SIFF Cinema Downtown

The SIFF Cinema Downtown occupies the former grand entrance of the old Fifth Avenue Theatre. Its most distinct feature is the restored marquee that glows with an Art Deco aesthetic, reaching out over the sidewalk. This space spent decades as a live performance venue before the Seattle International Film Festival converted it into a dedicated cinema. A man named John Hamrick opened the original theater here in nineteen twenty-six, gambling that patrons wanted opulent surroundings while they watched silent films accompanied by live orchestras.