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Stunning Old-School Movie Theaters Where You Can Still Catch a Film
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items Every time I visit a new city, my first priority is to check out the local movie scene: drive-ins? Indie theaters? Screenings in the park? I love them all, but my absolute favorite places to visit are historic old movie palaces, a handful of which ar...
Map
Sections
4
West Coast
East Coast
Midwest
The South
West Coast
The West Coast definitely dominates the surviving movie palace landscape, thanks to Hollywood's legacy as the movie capital of the world.
A living Hollywood monument, this lavish, iconic 1922 movie palace hosted the world's first ever film premiere—Robin Hood (1922), starring Douglas Fairbanks—and thought to be the first iteration of the “Egyptian style” movie house that was extremely ...
The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood (Los Angeles)
Reportedly a favorite locale of former area resident Alfred Hitchcock, this stunning Art Deco theater, which dates back to 1936, received a full restoration in 2002. It now shows a mix of first run and independent and foreign language films.
Del Mar Theatre (Santa Cruz, CA)
One of the most famous movie palaces of all time, this LA landmark—previously (and better known as) Grauman's Chinese Theatre—has seen decades of Hollywood history (particularly, buzzy film premieres) since its erection in 1927 following the success ...
TCL Chinese Theatre
Located on the busiest section of Hollywood Boulevard, this iconic movie palace was the brainchild of Charles E. Toberman, who built three “themed” theaters with Sid Grauman, including the Egyptian (1922) and Grauman's Chinese (1927). This one, opene...
El Capitan Theatre (Los Angeles)
Originally opened as the nautical-themed Portola Theatre in 1919 (!), this super-adorable four-theater historic movie theater opened in 1942 under the name the Admiral theater, which it retains to this day. The theater still has nautical motifs and e...
Admiral Theater (Seattle)
In the effort of transparency, this extremely-cool, gorgeous-looking arthouse theater did have something of an odd smell to it when I visited there in 2023. But isn't that part of a historic building's charm? Built in 1929, the theater was purchased ...
Landmark Nuart Theatre (Los Angeles)
I'm obsessed with the Mission-style architecture of this beautiful Santa Barbara movie palace, which now shows a mix of live performances and movie screenings. Built in 1931 as the Fox Arlington Theatre, the theatre houses a Robert-Morton organ, one ...
Arlington Theatre (Santa Barbara)
Located on Bainbridge Island, a suburb of Seattle), this totally charming arthouse theater is one of the oldest continuously operating business on the island. Opened in 1936 as the first sound film theater on the island, the little single-screen thea...
Lynwood Theatre (Seattle)
One of the last movie palaces built in the San Francisco Bay Area, this Art Deco theater dates back to 1932, when it allegedly boasted the largest movie screen on the West Coast. It underwent a series of renovations and restorations in the years sinc...
Alameda Theatre & Cineplex (Bay Area)
This landmark, circa 1940 movie house in Santa Monica is owned and maintained by American Cinematheque, a nonprofit that provides incredible film programming through partnerships with preservation houses, acquiring rare prints. It has been recently r...
Aero Theatre (Los Angeles)
This gorgeous-looking historic theater nestled in the Los Feliz neighborhood dates back to 1935, though it was converted from a single-screen theatre to a three-screen theater in the early 1990s. Owned and operated by Vintage Cinemas, the theater fea...
Los Feliz 3 Theatre (Los Angeles)
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Recently reopened in 2024, this single-screen Art Deco architectural gem dates back to 1939 and was designed by Clifford Balch, who designed a number of notable movie theaters in the area. It sported several beautiful hand-painted murals reflecting t...
Lido Theatre (Newport Beach)
East Coast
As much as arthouse culture might seem like it would be an East Coast staple, it's been hard for old school theaters to survive in such busy, ever-changing cities. These old school theaters are true survivors!
Several old movie palaces were conceived in the style of vaudevillian theater, but this movie palace actually *was* a vaudevillian theater, long before it became a movie palace. Originally built as a Yiddish Art Theatre in 1925, this Moorish Revival-...
