The Guild 45th

The Guild 45th is located at 2115 North 45th Street in Seattle, Washington. Originally built in 1919 as a live theater venue called the Paramount, it was renamed in the 1920s to avoid confusion with a downtown theatre of the same name. A second auditorium sharing the Guild 45th name was built two doors to the west in 1983, and today both buildings are owned by Landmark Theatres, a national chain that shows foreign, independent, and art-house films at its eight mostly-historic Seattle movie houses.

The Guild 45th is one of my favorite movie theaters anywhere and practically defines what the movie-going experience was for millions of Americans during the first half of the twentieth century. I chose it to illustrate this section for its classic architecture, Art Deco neon and trim, and the fact that it's about a 3 minute drive from the apartment I used to live in, which came in handy when I had to take photographs of it.