Uptown Theater (Washington, D.C.)

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. The theater is considered by many as "the best screen" in the Washington, D.C. metro area,^[1] and has been the site of many Hollywood premieres since its opening on October 29, 1936. The theater was designed by architect John J. Zink, whose firm designed over 200 theaters across the United States. Subsequent remodellings have destroyed literally all of the auditorium's original decor, however. Originally, the theater had a capacity of 1,120, including the balcony, however, a $500,000 renovation project in 1996 decreased capacity to its current 850.

The Uptown features 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 removed to be replaced with a Christie Dual-Projector 3D system for the opening of 'Tron Legacy'

Film premieres

• The Uptown held the 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.
• The Uptown was 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.
• The Uptown was the 8th theater in the USA 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.
• The Uptown was host to the world premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture on December 6, 1979.
• The Uptown hosted the 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.

References