansion. A large holder of the theatre company's stock and debt was [[C. D. Stimson]] who sat on the board of directors of both Pacific Northwest Theatres and the Metropolitan Building Company, developer of what became known as the [[Metropolitan Tract (Seattle)|Metropolitan Tract]]. Stimson promoted the establishment of a theatre district like that which had developed around a theatre he had built in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]]. The architect [[Robert Reamer]], who had joined the Metropolitan Building Company after World War I as their house architect, was commission to design the [[Skinner Building]] and the 5th Avenue Theatre<ref>{{cite book |last= Ochsner |first= Jeffrey Karl, ed. |title= Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects |publisher= University of Washington Press |date=1998 |location= Seattle |pages= 186-191 |isbn= 0295973668}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
The president and general manager of Pacific Northwest Theatres, Inc., Harry C. Arthur, believed Seattle to be a place of growing importance in the motion picture industry in the mid-1920s, and consequently as the place to invest for the long term.<ref name="ST_09-04-26">{{Citation |title= Seattle's future is best in nation says theatre man |newspaper= [[The Seattle Times|The Seattle Daily Times]] |pages= p. 10 col. 1-2 |date= [[1926]]-[[September_4|09-04]]}}</ref> Arthur's company absorbed a competing chain of 40 theatres by 1926, and sought further expansion. A large holder of the theatre company's stock and debt was [[C. D. Stimson]] who sat on the board of directors of both Pacific Northwest Theatres and the Metropolitan Building Company, developer of what became known as the [[Metropolitan Tract (Seattle)|Metropolitan Tract]]. Stimson promoted the establishment of a theatre district like that which had developed around a theatre he had built in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref name="Kreisman_StimsonLegacy>{{cite book |last= Kreisman |first= Lawrence |title= The Stimson Legacy: Architecture in the Urban West |publisher= Willows Press/University of Washington Press |date= 1992 |location= Seattle |pages= 144-145 |isbn= 978-0-96-316300-4}}</ref>
The architect [[Robert Reamer]], who had joined the Metropolitan Building Company after World War I as their house architect, was commission to design the [[Skinner Building]] and the 5th Avenue Theatre<ref>{{cite book |last= Ochsner |first= Jeffrey Karl, ed. |title= Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects |publisher= University of Washington Press |date=1998 |location= Seattle |pages= 186-191 |isbn= 0295973668}}</ref><ref name="Kreisman_StimsonLegacy />
|last= Kreisman
|first= Lawrence
|title= The Stimson Legacy: Architecture in the Urban West
|publisher= Willows Press/University of Washington Press
|date= 1992
|location= Seattle
|pages= 144-145
|isbn= 978-0-96-316300-4}}</ref> and


===Grand Opening===
===Grand Opening===

Revision as of 04:08, 24 August 2007

  • John von Herberg and Claude Jensen, prior owners of Pacific Theatres

History

Planning, design, and construction

The president and general manager of Pacific Northwest Theatres, Inc., Harry C. Arthur, believed Seattle to be a place of growing importance in the motion picture industry in the mid-1920s, and consequently as the place to invest for the long term.[1] Arthur's company absorbed a competing chain of 40 theatres by 1926, and sought further expansion. A large holder of the theatre company's stock and debt was C. D. Stimson who sat on the board of directors of both Pacific Northwest Theatres and the Metropolitan Building Company, developer of what became known as the Metropolitan Tract. Stimson promoted the establishment of a theatre district like that which had developed around a theatre he had built in Los Angeles, California.[2]

The architect Robert Reamer, who had joined the Metropolitan Building Company after World War I as their house architect, was commission to design the Skinner Building and the 5th Avenue Theatre[3][2]

Grand Opening

The theatre celebrated its grand opening on September 24, 1926[4] after 11 months of construction. Under the guidance of architect Robert C. Reamer and Gustav F. Liljestrom, of the S. & G. Gump Company of San Francisco, a firm famous for its hotel and theatre interiors. [5]


Changing fortunes

Following the grand opening, The theatre served as a venue for vaudeville, then operated as a movie palace until the 1970s. Facing severe financial difficulties, it was forced to close its doors in 1978 along with neighboring theatres the Metropolitan and the Orpheum. Possibilities for the site included a Chinese restaurant, a triplex movie theatre, an office building, and a shopping center.[6][7][8]

Restoration

43 business leaders banded together in 1979 and underwrote a $2.6 million loan to save The 5th.

