【Move to another page】
Quote
https://ift.tt/2QGlIeI
Cinemas in Portland, Oregon
Drown Soda: ←Created page with 'At the advent of the 20th century, the city of Portland, Oregon, was among the first on the United States West Coast to e...'
At the advent of the 20th century, the city of [[Portland, Oregon]], was among the first on the United States [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] to embrace the advent of the [[silent film|silent]] and [[feature film]]. The city's first [[movie palace]], the [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]] (later known as the United Artists Theatre), opened in 1911. By 1916, Portland had the "the finest array" of movie houses on the West Coast relative to its population, pioneering venues dedicated exclusively to screening films.<ref name=mpw/> The popularization of the [[sound film]] in the early 1920s resulted in another boom of new cinemas being constructed, including the [[Laurelhurst Theater|Laurelhurst]], the [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]], and the [[Bagdad Theatre]], the latter of which was financed by [[Universal Pictures]] in 1926.
By the mid-20th century, several of the cinemas and movie palaces in Portland were demolished, including the Majestic, the [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]], and the [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]]. The [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]] (later known as the Paramount), is the only cinema in [[downtown Portland, Oregon|downtown Portland]] that has survived into the 21st century, having served as the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]] since 1984.
Since the 1990s, construction of several [[multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]]s has taken place in the city, mainly by [[Regal Entertainment Group]], who opened multiplex cinemas in the [[Fox Tower]] and [[Pioneer Place]] in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Several cinemas have also seen extensive renovation since the 1990s, including the Bagdad Theatre by the Portland-based restaurant and hotel company [[McMenamins]], who have opened additional cinemas at their [[Kennedy School]] and [[National Cash Register Building]] properties. Many of Portland's historic cinemas have continued operations into the 21st century screening both revival and [[art film|art house]] films, including the [[nonprofit organization|nonprofit]] Hollywood Theatre, [[Cinema 21]], and the [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]], the latter of which is owned by [[Portland State University]] and operated by the university film department. In 2013, the real estate company Movoto ranked Portland the no. 1 city in the United States for movie lovers.<ref name=motovo></ref>
==History==
===1910–1919: Beginnings and silent era===
[[File:Dream Street (1921) - 7.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|left|The [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]], the first movie palace built in Portland, in 1921, showing ''[[Dream Street (film)|Dream Street]]'']]
In the early 20th century following the advent of film, [[Portland, Oregon]] was one of few western U.S. cities to embrace the exhibition of films.<ref name=mpw/> Historians Gary Lacher and Steve Stone partially attribute this to the region's predominant rainy weather, which resulted in residents seeking indoor forms of entertainment.
Though the [[Star Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Star Theater]] was showing [[Synchroscope]] films as early as 1908, the first exclusive [[movie palace]] in Portland was the [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]] located at the northeast corner of Southwest Park Avenue and Washington Street, which opened on June 10, 1911. The venue contained 1,100 seats, and was constructed for $62,500 by Edwin F. James, a businessman from [[Seattle]].<ref name=mpw/> It was the first movie palace in Portland to show a [[silent film|silent]] [[feature film]] the two-reel Italian feature ''[[The Fall of Troy (film)|The Fall of Troy]]'' in 1911.<ref name=mpw/> The same year, the Majestic introduced a [[pipe organ]] to accompany film screenings; the Star Theater also introduced an organ.<ref name=mpw/> The [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Baker Theatre]], which had hosted live theater by the Baker Players, began showing films shortly after (the cinema would become known as the Playhouse Theatre in later decades).
