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Building History

Alexander Pantages started his vaudeville theatre empire in 1902 in Seattle, WA. Frequently, developers of the 1910s-1920s would maximize profits from city lots by building office/retail blocks adjoining theatre properties. (This was true of Pantages in many locations, such as the Tacoma Pantages Theatre #2 [1917-1918]).

The Pantages Theatre chain occupied many offices in the adjoining 6-story office block fronting Seattle's 3rd Avenue, using it as a headquarters for the organization.

A note appeared in the American Architect in 11/1913: “Seattle—A theatre to cost about $300,000 will be erected by Alexander Pantages at 3rd and University St. Architect Marcus Priteca prepared the plans.” (See “Washington,” American Architect, Vol. CIV, no. 1976, 11/05/1913, p. 16.)

Alexander Pantages applied to the City of Seattle for a building permit to erect his $750,000 theatre and office building on 04/05/1914. (See "Seattle and State Advance During Year 1914," Seattle Times, 01/03/1915, p. 24.)

Building Notes

The Seattle architect J. Lister Holmes (1891-1986) operated his office in the Pantages Building between 1923-1925, rooms 507 and 509.

The designer of the Pantages Building, B. Marcus Priteca, (1889-1971) operated his architectural office here from 1915-1964.

Demolition

The Pantages/Palomar Theatre was torn down in 1965 to build a parking lot. The Cinema Treasures.org web site listed a demolition date of 06/19/1965. Razing of substantial buildings like cinemas often took more than one day, and probably occurred over a period of a week or weeks. (See Cinema Treasures.org, "Palomar Theatre," accessed 12/09/2020.)

PCAD id: 6048