Neptune Theatre

History

The Neptune opened on November 16, 1921, in Seattle's University District as the U-Neptune Theatre, a movie house designed by Henderson Ryan for Dr. Earl Roy Fried and his sisters Bertha Foote and Nettie Fries. The Seattle Times called it the newest photoplay palace, and the taupe-and-blue interior was built around King Neptune. It later became known for midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 2011 Seattle Theatre Group turned the single-screen cinema into a live room without tearing out the old architecture. It reopened for music on September 25, 2011, with Mark Lanegan.