The following year, in 1912, the Sunnyside Theatre (contemporarily known as the [[Avalon Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Avalon Theatre]]) was opened, followed by the [[Alhambra Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Alhambra]] and Columbia Theater in 1913. At the time of its opening, the Columbia, built for $125,000, was marketed as being "without peer" as the city's "strictly photo playhouse."<ref name=columbiampw> </ref> Around 1914, construction on the [[Clinton Street Theater]] began, and the cinema began showing features in 1915. By 1916, it was reported in ''[[The Moving Picture World]]'' that Portland had "the finest array of photoplay theaters of any of the cities on the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]] given its population. This statement is based on the fact that the homes of photodrama in Portland were built for that purpose within recent years and are not rehabilitated broken down theaters that once housed "legit" and [[burlesque]] shows."<ref name=mpw> </ref>
===1920–1949: Sound films===
[[File:Tebbetts' Oriental Theatre on 31 December 1927.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Opening of the Oriental Theatre, December 31, 1927]]
After commercial production of the [[sound film]] began in 1923, numerous cinemas were constructed in Portland throughout the remainder of the decade. The [[Art Deco]]-inspired [[Laurelhurst Theater]] was constructed that year in east Portland, followed by the [[Roseway Theater]] in 1924, and the [[Moreland Theater|Moreland]] and [[Oregon Theatre]]s in 1925 (all in east Portland). In 1926, the [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]] was built in the city's the [[Hollywood District (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood District]], designed by John V. Bennes, with an exterior resembling Spanish Colonial architecture, and the interior being based on the [[Baths of Caracalla]] and [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]].<ref></ref> The Broadway Theatre was also constructed in 1926 in downtown Portland, at 1008 SW Broadway. The exotic [[Mission Revival architecture|Mission Revival]]-inspired [[Bagdad Theatre]] was constructed in 1927 in the city's [[Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon|Hawthorne District]], a project funded by [[Universal Pictures]]. Other cinemas built in the city in 1927 include the [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] and the [[Aladdin Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Aladdin Theater]], the latter of which opened on [[Christmas Day]] that year.
[[File:Portland Theatre, Portland, OR in 1928 - Stairway to mezzanine (8528237617).png|thumb|upright=.8|right|Mezzanine in the Portland Publix Theatre, 1928 (now the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]])]]
The lavish Portland Publix Theatre (contemporarily the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]]) was constructed in [[downtown Portland, Oregon|downtown]] in 1928, and featured an unprecedented seat count of over 3,000. Construction of the theater used over 700,000 common bricks and over 350,000 exterior bricks. The construction of the venue cost around $1.4 million, and it opened on March 28, 1928. In 1930, it was recommissioned as the Paramount Theatre, and eventually ceased functions as a cinema, becoming the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in 1984. Contemporarily, it is the last movie palace in downtown Portland to survive into the 21st century.
With the growing popularity of the sound film, some establishments that had earlier functioned as burlesque or [[vaudeville]] houses were retrofitted to screen films, including the [[Fox Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Fox Theatre]] (originally an opera and vaudeville venue), which began showing feature films in 1929. The Union Theatre (later known as the [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]]), a burlesque house built in 1922, also began showing films, and became known as the Third Avenue Theatre in 1930. 1948 saw the opening of the 673-seat [[Academy Theater]] in Portland's [[Montavilla, Portland, Oregon|Montavilla]] neighborhood, one of the few neighborhood cinemas to be built in the city after the 1920s.
===1950–1980: Drive-ins and demolitions===
Beginning around the 1950s, many cinemas in the city underwent renovations, while others were outright destroyed. The [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]] (originally the Baker, and formerly known as the Dufwin, Alcazar, Music Box, and El Capitan in the interim) was closed in June 1950. The building was used for church services before being demolished in 1954. The following year, the Majestic Theatre closed, and was eventually demolished in 1957 to make way for the [[Union Bank Tower]]. Three months after the demolition of the Majestic, the People's Theater, a movie house built in 1911 (subsequently named the Alder Theatre and the Music Box in the 1930s), was razed as well. The [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] was also demolished several years later in April 1970. In the weeks prior to its demolition, various pieces of furniture and other fixtures from the cinema's interiors were auctioned to locals. The Academy Theater closed in 1977, and was used as a printing facility for the ensuing two decades.
In the 1960s, some of the city's older venues turned toward screening [[pornographic film]]s, and became [[adult movie theater]]s; among these were the [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]], which screened adult films from 1963 into the 1980s, and the Star Theatre, which operated primarily as an adult theater from the 1960s until 1983. The [[Oregon Theatre]] began showing adult films around the 1970s, following the success of ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' (1972).
