Alamo Drafthouse -- Ritz

Address: 
320 East Sixth Street, Austin TX 78701
Phone: 
512-476-1320

SXSW 2008: Alamo Ritz

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, aka Alamo Ritz, is a renovation of the old Ritz Theater in downtown Austin, built in 1929. The theater has two screens and shows a combination of first-run movies, arthouse films and the interestingly obscure. The Ritz often shows movies in 35mm and the larger theater is capable of screening in 70mm.

Pros: The location is ideal for downtown-based film festivals. The seats are comfy, and there are really no "bad seats" in either theater anymore. Most (non-fest) Alamo Ritz screenings now have reserved seating.

Cons: We wish both theaters were larger, especially during film fests when all the visitors want to hang out at an Alamo. If you're seeing a film-fest movie in the smaller theater, get there especially early ... it often fills up quickly. When you sit down at an Alamo theater, don't try to put an empty seat between yourself and the people next to you -- the waitstaff will ask you to move so seats can be consolidated if (when) the theater fills up.

Alamo Ritz tends to draw a somewhat rowdier crowd than the other Drafthouse locations -- don't be shy about raising a flag if your neighbors get too drinky and bothersome.

Screens and Capacity: The smaller theater seats 69 people; the larger one, 172. For film fests, the balconies in the larger theater are usually reserved for filmmakers or VIPs.

Parking: No Alamo Ritz-specific parking; park on the street or find a downtown lot/garage. St. David's parking garage is usually a good bet. If you're seeing a midnight movie and parking in a garage, make sure it will still be open after the movie ends.

Bus routes: All downtown routes.

Distance: Only three blocks from Congress Ave. You can easily walk to the Paramount, Austin Convention Center, Violet Crown, and many downtown hotels and restaurants. A cab stand is located on the southbound side of Congress and Sixth, a couple of blocks from the Paramount.

On-site food and beverages: Alamo Ritz offers a full menu for lunch and dinner, including an extensive beer menu and full bar. In addition, you can get standard movie-theater fare like popcorn and candy. (Please don't forget to tip if you order anything.) The coffee is exclusively French-press now (no drip).

Nearby dining options: Iron Cactus next door has pretty fair Tex-Mex. The Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe is fine for lunch, but not speedy. Jackalope across the street has great burgers. Or walk a little further to Easy Tiger, which has a ground-floor bakery where you can pick up a quick treat (get the pretzel), and a downstairs cafe/patio for tasty sausages and sandwiches. If price is not a primary consideration (or if it's happy hour), splurge on small plates or even a full meal at Parkside, about a block away.

Wireless: The Ritz has wireless in the lobby but the theater walls are so thick that it doesn't penetrate there very well. Sixth Street tends to have bars rather than coffeehouses -- walk to The Hideout on Congress, or try Halcyon on Fourth Street.

[Photo credit: Jette Kernion. All rights reserved (but if you ask and promise to credit, I'll probably let you use it).]