The Showbox

{{Short description|Music venue in Seattle, Washington}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox venue | name = The Showbox | nickname = | image = 250px | image_caption = Marquee of venue circa 2007 | address = 1426 1st Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101 | location = Pike Place Market | coordinates =  | type = | event = | built = | opened = {{Start date|1939|07|24}} | renovated = | expanded = | closed = 1948-53; 1962-67 | demolished = | owner = AEG Live | construction_cost = | former_names = Showbox Theater (1939–48) Showbox Ballroom (1953–60) The Gathering (1967–74) Talmud Torah (1975–79) Showbox (1979–91) Showbox Lounge (1992–94) Showbox Comedy and Supper Club (1994–2007) Showbox at the Market (2007–14) | seating_type = | seating_capacity = 1,150<ref>{{cite web |last=Scanlon |first=Tom |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fenix-closes-showbox-sodo-will-take-over-club/ |title=Fenix closes; Showbox Sodo will take over club |website=The Seattle Times |date=August 13, 2007 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105181142/http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fenix-closes-showbox-sodo-will-take-over-club/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | website = {{URL|showboxpresents.com}} }}

'''The Showbox'''<ref>{{cite web |last=Rose |first=Cynthia |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19960523&slug=2330739 |title=Living | Reinventing Itself Again - The Showbox Has Housed Acts From Duke Ellington To Punkers, From Taxi-Dancing To Hip-Hop, Even Bingo. Now It Returns To Its Classier Roots |publisher=The Seattle Times |date=May 23, 1996 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515025613/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19960523&slug=2330739 |url-status=live }}</ref> (originally known as the '''Showbox Theater''') is a music venue in Seattle, Washington, United States. It has been owned by AEG Live since 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/12/aeg_live_buys_showbox |title=AEG Live Buys Showbox | Line Out | The Stranger's Music Blog |publisher=Lineout.thestranger.com |date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708032217/http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/12/aeg_live_buys_showbox |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History and usage== Founded in 1939,<ref>{{cite web |last=Blecha |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Blecha|date=July 9, 2014 |title=The Showbox (Seattle) |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3684 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=December 26, 2015 |archive-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227153237/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3684 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Showbox has hosted a diverse offering of music over the decades. From the Jazz Age to the Grunge Era, the ballroom has featured shows by Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, and the Ramones — as well as local artists such as burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee, and grunge bands Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, TAD and Screaming Trees.<ref name="history">{{Cite web |last=Blecha |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Blecha|date=July 26, 2018 |title=The History of the Showbox in Seattle |url=http://seattlemag.com/arts-and-culture/history-showbox-seattle |website=Seattle Magazine |access-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727212234/http://seattlemag.com/arts-and-culture/history-showbox-seattle |url-status=live }}</ref>

After many years of operating as the Improv Comedy Club, restaurateur Tony Riviera and Barry Bloch purchased The Improv with the intent of continuing operating the venue as The Improv. Riviera and Bloch discovered old photos, historical information and articles about the Showbox and decided to recreate the venue as its original look and reopened New Year's Eve, 1995 as The Showbox Comedy and Supper Club which they operated for several years before deciding to sell the venue. Riviera went on to open numerous restaurants up and down the West Coast.<ref name="history" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Phalen |first=Tom |date=November 4, 1994 |title=Dv8'S The Place: L7, Dinosaur Jr. Headline Two Happening Concerts |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19941104&slug=1939621 |website=The Seattle Times |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406221410/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19941104&slug=1939621 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2018, Vancouver-based developer Onni Group announced plans to redevelop the property into a 42-floor apartment tower.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Mike |last2=Rietmulder |first2=Michael |date=July 25, 2018 |title=Seattle's Showbox apparently to be demolished for apartment high-rise |work=The Seattle Times |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/showbox-seattle-apparently-to-be-demolished-for-apartment-high-rise/ |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725233835/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/showbox-seattle-apparently-to-be-demolished-for-apartment-high-rise/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Seattle musicians such as Pearl Jam, Duff McKagan,<ref name="mn">{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Nicole |date=July 26, 2018 |title=Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan wants to save the Showbox |url=http://mynorthwest.com/1062460/duff-mckagan-save-showbox/ |access-date=July 30, 2018 |website=My Northwest |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731031657/http://mynorthwest.com/1062460/duff-mckagan-save-showbox/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Alice in Chains,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Blvpf9tBrbs/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/Blvpf9tBrbs |archive-date=2021-12-24 |url-access=limited|title=Alice In Chains on Instagram: "A Seattle institution. #savetheshowbox savetheshowbox.com" |date=July 27, 2018 |website=Instagram |access-date=July 30, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Death Cab for Cutie,<ref name="sw">{{Cite web |last=Hellmann |first=Melissa |date=July 26, 2018 |title=Can the Showbox Be Saved? |url=https://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/can-the-showbox-be-saved/ |website=Seattle Weekly |access-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730234718/https://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/can-the-showbox-be-saved/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Macklemore voiced their support for preserving the Showbox.<ref name="sw"/> A petition on Change.org to name the Showbox an official City of Seattle landmark garnered over 110,000 signatures.<ref name="mn"/>

