Neptune Theatre, Theatre in University District, Seattle, United States

Neptune Theatre is a 1,000-capacity performing arts venue in Seattle's University District, housed in the three-story Neptune Building, a brick structure in a vaguely Renaissance Revival style designed by Henderson Ryan. Its marquee on NE 45th Street spells "Neptune" in neon, the final "e" shaped as a trident piercing the other letters. Inside are marble finishes, statues of Neptune and a boat-shaped concession stand.

The U-Neptune Theatre opened on November 16, 1921, built by the Puritan Theatre Company with a Kimball orchestral organ and 1,000 seats. Renamed the Neptune by the late 1940s, it survived erratic bookings in the 1970s through Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings. Landmark Theatres took over in 1981 and renovated in 1994; Seattle Theatre Group reopened it in 2011 as a performing arts venue.

The nautical theme runs through the auditorium: a central concession stand shaped like a boat, marble finishes and statues of Neptune. The name comes from the Roman sea god, and the marquee's final "e" is drawn as a trident piercing the other letters. The building was designed by Kentucky-born architect Henderson Ryan, who also worked on the Moore Theatre.

The theatre stands at 1303 NE 45th Street, its north facade and neon marquee facing the street. The 2011 renovation forced Sound Transit to re-engineer the adjoining U District light rail station around the building and underpin its foundation, so the station entrance sits beside the theatre rather than through it.

In 1991 the Neptune set a Seattle record: The Rocky Horror Picture Show had screened there every week for 14 years, longer than any other film in the city. By 1993 the National Rocky Horror Fan Club counted it among four U.S. theatres that had run the film longest, in midnight-movie format.