SIFF Cinema Downtown

The SIFF Cinema Downtown, formerly the Seattle Cinerama, is a landmark movie theater in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The theater opened in 1963 and was renovated in the 1990s after its acquisition by Paul Allen. The Cinerama was closed in May 2020. At the time of its 2020 closure, it was one of only three movie theaters in the world capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films. In 2023, the theater was purchased by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and reopened on December 14, 2023 as SIFF Cinema Downtown due to trademark issues with the "Cinerama" name.

The Seattle Cinerama opened in 1963 as Seattle's Martin Cinerama as a showcase for Cinerama. It was retrofitted a few months later to also show 70 mm films on its large curved screen. It soon became specialized in showing such spectaculars as The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Both formats shortly fell out of fashion, and Krakatoa, East of Java from 1969 was the last non-standard film to be shown at the Cinerama in the first era of its existence.

The following three decades were lean, as the proliferation of suburban multiplex theaters drew movie fans away from the Cinerama. Lackluster ticket sales quickly led to a general decline in the theater's upkeep, until it was relegated to playing second-run movies after being taken over by Cineplex Odeon on a reduced rent, month-to-month basis.

The turnaround began in 1997 when developers revealed plans to turn the Cinerama into a dinner theater or a rock-climbing club. This sparked a grassroots effort to save the historic venue, with local film buffs circulating petitions and issuing an urgent cry for help, which was answered by multi-billionaire Paul Allen, himself a movie fan and patron of the theater during its 1960s heyday.

Allen purchased the theater and initiated a comprehensive, multimillion-dollar restoration. The grand re-opening occurred in 1999. Since then, the theater has played both classic movies and select new productions.

The renovation restored the look of a great mid-20th century movie house, and installed of state-of-the-art technology and accessibility features. The theater had 808 seats and two screens. The first was a deep curved 90-foot-long, 30-foot-high screen, constructed of 2,000 louvered strips. It is used for presenting rare three-strip films such as How the West Was Won and 70 mm classics like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The deep curved screen is stored in sections behind a smaller screen used for regular screenings of modern 70 mm/35 mm first-run movies. A professional crew is required to dismantle the smaller screen and assemble the larger one for Cinerama and special event presentations.

The theater closed at the end of August 2010 for renovations. During the closure, a new digital projection and sound system was added, including support for the screening of 3-D films. A new screen was also installed, the concessions area updated, new carpeting and paint, and a new marquee and signage outside. The theater was still able to present films in 70mm and three-panel Cinerama formats.

The theater closed again in August 2014 for renovations. It reopened on November 20, for a screening of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.