Local preservation advocates, including Historic Seattle, Friends of Historic Belltown, and Vanishing Seattle, submitted a landmark nomination for review by the City of Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board in June 2019.<ref name="historicseattle">{{Cite web|url=https://historicseattle.org/advocacy/save-the-showbox/|title=Save The Showbox!|website=Historic Seattle|access-date=May 9, 2023|archive-date=May 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508054759/https://historicseattle.org/advocacy/save-the-showbox/|url-status=live}}</ref> The board unanimously decided to grant the Showbox landmark designation on July 17, 2019, preventing the theater from being demolished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rietmulder |first=Michael |date=July 17, 2019 |title=Seattle's Showbox music venue granted landmark status |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/seattles-showbox-music-venue-granted-landmark-status/ |website=The Seattle Times |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523171124/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/seattles-showbox-music-venue-granted-landmark-status/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The property owner filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle. Claims of damages were dismissed by the court, but a trial was scheduled for August 2019 regarding other claims.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=Lester |url=https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/09/06/31912568/showbox-owner-sues-the-city-to-block-preservation-seeks-40-million |title=Showbox Owner Sues the City to Block Preservation, Seeks $40 Million |website=The Stranger |date=September 6, 2018 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907032318/https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/09/06/31912568/showbox-owner-sues-the-city-to-block-preservation-seeks-40-million |url-status=live }}</ref>

On November 19, 2019, the Historic Seattle group announced a partnership with the Seattle Theatre Group and submitted a formal offer to purchase the property. The partnership would retain AEG as the operating tenant through at least 2024.<ref name="historicseattle"/>

==Showbox SoDo== {{Infobox venue | name = Showbox SoDo | nickname = | image = 250px | image_caption = | address = 1700 1st Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134 | location = SoDo | coordinates = {{Coord|47.588|-122.3338}} | type = | event = | built = | opened = {{Start date|1992}} | renovated = | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | owner = WSA Properties VI LLC AEG Live (operator) | construction_cost = | former_names = Fenix Underground (2006–07) Premier (2004–05) | seating_type = | seating_capacity = 1,800 | website = }} '''Showbox SoDo''' opened in 2007 and belongs to the "Showbox Presents" family. It is located at 1700 1st Avenue South, Seattle, Washington, a few blocks south of T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field. It takes its name from the SoDo district, an area south of downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square.

A converted-warehouse-turned-concert-venue, the Premier nightclub opened in the building in early 2004<ref name="Premier">{{cite web |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/music/article/premier-nightclub-makes-its-debut-1135188.php |title='Premier' nightclub makes its debut |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer (seattlepi.com) |date=January 22, 2004 |access-date=August 25, 2023 }}</ref> but closed in 2005. In Fall 2006, the Fenix Underground, a club that spent 15 years in two locations in Pioneer Square, took over the space but just as quickly folded when it filed for bankruptcy in May 2007.<ref name="Fenix">{{cite web |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fenix-closes-showbox-sodo-will-take-over-club/ |title=Fenix closes; Showbox Sodo will take over club |publisher=Seattle Times |date=August 31, 2007 |first=Tom |last=Scanlon |access-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105181142/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fenix-closes-showbox-sodo-will-take-over-club/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Showbox stepped in and added the venue to its family, opening as the Showbox SoDo in September 2007.<ref name="Fenix" />

The space has wood-beam and brick architecture. With a capacity of 1,800, it is larger than its elder sibling, which was renamed The Showbox at the Market to distinguish the two.

The venue has hosted events featuring My Bloody Valentine, Heart, The Pogues, M.I.A, The Hives, Dropkick Murphys, Josh Ritter, Counting Crows, Panic! at the Disco, Adam Lambert, Odd Future, Jillian Banks, The WhiteTrash Whiplash, Trivium and others.<ref name="Showbox">{{cite web |url=http://www.showboxonline.com/ |title=Showbox Presents :: Home |publisher=Showboxonline.com |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=March 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325030814/http://www.showboxonline.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Ownership and potential replacement by an arena=== The Showbox SoDo was originally built as a truck warehouse in 1935 for John Eddy Franklin, who was also responsible for the Columbarium at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home. The main part of the warehouse had a dirt floor and a gas pump.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The building and the land parcel are currently owned by WSA Properties VI LLC,<ref name="WSA">{{cite web |url=https://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/Detail.aspx?ParcelNbr=7666206400 |title=King County Department of Assessments: Parcel 766620-6400 |publisher=kingcounty.gov |access-date=August 25, 2023 }}</ref> a holding company founded by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft chief executive officer and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.

Purchased in August 2012,<ref name="WSA" /> Hansen and Ballmer intended to use the land as part of a proposal for a new sports arena to lure an NBA team back to Seattle following the relocation of the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008.<ref name="Hansen">{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2012/08/28/hansens-nba-arena-group-buys-another.html |title=Hansen's NBA arena group buys another Sodo property, the Showbox |publisher=Puget Sound Business Journal (bizjournals.com/seattle) |first=Marc |last=Stiles |date=August 28, 2012 |access-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101161457/http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2012/08/28/hansens-nba-arena-group-buys-another.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After a failed effort to purchase and relocate the Sacramento Kings in 2013, a five-year exclusive agreement with the city on the arena development ended in 2017. The city subsequently negotiated a deal with Oak View Group to build a new arena on the site of the former KeyArena across town at Seattle Center, preserving that building's historic roof.

While Hansen holds onto the property as a potential back-up arena plan, should Climate Pledge Arena fail to secure an NBA team, the Showbox SoDo continues to operate at its location.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website}}

{{Coord|47|36|30|N|122|20|22|W|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-WA}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Showboat}} Category:Nightclubs in Seattle Category:Music venues in Washington (state) Category:1939 establishments in Washington (state) Category:Buildings and structures in Seattle Category:Music venues completed in 1939