Tower Theatre (Salt Lake City)

Tower Theatre

Tower Moving Pictures Theater, Tower Talkies

Address| 876 East 900 South
Salt Lake City, Utah
United States
Coordinates| 40°44′59″N 111°51′57″W﻿ / ﻿40.749809°N 111.865947°W﻿ / 40.749809; -111.865947
Owner| Salt Lake Film Society
Type|  cinema
Capacity| 340
Construction
Opened| January 8[1] or 10,[2] 1928
Years active| 97
Architect| Samuel Campbell
Website
Website

The Tower Theatre, located in the 9th and 9th neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a historic film theater operated by the Salt Lake Film Society.[1][3]

The theater (with the Broadway Centre Cinemas, also owned by the society) screens classic and independent films, and hosts a movie-rental library.[4] The theater became a venue for the Sundance Film Festival in 1992.[5]

The theater closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The Salt Lake Film Society purchased the Tower Theater building in December 2022, and plans to renovate it.[3]

## History

[edit]

The theater was built by Samuel Campbell in late 1927[citation needed] and opened January 8[1] or 10,[2] 1928\. The Tower Theater is the oldest movie theater in the Salt Lake Valley that still operates today, and was the first air-conditioned movie theater in the city.[4] Its original façade resembled the Tower of London,[1] but this was removed in 1950.[2] It was equipped with a Kilgen organ during the silent film era.[2] The theater converted to sound films in 1930 and became known as "Tower Talkies."[1]

The theater closed in 1988 and remained vacant until it reopened on July 26, 1991.[4] In 2001,[1] the Tower Theater was saved from demolition, and the nonprofit Salt Lake Film Society was established to manage the theater.[4][5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Salt Lake City History Minute - The Tower Theater (720) (television). Salt Lake City, UT: SLCTV. 17 Jan 2017. Retrieved 9 Oct 2023.
2. ^ a b c d "Tower Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 9 Oct 2023.
3. ^ a b Jacob Klopfenstein (5 Aug 2023). "Salt Lake's Tower Theatre won't reopen this year, but owners have big plans for its future". ksl.com. KSL Broadcasting. Retrieved 9 Oct 2023.
4. ^ a b c d "Salt Lake Film Society Tower Theatre". utahtheaters.info. Utah Theaters. Retrieved 8 Oct 2023.
5. ^ a b c Giovanni Radtke (23 Dec 2022). "Planning a revamp, the Tower Theatre will skip the 2023 Sundance film fest". globeslcc.com. The Globe. Retrieved 9 Oct 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Historic Theaters of Salt Lake City

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