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Overview

This two-floor commercial building opened in 1916. The Showbox Theatre began operation in 1939, hosting a variety of musical acts over the years, from jazz to grunge. In 1939, the spelling of the name was in two words, "Show Box," but, over time, it became elided into "Showbox."

Building History

Michael Lyons (1891-1965) opened the Show Box Cabaret in 1939; it had a large, rectangular ballroom on its second floor for dancing, originally with bars at each corner. The Seattle Daily Times said of its opening at the time: "Built at a cost of about $100,000, The Show Box, Seattle's newest dine and dance rendezvous, 1424 First Ave., will open tomorrow evening, according to Mike Lyons, owner and manager. Ultra-modern and with a seating capacity of 1,500, the resort is said to be a replica of Ben Marden's famous Riviera in New York. Dancing will begin each day at noon, and will continue until 1 o'clock in the morning. Eddie Zollman will be at the Wurlitzer in the afternoons, and Jimmy Murphy's Orchestra will play evenings. Jack Russell will be master of ceremonies at continuous floor shows to be featured every afternoon and evening. The opening program includes George Lyons, swing harpist, direct from the Sherman Hotel in Chicago; Warner and Margie, featuring their dancing dog Mona; Ray and Bee Gorman, a comedy act; Earl, Fortune and Pope, balloroom artists; Lucille Hughes, a study in silk and Miss Virginia Pope, dancer. 'We are giving Seattle something entirely new in the way of popular entertainments,' Lyons said yesterday. 'We have made the Show Box one of the finest cafes of its kind in the country, and we will never have a cover or minimum food service charge.'" (See "Rendezvous to Open," Seattle Daily Times, 07/23/1939, p. 14.) Ben Marden (1896-1973), who opened the famous Cotton Club in Harlem during the 1920s, established Ben Marden's Riviera in Fort Lee, NJ, overlooking New York, in 1932. This area had become newly accessible by car from New York City with the opening of the George Washington Bridge in 1931.

Marden's original Riviera burned in a fire on 11/26/1936, and a new, and even more spectacular $250,000 building opened just south of the old location shortly thereafter. According to his obituary in the New York Times: "[Marden] retained Louis Allen Abramson to design the new cafe, which was opened in the following year [1937]. A feature was a huge circular room under a domed roof, which could be opened to the sky." (See "Ben Marden, 77, Who Owned The Riviera Nightclub, Is Dead," New York Times, published 04/08/1973, accessed 10/29/2018.) The Palisafes Interstate Park Commission said of this second Riviera: "Painted yellow, the art-deco building was shaped like the rounded transom of a great yacht berthed high above the Hudson (the windows were even shaped like portholes). At night a huge red neon sign could be read from miles away: Ben Marden’s Riviera. On warm evenings, the roof could be retracted to allow for dancing by starlight. The stage revolved so that one act could replace another without pause in the entertainment. And then there was the talk of hidden gambling rooms…." (See the New Jersey Palisades Park Commission.org, "Remembering 'America's Showplace," accessed 10/29/2018.) This more elaborate second building was probably the model for Seattle's more rudimentary Show Box.

The Kerns Music Shop occupied a first-floor storefront beginning in 1946. This store showcased live acts itself, and became well-known in the city for featuring new talent; the local radio station KJR would broadcast these performances to those who couldn't be in attendance.

Over the years, various other businesses operated in the space vacated by Kerns, bars, restaurants, an amusement arcade, strip club, and a furniture store. In 1967, a new cabaret, called "The Happening," after contemporary performance events of the 1960s, opened in the Showbox space. The Seattle Daily Times stated: "Establishment of a new Class B Cabaret, to be known as The Happening, in the now-vacant Showbox at 1422 First Av., was recommended by the Council License Committee. The establishment will be operated by Kenneth L. Legg and Blaise A. le Wark." (See "New Cabaret," Seattle Daily Times, 01/24/1967, p. 8.)