Several changes were made during the renovation: the orchestra pit and auditorium seating were rebuilt, the dressing rooms moved, and the technical systems updated. However, the furniture, fixtures and signage are original. Even the paint was carefully restored to its original luster.

June 16, 1980 marked the theatre’s rebirth and a new chapter in Seattle’s arts community. Now a historic landmark, The 5th continues to thrive with the assistance of many generous donors and volunteers.[6][8]

Post-1980 history

Following the renovation, The 5th Avenue has become one of Seattle's most established theatres. In 1989, The 5th Avenue Musical Theatre Company was established as a resident non-profit theatre company.[9] Since 1980, The 5th Avenue Theatre has produced or presented more than 3,000 performances of nearly 100 productions, attended by over 5.5 million people.[citation needed] Today, The 5th Avenue Theatre proudly produces top-quality musical revivals, premieres of bound-for-Broadway shows, and present touring Broadway musicals. They also host a variety of special events, and offer a number of education and outreach programs to school-age children and adults.

Architecture

Entry to theatre with decorative brackets above

Located in the Skinner Building, an historic office block ranging from five to eight stories with retail on the ground level, the theatre is surrounded on three sides, with its entry facing its namesake avenue. In addition to an auditorium with an original seating capacity of 3,000, the theatre contains a grand entry hall, and a mezzanine that once featured a tea room in addition to a waiting room and women's lounge.[10]

The interior of the 5th Avenue Theatre was modeled to reproduce some of the features of the most historic and well-known Beijing landmarks. The Norwegian artist Gustav Liljestrom executed the design based on his personal visit to China and the illustrated account of Ernst Boerschmann in his two volume illustrated book Chinesische Architecktur, published in 1925.[11]

The ornate historical Chinese style of the theatre distinguishes itself from the Neo-Renaissance exterior of the Skinner Building. Only at the street entry under the marquee does the viewer get a preview of the interior design. Here, adorning the ceiling are plaster representations of wood brackets, beams, and carved reliefs painted in a polychromatic scheme and decorated with stenciled dragons and flower patterns. Carved cloud shapes screen light fixtures to create an indirect lighting effect as the viewer approaches the wooden, brass knobbed entry doors. The original central free-standing box office was replaced by the current box office located to the side of the entry as part of a 1979 renovation.[11] The original Imperial guardian lions (Rhu Shi), commonly called foo dogs or foo lions, originally located oustide the entry were moved inside as part of the 1979 renovation.

Male Imperial guardian lion.

The interior architecture of the theatre is an "excellent imitation of Chinese wooden temple construction".[11] The two story rectangular lobby features red, stenciled columns wrapped in plaster rising to a timbered roof structure of decoratively painted beams supporting a canopy of bamboo, also imitated in plaster. The original pair of guardian lions, both male, guard the stairway to a second level gallery that serves the theatre balcony. In addition to the Imperial guard lions, other original furnishings, light fixtures, and decoration remain intact.

The decorative details continue in the 2,130-seat auditorium, but the highlight and focal decorative feature is the octagonal caisson from which a sculpted five-toed Imperial Chinese dragon springs. A large chandelier of glass hangs from the dragon's mouth, in reference to the Chinese symbol of a dragon disgorging flaming pearls.[12] One claim puts the size of this caisson at twice the size of the model on which it was based in the throne room of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City.[6] The opening night program spoke effusively of it:

Dragon and Pearl ceiling centerpiece.
"...Its most imposing feature is the great dome...its symbolic themes borrowed from Chinese legends, its motifs from Chinese poetry. Coiled within an azure sphere and surrounded by glowing hues of cloud red, emblematic of calamity and welfare; blue of rain; green symbolic of plaque; black of flood; and gold of prosperity--is the Great Dragon, guardian genius of the place, his presence shadowed and multiplied in varying forms throughout the structure. On the huge beams surrounding and supporting the dome are five-clawed dragons--the Emperor's emblem--spitting fire in pursuit of the Jewel, rendered in the shape of a disc emitting effulgent rays, and symbolic of Omnipotence."[11]

The dragon motif is repeated in the radial coffers of the caisson and the timbered coffers throughout the theatre. The Imperial dragon is accompanied by the symbol of the Empress, the Chinese phoenix (Fèng huáng), erroneously called Ho-Ho or Ho-Oh Bird from the Japanese. This personal symbol of the Empress is also repeated throughout the theatre, but in relief as part of the grills above false balconies that once screened organ pipes. In addition to these symbols, orange blossoms, chrysanthemums, and lotus flowers appear throughout the theatre. The highly decorate proscenium arch and asbestos house curtain maintain the Chinese design influence.[11]