[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in cinemas]] began to grow in popularity in the late 1940s and throughout the 1960s, and the first in Portlandthe 82nd Street Drive-inwas constructed in 1948. Construction on the Powell Boulevard Drive-in began in southeast Portland in 1954, despite legal protests from neighborhood residents.<ref name=legal/> A third drive-in on the city's east side, the 104th Street Drive-in, was built in 1959.<ref name=104th/> The Foster Drive-in, located on SE Foster Road, was established in 1969.<ref name=sold/> The first [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]] in Portland, the Eastgate Theater, opened in 1966 on SE [[82nd Avenue]], and featured two screens and state-of-the-art sound. The [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]], located in southwest Portland along the edge of the [[Portland State University]] campus, was opened as a Moyer Theater in 1970.<ref name=fifth/> After ten years of operation, the cinema was acquired by Portland State, and has been operated by the university film department since.<ref name=fifth/>
===1981–2018: Revitalization and multiplexes===
[[File:Century Theater.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Century Theatres|Century]] Eastport Plaza in 2007]]
In the late 1980s, a multiplex was opened in northeast Portland across the street from the [[Lloyd Center]] mall, known as the Lloyd Center 10 and owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group]].<ref name=lloyd10/> Four years later, a second Regal multiplex opened inside the Lloyd Center mall, named the Lloyd Mall 8.<ref name=lloyd8/> Regal also opened the Broadway Metroplex 4 around this time, which occupied the space where the original Broadway Theatre had been prior to its demolition in 1988.<ref name=metroplex/> Regal subsequently acquired the Division Street Stadium 13, in east Portland (near [[Gresham, Oregon|Gresham]]), which had opened as an ACT III cinema in 1997.<ref name=division/> Also starting in the late 1980s, several local cinemas were established and/or renovated by [[McMenamins]], a restaurant, brewery, and hotel company based in Portland. Among these were the [[Mission Theater and Pub]], established in a former church in 1987, and the Bagdad Theatre, which they acquired in 1991. The company also opened small cinemas in the [[Kennedy School]] in 1997, and the [[National Cash Register Building]] in 1998.
[[Century Theatres]] opened the Eastport Plaza 16 in 1998, a multiplex on SE 82nd Avenue near the Eastgate Theater,<ref name=eastport/> the latter of which subsequently closed in 2001. The 2000s saw Regal opening an additional two multiplexes in Portland: the [[Fox Tower]] Stadium 10 in 2000, which specializes in art house films, and the [[Pioneer Place]] Stadium 6.<ref name=fox/><ref name=pio/> The Academy Theater, which had been closed since 1977, was renovated and reopened as a three-screen cinema in 2006. The Regal Broadway Metroplex was closed in 2011.<ref name=metroplex/> The sound system for the Broadway Metroplex was salvaged by the Hollywood Theatre, which underwent renovations in 2013.<ref name=salvaged/>
==Cinemas==
'''Note''': Status refers only to whether or not the venue still screens films; some noted as inactive still function as other types of arts venues.
