Sound Cinema: Palace Theatre

A MOVIE LINE!!! Façade of Palace Theatre

The Evergreen Echo

In 1915 Alfred Middleton decided to build a theater on San Juan Island. He placed it in the welcoming city of Friday Harbor. He of course named the theater The Fribor, combining the name of the city. For the past 110 years that theater has gone through a few owners and a few alterations to become the Palace Theatre, which functions as the island's two-screen movie theater.

• American Camp

  A small American military force was dispatched in 1859 to keep the British from overtaking the whole island. The two countries agreed to share the San Juan Islands until they could firmly establish a water boundary between the United States and Canada.

Typically when people visit the San Juan Islands and San Juan Island itself, they are not drawn there for a movie theater experience. Some people spend their time there whale watching, wine tasting, or getting a glimpse at a fascinating piece of local history by visiting American Camp. 

Though, it wouldn't be a trip to anywhere in western Washington if you did not at least have a contingency plan for rain. In that case (or if you are like me and simply love old movie houses), the Palace is a terrific place to spend a few hours. There are two screens: the front, which is the main auditorium, and the back, which is upstairs. The Palace shows first-run new releases and select special engagements, like the recent Taylor Swift event and showings of the original cast recording of the musical Hamilton. They have matinees on weekends and showings at 7 p.m. daily.

Walking up to the Palace is like walking on the main street of most beach towns. There are restaurants, unique shops such as the fabulous Griffin Bay Bookstore, and real estate offices that try and entice you to take the plunge and move to the islands full time. Yet, the Palace is not just any building. It sits in the middle of a T with Spring St. crossing in front and Second St. S directing you right to it. It feels like the town draws you toward the Palace like a beacon.

Main auditorium

The Evergreen Echo

Entering the Palace is like finding a piece of home while away. The lobby is filled with posters, pictures, and advertisements. The restrooms are unique in that they offer three single rooms and a communal sink outside. The front auditorium is where I was and it is a sloping floor with aisles on either side of the seats. Seats are assigned when you purchase your ticket; they’re a classic design that's comfortable and offers enough leg room. In spite of it being the middle of the week when I got a chance to visit, my 7:30 showing had a significant group of enthusiastic moviegoers with a healthy mix of visitors and locals.

It is no surprise, though, as we were all there to see Paul Thomas Anderson's latest opus, One Battle After Another. The film is about a father and daughter who are forced to go on the run after the father's revolutionary past catches up with the two of them. Like all of Anderson's films, One Battle After Another is sprawling in characters, themes, and plots, but it is a meticulously well thought out film that veers from family drama to madcap comedy to stark commentary on hot button issues and back again. The film is very good in all aspects and if you follow year-end film awards, you should expect the nomination tallies to be high and the awards it wins to be many.

Sign for Friday Harbor Film Festival

The Evergreen Echo

Later this month the Palace will be helping to host the Friday Harbor Documentary Film Festival. This will be the 13th annual festival and it will run between October 23 and 26. There are a mix of features, shorts, and films by youth filmmakers. The films vary in subject, but one screening is another chance to see the great documentary Rainier: A Beer Odyssey, reviewed by me right here at The Echo.

This is the first “Sound Cinema” theater to be only accessible by ferry, but it is worth the trip. The beauty of Washington State is in our incredible geography. To take a ferry through the straits, bays, and sounds that make up the Salish Sea is to witness a sort of primordial beauty. It is true that you will see the pockets of civilization, but much of those coast lines remain as some of the first peoples to inhabit this area saw them. It’s a beautiful crossing and even if the Palace is not your final destination, taking in a film there should absolutely be on your list of things to do while in the San Juans.