Planning and design begins for the theatre. The architect was Robert C. Reamer, who also designed The Seattle Times headquarters, Lake Quinault Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula, Spokane’s Fox Theatre, The Old Faithful Lodge at Yellowstone National Park, and The Fox Theatre. Gustav Liljestrom was the interior designer.

Construction begins. The theatre is built by the Metropolitan Building Company on property owned by the University of Washington. The cost: $1.5 million.

The 5th celebrates its grand opening. Newspapers of the time report that the opening night crowd is larger than the crowd that gathered at the end of World War I for the Armistice celebration.

As the “Jewel in the Crown” of Seattle theaters, The 5th enjoys vaudeville’s heyday. The Fanchon and Marco company, which toured the West Coast out of Los Angeles, provides most of the theatre’s stage shows. Entertainer Eddie Peabody is another Seattle favorite.

The theatre thrives as downtown’s premier movie palace. James Q. Clemmer, a notable early film promoter, often directs ushers to dress in costumes that fit the theme of the current movie. He also installs a mammoth mechanical talking bear named “Jim Q” in the lobby to entertain the children.

With the economic recession, the increasing popularity of television, and movie complex development in the suburbs, crowds dwindle and the theatre struggles to stay open.

The 5th closes its doors.

43 companies and community leaders form The 5th Avenue Theatre Association and start raising funds to save the theatre.

The theatre is renovated at a cost of $2.6 million without the assistance of federal, state or local funds.

The newly renovated theatre re-opens. At the opening ceremony, legendary actress Helen Hayes declares, “The 5th Avenue Theatre is a national treasure.”

The 5th became the first facility in the Pacific Northwest to receive the Heritage, Conservation and Recreation Service Achievement Award from the Department of the Interior.

The Nisqually Earthquake rocks the theatre. The Theatre suffers some damage but none is structural, primarily due to the building’s ingenious construction. (The auditorium’s center dome, suspended by steel cables, is designed to move independently from the building during an earthquake.)To date, the theatre has survived four major earthquakes, registering over 6.0, with only minimal damage.

Floor-to-ceiling scaffolding is erected inside the auditorium for the first time to repair earthquake damage.