: indicates building has been demolished or destroyed
===Movie houses===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Opened
! style="width:16%;"| Name
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:7%;"| Status
! style="width:15%"; class="unsortable"| Notes
! style="width:1%";| [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]] #
! style="width:1%;" class="unsortable"|
|-
| 1948 || [[Academy Theater]] || 7818 SE Stark Street || Active || Renovated in 2006; temporarily closed due to fire in 2017. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1912 || [[Avalon Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Avalon Theatre]] || 3451 Belmont Street || Active || Originally the Sunnyside Theatre. || ||align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Aladdin Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Aladdin Theater]] || 3107 SE Milwaukee Avenue || Active || Originally the Geller's Theatre, a [[vaudeville]] venue; opened Christmas Day 1927. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Alberta Rose Theatre]] || 3000 NE Alberta Street || Inactive || Originally the Alameda Theatre. Stopped showing films in 1978, and contemporarily functions as a performing arts venue. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1913 || [[Alhambra Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Alhambra Theatre]] || 4811 SE Hawthorne Boulevard || Inactive || Later known as Sabala's, the Mt. Tabor Legacy, and Mt. Tabor Theater. Subsequently served as a live music venue, and houses an arcade as of 2016. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1926 || [[Bagdad Theatre]] || 3708–26 SE Hawthorne Boulevard || Active || Acquired by [[McMenamins]] in 1991. || [https://ift.tt/2QCzrmS 89000099] || align=center|
|-
| 1991 || Broadway Metroplex 4 || 1000 SW Broadway || Inactive || Located in the block once occupied by the original Broadway Theatre built in 1926; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Closed in September 2011.<ref name=metroplex></ref> Sound system was salvaged by the Hollywood Theatre.<ref name=salvaged></ref> || || align=center|<ref name=regbroad></ref>
|-
| 1926 || Broadway Theatre || 1008 SW Broadway || Inactive || Located across from the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]]. Demolished in 1988. || || align=center|
|-
| 1926 || [[Cinema 21]] || 616 NW 21st Avenue || Active || Independent cinema primarily showing [[art film|art house]] films. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1914 || [[Clinton Street Theater]] || 2522 SE Clinton Street || Active || Known as the 26th Avenue Theatre in 1945 and the Encore in 1969 before returning to its original name. || || align=center|
|-
| 1913 || Columbia Theater || 106 SW 6th Avenue || Inactive || || || align=center|
|-
| 1997 || Division Street Stadium 13 || 16603 SE Division Street || Active || Previously owned by ACT III; acquired by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center| <ref name=division></ref>
|-
| 1966 || Eastgate Theater || 2025 SE 82nd Avenue || Inactive || First multiplex in Portland; originally a two-screen cinema, though a third was subsequently added. Closed in 2001; building is contemporarily used as a Slavic church.<ref></ref> || || align=center|
|-
| 1998 || [[Eastport Plaza]] 16 || 4040 SE 82nd Avenue || Active || Originally owned by [[Century Theatres]]; subsequently acquired by [[Cinemark Theatres|Cinemark]], but retains Century brand. || || align=center| <ref name=eastport> </ref>
|-
| 1970 || [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]] || 510 SW Hall Street || Active || Originally the Moyer Theater. Acquired by [[Portland State University]] in 1980 and has since been operated by the university film department. || || align=center| <ref name=fifth></ref>
|-
| 1910 || [[Fox Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Fox Theatre]] || SW Broadway and Taylor Street || Inactive || Originally an [[opera house]], leased for films and vaudeville beginning in 1929. Also known as the Heilig, Rialto, and Mayfair Theater. Demolished in 1997. || || align=center|
|-
| 2000 || [[Fox Tower]] Stadium 10 || 846 SW Park Avenue || Active || Located within the [[Fox Tower]] building; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center|<ref name=fox></ref>
|-
| 1912 || [[Blue Mouse Theatre#Blue Mouse Theatre Portland|Globe Theatre]] || 1032 SW Washington Street || Inactive || Renovated and renamed the Blue Mouse Theatre in 1921. Showed the first sound picture in Portland in 1926: [[John Barrymore]] in ''[[Don Juan (1926 film)|Don Juan]]''. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1924 || Egyptian Theatre || 2511 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard || Inactive || Closed in 1962 and was used as a warehouse. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Guild Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Guild Theatre]] || 829 SW 9th Avenue || Inactive || Originally known as the Taylor Street Theatre. Closed in 2006. || || align=center|
