| Tower Theatre | |
| Address: | 876 East 900 South |
| City: | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 40.7498°N -111.8659°W |
| Architect: | Samuel Campbell |
| Owner: | Salt Lake Film Society |
| Capacity: | 340 |
| Type: | cinema |
| Opened: | January 8 or 10, 1928 |
| Othernames: | Tower Moving Pictures Theater, Tower Talkies |
| Website: | Website |
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] [2]
The theater (with the Broadway Centre Cinemas, also owned by the society) screens classic and independent films, and hosts a movie-rental library.[3] The theater became a venue for the Sundance Film Festival in 1992.[4]
The theater closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The Salt Lake Film Society purchased the Tower Theater building in December 2022, and plans to renovate it.[2]
The theater was built by Samuel Campbell in late 1927 and opened January 8[1] or 10, 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.[3] Its original façade resembled the Tower of London,[1] but this was removed in 1950.[5] It was equipped with a Kilgen organ during the silent film era.[5] 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.[3] In 2001,[1] the Tower Theater was saved from demolition, and the nonprofit Salt Lake Film Society was established to manage the theater.[3] [4]