During the late 1970s, the Showbox became a Jewish bingo hall called the "Talmud-Torah." This hall closed before 09/1979, when a new promoter, Modern Productions, obtained the building's lease. On 09/08/1979, Modern Productions staged its first show at the Talmud-Torah hall, with Magazine, leading the bill. Thereafter, the Show Box became a favorite local venue for local and touring rock music acts, particularly punk, New Wave, and other more experimental rock bands. During the 1970s and 1980s, big-name British acts such as the Police, the Specials, Public Image Limited (PiL), Psychedelic Furs, Squeeze and XTC played the venue, as did important American bands such as Iggy Pop, Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, X, and the Ramones. (See Stephen Tow, The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge, [Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2011], n.p.)

In 2007, Jeff Steichen, who had owned the Showbox for a number of years, sold the venue to the Los Angeles-based AEG Live (renamed in 03/2017 "AEG Presents,"), owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz (born 12/28/1939 in KS). In that year, two performance venues in Seattle were rechristened the "Showbox." The 1436 1st Avenue location became the "Showbox at the Market," while the 1800-person club formerly known as "Fenix Underground" became "Showbox SoDo."

The owner of the building in 2018, according to King County Assessor records was 1426 First Avenue LLC. It paid taxes on a 13,320-square-foot (0.31-acre) lot, and a 25,920-square-foot (gross) building, 22,138, net. Together, land and improvements had a taxable value of $12,322,000 in 2018, up from $6,661,000 in 2013 and $5,329,000 in 2008.

In 07/2018, the Vancouver, BC-based developer Onni Group, announced its plans to build a 442-unit apartment tower on the site of the Showbox. Onni worked with the land-use attorney Jack McCullough to demolish the Showbox at the Market, and built this 440-foot, $100 million skyscraper. At the same time as it planned this 1st Avenue highrise, Onni was busy elsewhere in Seattle, erecting four commercial and residential towers in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The architectural firm of Perkins and Will worked on the design of the "Onni Showbox Project." (See Mike Rosenberg and Michael Rietmulder, "Plan for high-rise would demolish Showbox," Seattle Times, 07/26/2018, p. A11.)

On the morning of 08/09/2018, the historic preservation group Historic Seattle assembled community groups at the Show Box to discuss strategies of saving it. According to an email sent out by Historic Seattle they were "...convening this coalition at a special press conference to share updates about the effort to #SAVETHESHOWBOX and to discuss policy ideas." (See email from Naomi West, Historic Seattle, to the author, 08/08/2018.)

Because of public pressure to save the theatre, the building's owner, Roger Forbes, sued the City of Seattle for $40 million in 09/2018. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.com, Forbes was "...alleging the city's [failure to provide a rezoning} ordinance 'greatly and instantly devalued the property' along with scuttling the redevelopment. Additionally, the company wants its legal fees reimbursed, along with additional damages to be determined in a jury trial if the ordinance is not rolled back." (See Zosha Millman, Seattle Post-Intelligencer.com, "Seattle's Showbox owner files suit against city, seeks up to $40 million," published 09/06/2018, accessed 09/06/2018.)

Building Notes

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Crosley Radio Corporation produced an eight-tube model called the "Show Box."

On 10/23/1939, risqué dancer Sally Rand (1904-1979), who had her performed her apparently nude Fan Dances at four World's Fairs during the 1930s, that scandalized the nation, appeared in a floorshow of 50 women at the Show Box Cabaret. (See "Sally Rand Will Bring Star Revue," Seattle Daily Times, 10/19/1939, p. 19.)

The English Synth-pop band, Ultravox, played at the Showbox on 01/08/1980. (See "Top Billing: Rock," Seattle Times, Tempo Section, 01/04/1980, p. 2.)

In 2018, the Showbox building contained the theatre and three adjoining retail spaces. At this time, they were occupied by the Blarney Stone Pub (1416 1st), Palace Jewelry and Loans (1420), and the Genghis Khan Restaurant (1422).