|-
| 1926 || [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]] || 4122 NE Sandy Boulevard || Active || ||[https://ift.tt/2E1wkOK 83002172] || align=center|
|-
| 1997 || [[Kennedy School]] || 5736 NE 33rd Avenue || Active || Kennedy School was acquired by [[McMenamins]], who converted the property into a hotel and restaurant 1997; gymnasium was converted into a cinema. || [https://ift.tt/2QwfE8P 88003472] || align=center|
|-
| 1923 || [[Laurelhurst Theater]] || 2735 E Burnside Street || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1914 || Liberty Theatre || 411 SW Broadway || Inactive || 2,200-seat cinema, commissioned as the Broadway Theatre, but opened as the Orpheum. Renamed the Empress in 1915; reprised Broadway name in 1916; then reprised original Liberty name in 1916. Closed in 1959. || || align=center|
|-
| 2006 || Living Room Theaters || 341 SW Tenth Avenue || Active || Showcases independent films, and offers a full food menu and bar serving concessions to patrons' seats. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1987 || [[Lloyd Center]] 10 || 1510 NE Multnomah Street || Active || Owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Due for redevelopment as of 2018. || || align=center| <ref name=lloyd10></ref>
|-
| 1991 || [[Lloyd Center|Lloyd Mall]] 8 || 2320 Lloyd Center Mall || Inactive || Located within Lloyd Center mall; originally owned by Act III before being acquired by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]] in 1998. Converted into office space in 2015. || || align=center| <ref name=lloyd8></ref>
|-
| 1911 || [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]] || 739 SW Washington Street || Inactive || First [[movie palace]] in the city of Portland; renamed the United Artists Theatre in in 1929. Demolished in 1957. || || align=center|
|-
| 1987 || [[Mission Theater and Pub]] || 1624 NW Glisan Street || Active || Former Swedish church acquired by [[McMenamins]] in 1987, partially converted into a cinema. || || align=center|
|-
| 1925 || [[Moreland Theater]] || 6712 SE Milwaukie Avenue || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1971 || [[Northwest Film Center]] || 934 SW Salmon Street || Active || Formerly located in the [[Guild Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Guild Theatre]] building from 1998 to 2006. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1925 || [[Oregon Theatre]] || 3530 SE Division Street || Active || Originally used for vaudeville and films; has served as an [[adult movie theater]] since the 1970s. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] || 828 SE Grand || Inactive || Demolished in 1970. || || align=center|
|-
| 1913 || Orpheum Theatre || 759 SW Broadway || Inactive || Renamed the Empress Theatre shortly after opening; the T & D Theatre after 1916; the Hippodrome Theatre after 1917; and the Pantages Theatre from 1927 to 1929. Reprised Orpheum name after 1929. Demolished in 1976. || || align=center|
|-
| 1922 || [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]] || 6 SW Third Avenue || Inactive || Originally a [[burlesque]] house; later known as Third Avenue Theatre, Paris Theater, and Ray's Paris Theatre. Served as an [[adult movie theater]] from 2006 to 2016, after which it was converted to a live music venue.<ref></ref> || || align=center|
|-
| 1911 || People's Theater || 901 SW Alder Street || Inactive || Was extensively renovated in 1929 by [[John V. Bennes]] and Herman Herzog and reopened as the Alder Theatre; 1935 it was renamed the Music Box Theatre. || || align=center|
|-
| 2003 || [[Pioneer Place]] Stadium 6 || 340 SW Morrison Street || Active || Located within [[Pioneer Place]] mall; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center| <ref name=pio></ref>
|-
| 1910 || [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]] || SW Morrison Street and 11th Avenue || Inactive || Opened as the Baker Theatre; subsequently known as the Dufwin, Alcazar, Music Box, and El Capitan. Demolished in 1954. || || align=center|
|-
| 1928 || [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]] || 1037 SW Broadway || Inactive || Known as the Paramount Theater after 1930. Has served as the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]] since 1984. || [https://ift.tt/2QBTSAh 76001585] || align=center|
|-
| 1920 || Rivoli Theatre || 809 SW Washington Street || Inactive || Opened in January 1920, and featured 1,200 seats. Renamed the Newsreel Theatre in 1941, and later the Roxy. || || align=center|
