Columbia City Theater

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When you walk into the historic Columbia City Theater main stage room the first thing you see is a century old stage with the original golden presidio and a tremendous amount of musical history. It takes your breath away. Whether it is a musical live performance, burlesque, a comedy show, a video shoot or a wedding the ambiance is always amazing. The Columbia City Theater boasts one of the most beautiful settings for live music and performance in Seattle. The front of house sound team are truly Jedhi Warriors so much so that the theater has been dubbed "The city's finest sounding room," by SPIN Magazine. Theater History The Columbia City Theater was built in 1917 and is the oldest vaudeville theater in the state of Washington. Having played a major role in the Seattle Jazz boom in the 40's, the theater played host to the likes of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones and Fats Waller. During the 50's the theater served as a neighborhood movie theater, where neighborhood residents recall attending Saturday morning movies for kids such as Flash Gordon and the Our Gang series. During the 60's, the theater began hosting live events once more and was one of the first venues to host the legendary Jimi Hendrix. During the early 80's, the theater was home to much of the DIY punk movement and the national touring networks that were created to support it. At one point the theater was even an art commune, and a place that hosted raves under the name "The Lish House". Since re-opening in July 2010 the Columbia City Theater has been proud to host many fantastic artists to rave reviews. Whether in partnership with one of our favorite radio stations- KEXP, or simply being the go to venue for top promoters to bring the best of the best national talent from the Lumineers to Wilco to Andra Day and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to the regional favorites sparking the underground faithful from Ayron Jones and The Way to Cameron Lavi-Jones and Gypsy Temple, a show at the Columbia City Theater is always memorable. The Columbia City Theater and the front bar second stage in the Bourbon Bar are located at 4916 Rainier Ave S, Seattle WA 98118 between Hudson and Ferdinand in the charming history district of Columbia City in South Seattle, Washington. Weekly free events in the Bourbon Bar: Tuesday's - Tuesday Night Music Club Open Mic, sign ups from 7pm Wednesday's - Absolute Karaoke, sign ups from 8pm Thursday's to Sunday's - a range of great live artists performing on our front bar stage