Tower Theatre (Salt Lake City)

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]

Tower Theatre

Tower Moving Pictures Theater, Tower Talkies
Address	876 East 900 South Salt Lake City, Utah United States
Coordinates	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 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

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]