|-
| 1924 || [[Roseway Theater]] || 7229 NE Sandy Boulevard || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1998 || [[National Cash Register Building|St. Johns Theatre & Pub]] || 8203 N Ivanhoe Street || Active || Formerly the [[National Cash Register Building]]; acquired by [[McMenamins]] and converted into a pub and cinema in 1998. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1913 || [[St. Johns Twin Cinema]] || 8704 N Lombard Street || Active || Formerly known as the Northgate Theater and St. Johns Theater. || || align=center|
|-
| 1908 || [[Star Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Star Theater]] || 13 NW 6th Avenue || Inactive || Originally a [[silent film]] house; subsequently operated as an [[adult movie theater]]. Serves as a performing arts venue as of 2018. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
|}
===Drive-ins===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Opened
! style="width:16%;"| Name
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:7%;" | Status
! style="width:15%"; class="unsortable"| Notes
! style="width:1%";| [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]] #
! style="width:1%;" class="unsortable"|
|-
| 1948 || 82nd Street Drive-in || 9600 SE 82nd Avenue || Inactive || City's first [[drive-in theater|drive-in]] cinema; second screen installed in 1976 before the venue was closed in 1985. || || align=center|
|-
| 1959 || 104th Street Drive-in || SE Powell Boulevard & SE 108th Avenue || Inactive || Original drive-in sign remains as of 2017.<ref></ref> || || align=center| <ref name=104th></ref>
|-
| 1969 || Foster Drive-in || 11501 SE Foster Road || Inactive || 1,800-car capacity drive-in, originally owned by Tom Moyer Group; expanded to three screens<ref> </ref> in 1974. Subsequently owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Closed in 1998 and demolished in 1999. || ||align=center| <ref name=sold> </ref>
|-
| 1954 || Powell Boulevard Drive-in || 11040 SE Bush Street || Inactive || || || align=center| <ref name=legal> </ref>
|-
|}
==See also==
*[[History of Portland, Oregon]]
==References==
==Sources==
*Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)
*
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/2E1wo0W Portland cinema history] at PDX History
[[Category:Industry in the United States]]
[[Category:Lists of cinemas|Portland]]
[[Category:History of Portland, Oregon|Cinema]]
By the mid-20th century, several of the cinemas and movie palaces in Portland were demolished, including the Majestic, the [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]], and the [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]]. The [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]] (later known as the Paramount), is the only cinema in [[downtown Portland, Oregon|downtown Portland]] that has survived into the 21st century, having served as the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]] since 1984.
Since the 1990s, construction of several [[multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]]s has taken place in the city, mainly by [[Regal Entertainment Group]], who opened multiplex cinemas in the [[Fox Tower]] and [[Pioneer Place]] in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Several cinemas have also seen extensive renovation since the 1990s, including the Bagdad Theatre by the Portland-based restaurant and hotel company [[McMenamins]], who have opened additional cinemas at their [[Kennedy School]] and [[National Cash Register Building]] properties. Many of Portland's historic cinemas have continued operations into the 21st century screening both revival and [[art film|art house]] films, including the [[nonprofit organization|nonprofit]] Hollywood Theatre, [[Cinema 21]], and the [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]], the latter of which is owned by [[Portland State University]] and operated by the university film department. In 2013, the real estate company Movoto ranked Portland the no. 1 city in the United States for movie lovers.<ref name=motovo></ref>
==History==
===1910–1919: Beginnings and silent era===
[[File:Dream Street (1921) - 7.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|left|The [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]], the first movie palace built in Portland, in 1921, showing ''[[Dream Street (film)|Dream Street]]'']]
In the early 20th century following the advent of film, [[Portland, Oregon]] was one of few western U.S. cities to embrace the exhibition of films.<ref name=mpw/> Historians Gary Lacher and Steve Stone partially attribute this to the region's predominant rainy weather, which resulted in residents seeking indoor forms of entertainment.
