Arlington Theatre facts for kids
Front of the Arlington with ticket booth at center
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| Address | 1317 State Street Santa Barbara, California United States |
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| Capacity | 2,018 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | May 22, 1931 |
| Reopened | May 22, 1976 |
| Architect | Edwards and Plunkett |
The Arlington Theatre is a special movie theater in Santa Barbara, California, United States. It mixes two cool building styles: Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival. It's the biggest movie theater and main place for live shows in the city. It also hosts many events for the yearly Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
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History of the Arlington Theatre
The Arlington Theatre was built at 1317 State Street. It stands where the old Arlington Hotel used to be. That hotel was destroyed by an earthquake in 1925. The current theater was built in 1930. It was meant to be a fancy movie theater for Fox West Coast Theaters.
Metropolitan Theatres fixed it up and made it bigger in the mid-1970s. It reopened in 1976. In March 2024, Metropolitan Theatres, which runs the theater, went through a special legal process to manage its money. The company said the theater would keep running normally.
Amazing Architecture and Design
The local architects Edwards and Plunkett designed the Arlington. They used the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. Outside, it has a Mission Revival steeple with a cool art deco top. It also has a red tiled roof and a covered courtyard. In the courtyard, you'll find a fountain and a separate ticket booth.
Inside the Theater
The inside of the theater is very fancy. The lobby ceilings have big painted beams. The main room, called the auditorium, can seat 2,018 people. It has a main floor and a balcony. The auditorium is designed to make you feel like you're sitting in an outdoor plaza in a Spanish colonial town.
To create this feeling, the walls look like houses with staircases and balconies. The ceiling is painted to look like a dark sky with stars. The theater's original stage opening looked like a large stone arch. Through it, you could see a river and hills painted on the curtain. This part was later changed to make room for lights for live shows.
The Famous Pipe Organ
One of the Arlington's most special features is its Robert Morton pipe organ. This organ originally came from Loew's Jersey Theatre. It was put into the Arlington in 1949. The organ is hidden below the stage floor. It rises up into view when it's time for a performance.
