Today, Seattle’s single-screen 600-seat movie house, the Egyptian Theater, is reopening its doors to Capitol Hill. The Egyptian was built in 1915 as a Masonic ballroom, but was turned into the Egyptian movie theater by the Seattle Internation Film Festival (SIFF) in 1980. Over time, the building changed hands, and was eventually purchased by Seattle Central Community College, who still own the building and use parts of it for theater and drama. In 1989, Landmark Theaters started operating the theater, and ran it until they vacated in 201. That August, SCCC put out a proposal for operating and renovating the theater.

SIFF won the proposal, and raised over $300,000 in donations over the course of this past Festival (ran from May-June) to complete the renovations. Among the changes they are making with this opening are a new concessions area, painting, repaired seating, and the ability to serve beer and wine. They are maintaining both digital projection and the ability to run 35mm prints.

The Egyptian soft opened in September for the opening film of the Women in Film festival, Lynn Shelton’s Laggies. They will be soft opening again this weekend with screenings of films which played well at the Egyptian over the course of its 24 year history as a movie theater. Tickets are $5, but are also free with the receipt from any nearby Capitol Hill business.

The Egyptian is the third first-run movie theater on Capitol Hill, including the nearby 2-screen Northwest Film Forum and Landmark’s 2-screen Harvard Exit. The reperatory digital projection dinner theater, Central Cinema, is also only a handful of blocks away at 21st and Union. The Egyptian is also SIFF’s third movie theater, with the 3-screen SIFF Uptown and the single screen SIFF Film Center.

Currently, the Egyptian is planning on closing after Sunday until it reopens for the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on Thursday night. Regular programming will resume Friday, October 17th.

The schedule for this weekend’s Egyptian Theater is as follows:

Friday:
3:30 – Amelie
6:30 – Amelie
9:30 – Enter the Dragon
11:55 – Pan’s Labyrinth

Saturday:
12:30 – My Neighbor Totoro
3:00 – Y Tu Mama Tambien
6:00 – O Brother, Where Art Thou?
9:00 – Blood Simple
11:55 – Risky Business

Sunday:
12:30 – My Neighbor Totoro
3:00 – Kagemusha
7:00 – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
9:30 – Orlando