Though the [[Star Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Star Theater]] was showing [[Synchroscope]] films as early as 1908, the first exclusive [[movie palace]] in Portland was the [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]] located at the northeast corner of Southwest Park Avenue and Washington Street, which opened on June 10, 1911. The venue contained 1,100 seats, and was constructed for $62,500 by Edwin F. James, a businessman from [[Seattle]].<ref name=mpw/> It was the first movie palace in Portland to show a [[silent film|silent]] [[feature film]] the two-reel Italian feature ''[[The Fall of Troy (film)|The Fall of Troy]]'' in 1911.<ref name=mpw/> The same year, the Majestic introduced a [[pipe organ]] to accompany film screenings; the Star Theater also introduced an organ.<ref name=mpw/> The [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Baker Theatre]], which had hosted live theater by the Baker Players, began showing films shortly after (the cinema would become known as the Playhouse Theatre in later decades).
The following year, in 1912, the Sunnyside Theatre (contemporarily known as the [[Avalon Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Avalon Theatre]]) was opened, followed by the [[Alhambra Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Alhambra]] and Columbia Theater in 1913. At the time of its opening, the Columbia, built for $125,000, was marketed as being "without peer" as the city's "strictly photo playhouse."<ref name=columbiampw> </ref> Around 1914, construction on the [[Clinton Street Theater]] began, and the cinema began showing features in 1915. By 1916, it was reported in ''[[The Moving Picture World]]'' that Portland had "the finest array of photoplay theaters of any of the cities on the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]] given its population. This statement is based on the fact that the homes of photodrama in Portland were built for that purpose within recent years and are not rehabilitated broken down theaters that once housed "legit" and [[burlesque]] shows."<ref name=mpw> </ref>
===1920–1949: Sound films===
[[File:Tebbetts' Oriental Theatre on 31 December 1927.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Opening of the Oriental Theatre, December 31, 1927]]
After commercial production of the [[sound film]] began in 1923, numerous cinemas were constructed in Portland throughout the remainder of the decade. The [[Art Deco]]-inspired [[Laurelhurst Theater]] was constructed that year in east Portland, followed by the [[Roseway Theater]] in 1924, and the [[Moreland Theater|Moreland]] and [[Oregon Theatre]]s in 1925 (all in east Portland). In 1926, the [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]] was built in the city's the [[Hollywood District (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood District]], designed by John V. Bennes, with an exterior resembling Spanish Colonial architecture, and the interior being based on the [[Baths of Caracalla]] and [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]].<ref></ref> The Broadway Theatre was also constructed in 1926 in downtown Portland, at 1008 SW Broadway. The exotic [[Mission Revival architecture|Mission Revival]]-inspired [[Bagdad Theatre]] was constructed in 1927 in the city's [[Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon|Hawthorne District]], a project funded by [[Universal Pictures]]. Other cinemas built in the city in 1927 include the [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] and the [[Aladdin Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Aladdin Theater]], the latter of which opened on [[Christmas Day]] that year.
[[File:Portland Theatre, Portland, OR in 1928 - Stairway to mezzanine (8528237617).png|thumb|upright=.8|right|Mezzanine in the Portland Publix Theatre, 1928 (now the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]])]]
The lavish Portland Publix Theatre (contemporarily the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]]) was constructed in [[downtown Portland, Oregon|downtown]] in 1928, and featured an unprecedented seat count of over 3,000. Construction of the theater used over 700,000 common bricks and over 350,000 exterior bricks. The construction of the venue cost around $1.4 million, and it opened on March 28, 1928. In 1930, it was recommissioned as the Paramount Theatre, and eventually ceased functions as a cinema, becoming the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in 1984. Contemporarily, it is the last movie palace in downtown Portland to survive into the 21st century.
With the growing popularity of the sound film, some establishments that had earlier functioned as burlesque or [[vaudeville]] houses were retrofitted to screen films, including the [[Fox Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Fox Theatre]] (originally an opera and vaudeville venue), which began showing feature films in 1929. The Union Theatre (later known as the [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]]), a burlesque house built in 1922, also began showing films, and became known as the Third Avenue Theatre in 1930. 1948 saw the opening of the 673-seat [[Academy Theater]] in Portland's [[Montavilla, Portland, Oregon|Montavilla]] neighborhood, one of the few neighborhood cinemas to be built in the city after the 1920s.