Village East (New York)
Dating back to 1933, this stunning independent Art Deco-style movie theater runs an impressive program of cult and foreign films out of a restored space that makes it a true gem to the wider Boston area.
Coolidge Corner Theatre (Boston)
You may recognize this historic, four-screen theater as the site of the film premiere that opens John Waters' arthouse cinephile satire Cecil B. Demented (2000)! Built in 1939, the (truly striking) theater is the oldest operating movie theater in cen...
The Senator Theatre (Baltimore)
The oldest movie theater in continuous use in Washington D.C., this two-screen neoclassical architectural gem dates back to 1923, when it opened as the “Chevy Chase Theatre” to exhibit silent movies. It retains several elements that hint at its histo...
The Avalon Theatre (D.C.)
This lesser-known Art Deco gem in Queens is one of the oldest surviving old-school movie theaters in the city. Built in 1935 as the “Austin Theatre,” the historic movie theater toiled for years under different functions and identities before being sh...
Kew Gardens Cinemas (NYC)
This terrific cinema house, run by the American Film Institute, operates out of the former Silver Theatre, built in 1938 by architect John Eberson, who built a number of similar movie palaces throughout the country, a handful of which are still in op...
AFI Silver Theatre (DC)
Midwest
The Midwest actually has a really robust old school theater scene: the Chicago area (in particular) has taken great care to preserve its architectural links to old movie production and culture (and its old theaters / movie halls!).
Designed by signature movie palace architect John Eberson, this beautiful movie palace was actually first constructed as a vaudeville theater in 1922 before reopening as an exhibition space for “talkies” a few years later. The space was abandoned in ...
Orpheum Theatre (Wichita)
The cinephile haven of Chicago, this indie theater—beloved for its arthouse, independent, and cult programming—is housed in a historic theater space that dates back to 1929, restored throughout the 80s and 90s. A highlight of the space is its theatre...
Music Box Theatre (Chicago)
I don't know why the Motion Picture Association of America listed this former movie palace as the #1 movie theater in the world, nor why the Motion Picture Association of America is out here naming best movie theaters, but surely this little gem dese...
State Theatre (Traverse City, MI)
This gorgeous, historic Chicago theater has somehow defied the odds for over a century, passing through countless hands and weathering various transformations to the neighborhood since it opened in 1915. Fully restored, walking past the marquee into ...
The Logan Theatre (Chicago)
Dating back to 1928, this historic movie palace—built as an “atmospheric theatre” meant to evoke Spanish Colonial Revival, popular at the time, and also home to vaudevillian theater—now mostly hosts live events, but they do occasionally show films, i...
Marion Palace Theatre (Marion, OH)
The South
There's no shortage of beautiful old movie palaces in the South: my childhood favorite, the Inwood Theatre in Dallas, actually inspired a lifelong love of old school movie theaters!
One of the great lasting monuments to old Movie Magic, this circa 1928 movie palace in Richmond, Virginia retains its Old World charm, thanks to loving restored interiors. Also onsite is an authentic Wurlitzer Organ, originally intended to accompany ...
The Byrd Theatre (Richmond)
This Atlanta Art Deco-style arthouse cinema is not only itself an historic theater, it also puts together some of the best repertory and cult programming in the country. The space dates back to 1939 and underwent a series of renovations and identity ...
Plaza Theatre (Atlanta)
Austin, home of the Alamo Drafthouse chain, has no shortage of movie houses to choose from, but none can claim the historical legacy of the Paramount, which dates back to 1915. Originally a vaudeville theater called “The Majestic,” the theater was re...
The Paramount Theatre (Austin)
Another movie palace designed by famed architect John Eberson, who built similar elaborate spaces throughout the country, this beautiful theater, built in 1926, is Tampa's only non-profit movie palace. It showcases independent and arthouse programmin...
Tampa Theatre (Tampa, FL)
My childhood mecca, this beautiful Art Deco-style theater dates back to 1947 and includes a striking marquee, accompanying neon sign, and a series of murals on the interior lobby ceiling, discovered during a 2005 renovation and restoration. The theat...
Inwood Theatre (Dallas)