Seven Gables Theatre

This is a cute little theater with expensive concessions (but with a great variety) and rather old seating in the theater. The bathrooms are not that great or situated very conveniently.
I think it’s worth going to and they show movies you won’t find anywhere else.
Parking is on the street.

«A classic lives on.»
Seven Gables is located in the corner of Roosevelt and 50^th in the University district. The small footprint suggests a minuscule theater, however it has more to it than the outside aesthetics. The small parking area is a welcome surprise for urban dwellers who may cringe at the thought of parallel parking. The style and interior design of the wood paneling and velvet suggests a classy feel and not at all outdated.
We had the opportunity to visit the theater during a Unilocal screening of The Brothers Grimsby. The waiting area was wonderfully decorated and the classic furniture was cozy and a good conversation topic. The concession area was a welcome surprise as it provided excellent popcorn flavor toppings, pretzels, and other sweet treats. The theater was fully decked out in velvet and old style seats that were surprisingly comfortable. Though there were no cup holders, the overall experience was memorable and an absolutely blast from the past.

The seating area outside the threats is spacious and unique. The seats in the theatre are too close together.

It’s a small movie theater and not enough parking but I love that. Not that many people come here during the week let alone at night, but I love that. The movies they play too are amazing and so happy they show more foreign films than big budget films. Can’t wait to come back again!!! :-)

This theater is the real deal. Its an original theater built in 1924 with on screen. Everything about this places shows you how old it is. From the chairs (that nearly put you in the floor) to the velveted walls to the chandelier lighting, you get an experience in this theater. I loved it. And will definitely go again.

I like the non-​megaplex, indie cinema vibe here. Cozy, homey.
Very sweet staff.
I liked it better when they sold tickets in the ticket window (rather than at the snack bar).
A few comfort upgrades and the ability to buy beer would push Seven Gables to 5-​stars for sure.

Cozy, charming Seattle theater. It is a completely unique experience to see a film here.

We came to this theatre to see «Finding Vivian Maier». Unfortunately, this was the only theatre showing this film so we had no choice. The establishment was small, dated, and with very uncomfortable chairs (you can feel the protruding springs). Spacing is tight as well so if you have big guy infront of you, be prepared for his back to rest on your legs. The sound quality can also use some upgrading. You think a theatre that charges $ 10.50 per ticket can spend some money doing much needed improvements.

A lovely old theater where you can lounge around on the velvet covered sofas in front of the fireplace before a showing. The inside looks like an old half timbered cottage and has enough charm to make Stalin smile.
Tickets are oddly enough sold in the snackbar so I wonder what keeps people from just walking into the theater and sitting down.
Pros:
Atmosphere.
The chandeliers go up into the ceiling when the movie starts! You have to love that.
The audience gets involved in the production. This doesn’t seem to happen at the local Megaplex.
Like most landmark theaters water is free unless you want to buy it for $ 4 from the snackbar.
Cons:
On weekends kids pay full price ($ 10.50) which is odd since during the week kids have school and wouldn’t be able to go to the movie anyway.
The popcorn machine can’t keep up with the demand.
The sound comes from the front of the theater making it hard to hear at times
Even with the drawbacks I still do like it a lot.

This is an amazing theater. I don’t know why the reviews are so bad. That’s NOT OK!
They let you buy popcorn and take it to go if you’re having a movie night at home.
The lobby is a great place to meet up early or stay late and chat.
The theater itself isn’t the best but the type of movies they show here may not be anywhere else in Seattle.
Seattle wouldn’t be the same if this theater was gone. Please support it by attending films here… or at least buying lots and lots of popcorn here!

I new that it was an older building, I had read complaints about the seats (I didn’t think they were that bad, but my movie was only 1hr 23min) but I think this place has great character and I love the selection of films that they show!
The popcorn was pretty par for movie theater popcorn, lots of salt/​flavoring options. The concession prices weren’t much better than a big-​name movie theater. The bathrooms were a bit of an issue with me. We were told (after we picked up our tickets) that if we went to a happy hour we only needed to be back 5 minutes prior to the film starting. We got back with 10 minuets to spare but then I had to climb several flights of stairs to a 2 stall bathroom (a line started of course, my fault for running late) but the stall I ended up in was small, and you have to sit catty-​wompus to fit your knees in there as the door is in the way.
Sound and visuals were all good. I will definitely be back here some of their special, hard to find films!

RATS! RATS! RATS! During the movie I saw 5 occurrences of them. I will be GENEROUS and say that it was probably just two rats running around and trying to eat people’s dropped popcorn. Most of them were average size, and one was so big I mistook it for someones CHIHUAHUA at first. They need to get an exterminator or a cat pronto.
I sat in the aisle/​walkway seat in-​between the back section and the front section of the theatre so i had a clear vision beneath the seats in front of me and down the aisles. And let me tell you, there were rats right under peoples chairs and next to their feet with out them even knowing. Because they were unaware I expect thats why there isn’t more mention of them on the reviews.
The chairs were really uncomfortable, my butt went numb and was hurting through the whole thing, regular wood strait back chairs would have been 10x more comfortable than these (and probably cleaner too).
CONS: rats, uncomfortable chairs, popcorn not that great.
PROS: cute building (inside), nice staff, nice concession stand selection (but rats though, so do you really want to eat that?)

