The Circuit Theatre in downtown Seattle opens on March 28, 1908

On March 28, 1908, the Circuit Theatre opens at 908 Second Avenue in downtown Seattle. This is a week later than planned, owing to the delayed arrival of the house’s opera chairs. (See “Opening Deferred,” Seattle Daily Times, 20 March 1908, Page 9.) Though advertised as a vaudeville house, the Circuit would spend its heyday as one of the city’s best and most popular nickelodeon theatres. At the opening, the house distinguishes itself by showing a mixture of motion picture and live entertainment, including variety acts, singers between films and music provided by a “full” orchestra.

The Circuit Theatre was the first house established by Eugene Levy, of Seattle, and D.H. Cohn, of New York, in what they envisioned as becoming a new vaudeville circuit along the West Coast. “The furnishings of this theatre are said to be the finest and most costly of any vaudeville playhouse in the city,” they boasted in their publicity. “A special feature of the new house will be the showing of the latest novelties in moving pictures, imported directly from Europe.” (“New Vaudeville Circuit,” Seattle Daily Times, 19 March 1908, Page 9.) That European claim was a little tall, but it was true that the French company Pathé was the world’s leading producer of films at the time, so perhaps the managers just used this fact to lend their screen offerings an air of sophistication.

The West Coast vaudeville circuit envisioned by the partners never came to fruition, but Eugene Levy nonetheless became an important showman in the Northwest, with small film and vaudeville establishments throughout Seattle and several other Northwest cities, including properties in Oregon and other locations.

Curiously, the Circuit Theatre was only open on the evening the 28^th, with just three full performances being given on the first day. The pictures on the opening bill weren’t described by the Daily Times, who praised them not only for their clarity but also because they were “amusing in themselves as an entertainment.” (“Circuit Theatre is Opened,” Seattle Daily Times, 29 March 1908, Page 15.) The vaudeville selections also weren’t described, but seemed to please the overflow crowds, many of whom had long waits on the sidewalk just to get seats. The house’s illustrated singers were the star attraction, at least to the Times, and warranted almost a third of their review. This included 16-year-old soprano Anita Nogero, who was vociferously applauded after every number, as well as the baritone team of Hammock and Wright. Nogero was said to be a protégé of famed Austrian/American singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink, something the Circuit made sure to amplify in their pre-engagement publicity. (See “Spokane Millionaire to Establish New Vaudeville Circuit,” Seattle Daily Times, 19 March 1908, Page 12.)

The Circuit remained a popular and reliable little picture house during the nickelodeon era – a jewel in manager Eugene Levy’s various holdings, and located right next door to the Exhibit, another of Levy’s venues. Eventually, however, early storefront theatres like the Circuit gave way to larger, more elaborate movie venues like the Clemmer and Liberty, and the Circuit struggled to attract patrons. The venue was closed in 1919.