Harvard Exit Theatre

2001 Photo from the Dave Felthous collection.

807 E Roy St Seattle WA 98102

Information for this tour was contributed by Dave Felthous.

The Harvard Exit's two screens are housed in a three-story brick building erected in 1925 for the Woman's Century Club. The club's main floor has a medium-sized auditorium, about 400 seats including a small balcony, and in the late 60s two Boeing engineers and movie buffs, Art Bernstein and Jim O'Steen, opened a movie theater there.

The spacious living-room-like lobby is reminiscent of the Seven Gables Theater and has furnishings that reflect the building's era. It is a tempting place to rest, have a cup of tea and read one of the many publications provided.

The curious name comes from the fact that moviegoers purchase tickets near the Roy Street entrance, but they exit through a set of doors that open onto Harvard Avenue.

Bernstein and O'Steen programmed a mix of offbeat, independent and arthouse films. Bernstein personally introduced the feature at each showing. Then after 10 years or so they sold out to the locally based Seven Gables group, which was doing essentially the same thing.

In the early 80s, Seven Gables converted a second-floor ballroom to a small cinema, originally dubbing it the "Top of the Exit." That name later was dropped, and it became impossible to tell from the Harvard Exit's newspaper ads what film was in which theater. (Their phone tape, however, tells which movie is "not handicapped accessible"; there are very steep stairs to the upstairs cinema, and no elevator.)

Now you don't have to call to find out. There is a clue in the Exit's newspaper ads. Only the downstairs theater has Dolby Digital. If the film is advertised as being in Dolby SR, you know that it's upstairs.

January 2004 photos from the Matt Lutthans collection.

37 KB · 450x296 North wall of aud. 1...	25 KB · 450x296 Rear area of cinema ...	26 KB · 450x231 Looking east from we...	27 KB · 450x300 Auditorium 1 waiting...	33 KB · 450x291 Auditorium 1 waiting...
25 KB · 450x291 Shot from left side ...	23 KB · 450x236 Severely underexpose...	28 KB · 450x292 Taken from just outs...	23 KB · 450x266 Upstairs, in NW corn...	26 KB · 450x287 Auditorium 1, taken ...
24 KB · 450x292 Aud. 1, taken from b...	27 KB · 450x323 Upstairs, looking ea...	21 KB · 450x208	16 KB · 450x226

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Last featured 1/23/2005. Last edited 2/25/2024.