Rose Theatre (1907) — Attraction in Port Townsend

I just had a pretty horrible experience here tonight that I thought I'd share for interested parties. I've been an avid filmgoer and cinephile for 20+ years, often averaging at least one theater outing each week. I love drive-ins, IMAX theaters, and small theaters with quaint charm. Having read the many accolades that abound for this theater, it seemed like a slam dunk. Nope.

My experience began by walking by the theater a few hours before the showing to get an idea of what I was in for. It looked pretty classy. A sign in the ticket booth read that tickets are sold 30 minutes prior to the film screening. I decided to grab a bite and come back at 3:30 (the film I wanted to see was at 4).

I came back at 3:25 to find a very healthy line that extended to the end of the block. This did not deter me and said something about the theater's popularity. After waiting in a line that had barely budged in 20 minutes, I began seeing folks walking away from the ticket booth and heading to their cars. One of them said, "the 2D is sold out - all they have left is 3D." I personally don't care much for 3D, but I wanted to check out the theater anyway so I decided to stick it out.

They had a very tiny ticket booth that was being operated by only one person. Many couples were pre-ordering tickets at the booth for showings that were days from now, which I think contributed significantly to the long wait in the cold. I really think they could improve their system by adding a second booth or by at least having an assistant in the booth with the main person to speed things along. They also had some signs displaying which movies were sold out, but it didn't say anything about the 2D showing so I decided to give that a shot anyway. No luck. 3D it is.

So I finally got my tickets and walked into the theater. The guy took my ticket and pointed to a box of 3D glasses. They were super old looking, which I guess is neat in a way. Each pair I looked at had smears all over the lenses, which was sort of annoying. I finally picked the least smeared pair I could find and headed into the theater.

This is where the real nightmare began. The seating. Oh my God, the seating. This was literally coach seating on an economy flight except worse because there is no place to put a drink and popcorn. There are tiny little cup holders placed on the seat in front of you near the ground, but they don't even hold a large soda. The seats are so close together everyone had to become really friendly very quickly. I'm only 5'11" and there was probably half an inch of space between my knees and the seat in front of me, meaning that anyone in my row who had to get up to get concessions or go to the restroom had to ask everyone to actually walk out of the row so that there was room for people to pass. I could feel the person's breath on my neck we were so close. I've never seen anything quite like it. The seats were also uncomfortable and old.

The screen size is, without a doubt, the smallest I've ever seen in my entire life. The sound system looked passable. There was such a small decline between the rows of seats that if someone 6' or taller happens to sit in front of you, it's going to block at least half of the screen. I'm not kidding. Terrible seat design and layout.

After sitting in these horrible seats being smashed by people on both sides of me and observing several popcorn/soda spills due to no place to set anything, I was feeling very uncomfortable. I decided to use the restroom before the movie started, which required the entire row to move in order for me to get out (and I'm not even overweight). It was very inconvenient that I had to ask this of them as the woman next to me was overweight and getting up and down out of the seats was hard for her.

After using the restroom, I decided to cut my losses and hit the road. It wasn't worth sitting in an overcrowded, uncomfortable room staring at a tiny screen.

I cannot review the 3rd story theater room, which is apparently quite...

Not sure why the Rose was not rated 5 stars by everyone. There is nothing not to like about this place. From the sound, seats and screens it makes going out to the movies a real pleasure.

One of my very favorite features is the director's notes, this is a real person intro to some of the behind thoughts of the director, and it is done just before they role the film. It take 3 minutes or so but really makes the experience unique.

Another thing I love is the popcorn. The Rose popcorn is the real thing and it is the best ever. They have various flavor salts you can add to....to customize it just for you.

I have not gone to the Starlight room and experience the newest screening room at the Rose but heard great things about it and can't wait to try it out.

If you are in Port Townsend or near it, spend an evening at the Rose, it will spoil going to the movies anywhere else. I know this to be true as I live 45 minutes away with several movie houses much closer but will not go there because a night at the movies should be special and that is why I choose the...

The venue is beautiful and elegant! Wow! The projector quality is mid. What was not beautiful was the stampede of people going in to watch the Bob Dylan movie. The crowd was so disrespectful to the staff that they ran past her into the theater without listening to her request to get their tickets checked first. People were cutting in the ticket line. The main demographic was 65+ women all of which were not listening to the host. Had to sit behind against the wall to stay out of the way. It was kind of a show to watch in itself. The part that I don’t give this five stars is that the staff then came in to yell frustratingly, albeit understandably, at the crowd. I think the theater could use more staff or a reorganization of how ticketing works. It was nuts and I would have walked away and gone to a bookstore if it wasn’t for a day out at the movies with my grandparents.

Someone’s going to get hurt accidentally in a crowd like that. Maybe the theater should invest in guide ropes or something to keep people from cutting or...