Nestled in the heart of Seattle’s U District lies a store frozen in time: Scarecrow Video. The last remaining video store in Seattle, and the largest worldwide, Scarecrow Video flaunts a staggering collection of over 150,000 different videos available to rent or buy, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Originally located on Latona Avenue, the store used to have its very own theater where famous filmmakers such as John Woo and Werner Herzog would play their movies. Many other celebrities visited this iconic landmark, including David Lynch, notable for creating the show Twin Peaks, and the cast of the sketch comedy series “Kids in the Hall.”

Over the years, the store has had its ups and downs, but it has remained a Seattle landmark long after the fall of other video stores such as Blockbuster. In 2014, Scarecrow Video became a nonprofit, and in 2019, it was named a cultural museum by the state of Washington.

Richard Grendzinski, floor manager at Scarecrow Video, said that remaining open was difficult to navigate after the rise of streaming services. However, he found that physical media offered benefits that digital media could not. 

“No one’s going to come into your house and kick the door in and take the [movie] because all of a sudden it’s not available to people,” Grendzinski said. “But what’s really important about physical media is that it’s archival. 
Digital files aren’t archival. They can just be destroyed with a magnet. The only reason we have DVDs of old movies now is because we have film prints of those old movies.”

In a world with an increasingly controlled media landscape, owning media can seem all the more appealing.

Grendzinski, who has worked at Scarecrow Video for 25 years, noticed people of all ages enjoying the video store. 

“Our clientele is old, for sure. But a lot of people bring their kids in. And I’ve worked here long enough that I’ve had people who now bring their kids in,” Grendzinski said. 

Grendzinski also noted that, because the video store is so close to the University of Washington, it often attracts college students who are curious about film and physical media.

According to Seattle University adjunct professor in the film and media department, David Church, the store’s presence in Seattle over so many years is one of the things that makes video stores like Scarecrow Video so important. 

For Church, such stores provide a community space for people interested in film to meet fellow film buffs and explore different, unique movies, no matter the country or year it was made in. He also added that VHS tapes provide a sense of comfort and nostalgia for a time when people were younger and carefree. 

“[A lot of people] grew up watching a lot of movies on VHS, and they sort of have a nostalgia for what it felt like to watch movies on that particular format,” Church said. 

Additionally, Church argued that as social media and streaming services increasingly commercialize media, people are inspired to push back and embrace its earlier forms. Furthermore, with dwindling productions of physical media, vintage media is worth more than ever. 

“People buy the vintage VHS tapes because they want to own a piece of history in that regard. Especially if it’s a really old or kind of obscure or rare tape,” Church said.

For Roan Tierney, a first-year film major, amassing physical media is special because it means actually owning material that can’t be taken away from you. Tierney said that he has a vast collection of physical media, including records, cassettes and DVDs. 

He credits the rise of physical media collection among younger generations to trends that have arisen on social media platforms such as TikTok. Vinyl records and books are often used in various social media videos to convey aesthetics and signifiers of taste. 

“People are collectively discovering that, as everything is more and more online, it’s really different to have something that’s physical,” Tierney said.

Grendzinki warns that, despite immense community support, the fight to keep Scarecrow Video is far from over. He explained that they could go under at any moment, but what keeps the landmark open is donations as well as people coming into the store. 

Scarecrow Video is located on 5030 Roosevelt Way NE, and you can buy or rent videos in person or online. For more information on the store and its history, visit the Scarecrow Video homepage.