Beyond the decorative features of the building, the 5th Avenue Theatre also contained notable technical features when orignally built. An ascending orchestra pit and independent Wurlitzer organ platform allowed the musicians to be raised up to main stage height or to orchestra pit level from the basement below.[13] The ventilation system had thermostatic controls throughout the building, and allowed the air to be 'washed' prior to its introduction into the venue at outlets under every third seat.[10]

Significance

Preceding Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, the 5th Avenue Theatre "has been called the largest and most authentic example of traditional Chinese timber architecture and decoration outside of Asia."[11]. In addition, it is associated with Robert Reamer, whose other notable works include the nationally known Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, as well as many important buildings in the Art Deco style.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. ^ "Seattle's future is best in nation says theatre man", The Seattle Daily Times, pp. p. 10 col. 1-2, 1926-09-04 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Kreisman, Lawrence (1992). The Stimson Legacy: Architecture in the Urban West. Seattle: Willows Press/University of Washington Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-96-316300-4.
  3. ^ Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. (1998). Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 186–191. ISBN 0295973668. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Flom, Eric L. "Fifth (5th) Avenue Theatre opens in Seattle amid gala celebration on September 24, 1926". Historylink.org. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  5. ^ {{cite news}}: Empty citation (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Our Historic Theater". 5thAvenue.org. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  7. ^ "Fifth (5th) Avenue Theatre". historylink.org. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference still was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Founders". 5thAvenue.org. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  10. ^ a b "Opening of Fifth Avenue Theatre friday is big event: Comfort is first at new theatre", The Seattle Daily Times, pp. p. 16 col. 5, 1926-09-23 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f Seattle Office of Urban Conservation (March 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form" (PDF). National Park Service, Department of Interior. Retrieved 2007-08-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  12. ^ Walters, Derek (1995). Chinese Mythology. London: Diamond Books. p. 45. ISBN 9780261666573.
  13. ^ "Opening of Fifth Avenue Theatre friday is big event: Rising orchestra pit is feature of theatre", The Seattle Daily Times, pp. p. 16 col. 1-4, 1926-09-23 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. (1998). Shaping Seattle Architectre: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 186–191. ISBN 0295973668. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

  • Boerschmann, Ernst. (1925). Chinesische Architektur, Berlin: E. Wasmuth, AG. OCLC 935622
  • Kreisman, Lawrence. (1992). The Stimson Legacy: Architecture in the Urban West, Seattle: Willows Press/University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-96-316300-4

Potential sources

  • Everhardt Armstrong. "Playhouse Promises New Epoch," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 19, 1926, p. 1-D.
  • "Orchestra Leader at New Theater Arrives," Seattle Daily Times, September 22, 1926, p. 12.
  • “Comfort is First at New Theater,” Ibid.,, September 23, 1926, p. 16
  • “New Theater Wins Praise,” Ibid., September 24, 1926, pp. 1 and 15
  • Marian Badcon, “New Theater Casts Spell Over Guests,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 24, 1926, pp. 1 and 3
  • Everhardt Armstrong, “Glittering Street Carnival Tonight,” Ibid.,, September 24, 1926, p. 13
  • “Chain Centers in Seattle,” Seattle Star, September 24, 1926, p. 22
  • “Months of Drill Make First Night a Perfection,” Ibid., September 24, 1926, p. 22
  • “Ushers Dressed as Mandarins,” Ibid., September 24, 1926, p. 24
  • “An Orient-Occident Combination,” Ibid., September 24, 1926, p. 24
  • Full-page Advertisement, Fifth Avenue Theater, Ibid., September 24, 1926, p. 21
  • “Cashier’s Tresses Show Time of Day,” Ibid., September 24, 1926, p. 23
  • “Let’s Play!,” Ibid., September 25, 1926, p. 1
  • “Show Crowds Pack Streets as Sardines,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 25, 1926, p. 1
  • “5th Avenue Theater,” Puget Sound Theater Organ Society Website, (http://www.pstos.org/instruments/ wa/seattle5th-ave.html)
  • “The 5th Avenue Theatre History,” 5th Avenue Theatre Website, (http://www.5thavenuetheater.org/ historyandphotos.shtml).
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