Let’s remember when the Jewel Box theater opened in Belltown, on this day in 1932 (August 29)
I was at the Rendezvous for an event last week and remarked that I’ve been to a variety of events there (concerts, comedy shows, book readings, parties, something called “the Poetry Brothel”) but I didn’t realize just how long its been in its home. That would be turn out to be 87 years today.
Per Peter Blecha of HistoryLink:
On the summer evening of Monday, August 29, 1932, Film Row in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood is all abuzz as another private screening room on the strip holds a grand-opening event. Benjamin F. Shearer (ca. 1890–1972) opens the Jewel Box in the middle of the building at 2318 2nd Avenue that also houses his thriving theatrical-supply company. Film Row is the name commonly used since the 1920s to describe a stretch of 2nd Avenue in Belltown where a couple dozen of Hollywood’s top film studios — including RKO, MGM, Warner Brothers, and United Artists — built film exchanges. These outposts typically house vaults for film storage, poster libraries — and tiny theaters where movie-theater owners from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska can visit and view forthcoming films to decide whether to book them for their venues.
Read the whole thing:
