Uptown Theater (Washington, D.C.)

The Uptown Theater.
Location within Washington, D.C.
General information
Type	Theater
Location	Northwest, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates	38°56′06″N 77°03′31″W / 38.9349°N 77.0585°W / 38.9349; -77.0585Coordinates: 38°56′06″N 77°03′31″W / 38.9349°N 77.0585°W / 38.9349; -77.0585
Completed	1936
Height
Roof	171 feet (52 m)
Design and construction
Architect	John J. Zink

The Uptown Theater, also known as The Uptown or AMC Loews Uptown 1, is a historic single-screen movie theater in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

History

Opened on October 29, 1936, the theater has hosted many Hollywood premieres and is widely considered "the best screen" in its metro area.^[1] The theater was designed by architect John Jacob Zink, whose firm designed over 200 theaters across the United States. Nothing remains of the original decor. The theater originally seated 1,120, but a $500,000 renovation in 1996 decreased capacity to 850.

The Uptown has a curved, 70 feet (21 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) high screen, one of the largest in the area.

In December 2010, the theater's Norelco 35mm/70mm projector was dismantled and replaced with a Christie Dual-Projector 3D system for the opening of Tron Legacy.

Film premieres

• World premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey on April 2, 1968. The release was presented in a 70 mm projection format with a six-track stereo magnetic soundtrack. Following this screening, director Stanley Kubrick cut almost 20 minutes from the film's running time.
• One of the first 32 houses to play Star Wars on its opening day (Wednesday, May 25, 1977) in 35 mm with a 4-track stereo soundtrack. The theater also started playing the film in the 70 mm projection format with a 6-track Dolby Stereo magnetic soundtrack on December 16 of the same year.
• Madonna attended the world premiere of Dick Tracy on June 10, 1990.
• World premiere of Jurassic Park on June 9, 1993.
• The 8th U.S. theater to screen director Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now on October 3, 1979. Six-Track Dolby Stereo, which showcased a then-new quintaphonic split-surround audio mix. The film was shown without opening or closing credits or any studio logos; instead, a program was handed out to moviegoers.
• World premiere of Dances with Wolves on October 19, 1990. During the screening, the projector broke down twice.
• The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, on September 7, 2006.^[2]
• Lions for Lambs, starring Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, and Meryl Streep and directed by Redford, on November 7, 2007.

External links

• "Three Big Movies at the Uptown"

References