Photograph by Frank Jacobs (1924); Silent Era image collection.
Address
1520 First Avenue
Opening Night Seating Capacity
2000
Original Theatre Owner
John G. von Herberg
C.S. Jensen
Original Theatre Architect
unknown
Years of Operation
1914-1955
Type of Musical Accompaniment
Wurlitzer theater pipe organ
Current Status
Demolished
The Liberty Theatre was a first-run house. The Liberty was immediately a Seattle theatre sensation, by virtue of its spectacular Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ that was initally played by Henry Murtagh. The exterior of the theatre was adorned in ornate plaster decorations and 1200 electric lights in eight colors.
The Liberty Theatre building has long been demolished. It remains now what it was forty years ago, an open parking lot on the east side of First Avenue facing Seattle’s famous Pike Place farmer’s market. The lot sits between two buildings that once nestled the theatre, one brick building housing trendy street-level shops, another a home to an adult arcade and strip club.