Never again. I sat down to watch Zero Dark Thirty and maybe two minutes in to the movie, I noticed squeaking and the curtains moving next to me. I suspect it was a rat or two. Obviously, my party and I got up and left. When I told the workers about it, they «acted» surprised and got the manager so we could get a refund. The manager never asked us about what we saw and heard, she was more concerned that we had our ticket stubs in order for us to receive our refund. Completely disgusted.

Bring a pillow if the movie you will be watching is over two hours or your ass will be sore, this place needed new chairs like five years ago, but ownership can get by letting things go as they are.
We saw movie a few days ago, in January and it was actually colder inside then outside, granted there were only seven of us watching the movie, so why turn up the heat?
This place needs updating, I won’t go here again unless the movie is fantastic because the theater is NOT.

It’s kind of odd that I don’t go to the Seven Gables more than I do. When mulling over my movie-​going options, I always think of their seats as a triumph of discomfort but that wouldn’t normally be enough to keep me away when I don’t strongly object to anything else about the place and, in fact, usually strongly prefer one-​of-​a-​kind, single-​screen theaters.
Parking can be hard to find and the refreshments seem considerably more expensive than they’re worth, but that’s true just about anywhere. I like the exterior of the building and the slightly shabby interior …
Maybe it really is those seats.

The way movies should be seen. Small, charming theater. A large salon, with sofas, books and film lit to browse before the screening. A small theater with a painted Grecian scene hiding screen, means no sitting through endless screen shots of ads — a more civilized approached to movie-​going. The previews are for art movies you want to see but have never of. As the movie starts, the lights go down and a chandelier ascends to the ceiling. Around the corner is Cinema Books — allot your self a good 30 minutes before or after the movie to browse their collection.
In a city of quirky movie theaters, Seven Gables (although part of the Landmark chain) is truly one-​of-​a-​kind.

Don’t be dismayed by its shabby Swiss chalet, the theater is pretty darn charming inside and out! Already this place would make for an excellent date night, as you can impress with your knowledge of the local indie flicks it plays here. I would much rather enjoy the cozy night in this little indie theater than mad dash it to megaplex up north.
Charming all around, its the little details of this theater that make it stand out and manages to stay relatively clean and not packed with people.
A few helpful suggestions:
— Go early. the parking lot is rather small and finding free parking nearby can be a slight bit of a mess.
— Take in a matinée for a ½ of the price.
— Go to the late showings for a more romantic feel. Trust me the dim lights and vintage feel will work for you!

Recapturing Old Movie Magic with Mom
SITREP
This is my mom’s favorite theater from the days when she lived here in the U.District. Even though she lives up in the Lake City area now, this is still where we go when we want to catch a flick that she wants to see. We’ve been catching films here since 1990.
THE SETUP
It’s a cute older theater with just the One (1) Screen. Around since 1925, it’s often called as «that house above the Italian restaurant». It certainly exudes a cozy exterior of dark, shingled sides and the notorious «gabled roof».
But first it was an American Foreign Legion dance hall, and then in 1976, Seven Gables Theater CEO Randy Finley converted it into the flagship office for Landmark theaters.
THE CINEMA OFFERINGS
I love the eclectic mix of independent film and foreign language films with the occasional Oscar-​nominated film thrown into the mix for variety (and no doubt, revenue-​enhancements). And the cinema-​tech here is up-​to-​date featuring the latest in good concessions, modern seats, and Dolby Digital sound.
Without a doubt, our favorite film together that we saw here was «Amelie» back in 2001.
THE LOWDOWN
I love this place for recapturing movie magic!

This is a sweet little theater. And I do mean little… but in a good way. It is a cozy theater with the old style low back, red velvet-​ish covered seats that rock back and forth. Right on 50^th and Roosevelt it can be tricky to find parking so allow a little extra time. However I found parking just a block away with no problems. Yes, it is old and could probably use some updates but considering this is a small urban theater that only plays one movie (and not the mainstream films) and doesn’t sell 10 gallon buckets of popcorn and 50 oz sodas I doubt they are raking in the money to be able to zoot the place out. I like what it is… charming, intimate, cozy, and reminds you of what going to the movie used to be about. But if you like your cup holders, 500 seat theaters with a parking garage then this isn’t your place.
I loved it! Head over to the Ave. for some great cheap ethnic food and then head over to Seven Gables for a great film. Sounds like a good night to me!

So funky and cool. Such great programming – almost always a good movie up. Such a cool building, and such a good feeling coming in to the actual «auditorium.» Which is smaller by half than my little house.
Such crappy parking. Such tiny, crampy, creaky seats. Supposed to be haunted, but not as haunted as the Harvard.
I like this place best when it’s either packed for a new comedy, or I have the place almost to myself. It’s a little bit of a pain to reckon with in some ways, but it’s one of those places you love BECAUSE it’s weird, not in spite of that fact.