===1950–1980: Drive-ins and demolitions===
Beginning around the 1950s, many cinemas in the city underwent renovations, while others were outright destroyed. The [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]] (originally the Baker, and formerly known as the Dufwin, Alcazar, Music Box, and El Capitan in the interim) was closed in June 1950. The building was used for church services before being demolished in 1954. The following year, the Majestic Theatre closed, and was eventually demolished in 1957 to make way for the [[Union Bank Tower]]. Three months after the demolition of the Majestic, the People's Theater, a movie house built in 1911 (subsequently named the Alder Theatre and the Music Box in the 1930s), was razed as well. The [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] was also demolished several years later in April 1970. In the weeks prior to its demolition, various pieces of furniture and other fixtures from the cinema's interiors were auctioned to locals. The Academy Theater closed in 1977, and was used as a printing facility for the ensuing two decades.
In the 1960s, some of the city's older venues turned toward screening [[pornographic film]]s, and became [[adult movie theater]]s; among these were the [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]], which screened adult films from 1963 into the 1980s, and the Star Theatre, which operated primarily as an adult theater from the 1960s until 1983. The [[Oregon Theatre]] began showing adult films around the 1970s, following the success of ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' (1972).
[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in cinemas]] began to grow in popularity in the late 1940s and throughout the 1960s, and the first in Portlandthe 82nd Street Drive-inwas constructed in 1948. Construction on the Powell Boulevard Drive-in began in southeast Portland in 1954, despite legal protests from neighborhood residents.<ref name=legal/> A third drive-in on the city's east side, the 104th Street Drive-in, was built in 1959.<ref name=104th/> The Foster Drive-in, located on SE Foster Road, was established in 1969.<ref name=sold/> The first [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]] in Portland, the Eastgate Theater, opened in 1966 on SE [[82nd Avenue]], and featured two screens and state-of-the-art sound. The [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]], located in southwest Portland along the edge of the [[Portland State University]] campus, was opened as a Moyer Theater in 1970.<ref name=fifth/> After ten years of operation, the cinema was acquired by Portland State, and has been operated by the university film department since.<ref name=fifth/>
===1981–2018: Revitalization and multiplexes===
[[File:Century Theater.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Century Theatres|Century]] Eastport Plaza in 2007]]
In the late 1980s, a multiplex was opened in northeast Portland across the street from the [[Lloyd Center]] mall, known as the Lloyd Center 10 and owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group]].<ref name=lloyd10/> Four years later, a second Regal multiplex opened inside the Lloyd Center mall, named the Lloyd Mall 8.<ref name=lloyd8/> Regal also opened the Broadway Metroplex 4 around this time, which occupied the space where the original Broadway Theatre had been prior to its demolition in 1988.<ref name=metroplex/> Regal subsequently acquired the Division Street Stadium 13, in east Portland (near [[Gresham, Oregon|Gresham]]), which had opened as an ACT III cinema in 1997.<ref name=division/> Also starting in the late 1980s, several local cinemas were established and/or renovated by [[McMenamins]], a restaurant, brewery, and hotel company based in Portland. Among these were the [[Mission Theater and Pub]], established in a former church in 1987, and the Bagdad Theatre, which they acquired in 1991. The company also opened small cinemas in the [[Kennedy School]] in 1997, and the [[National Cash Register Building]] in 1998.
[[Century Theatres]] opened the Eastport Plaza 16 in 1998, a multiplex on SE 82nd Avenue near the Eastgate Theater,<ref name=eastport/> the latter of which subsequently closed in 2001. The 2000s saw Regal opening an additional two multiplexes in Portland: the [[Fox Tower]] Stadium 10 in 2000, which specializes in art house films, and the [[Pioneer Place]] Stadium 6.<ref name=fox/><ref name=pio/> The Academy Theater, which had been closed since 1977, was renovated and reopened as a three-screen cinema in 2006. The Regal Broadway Metroplex was closed in 2011.<ref name=metroplex/> The sound system for the Broadway Metroplex was salvaged by the Hollywood Theatre, which underwent renovations in 2013.<ref name=salvaged/>
==Cinemas==
'''Note''': Status refers only to whether or not the venue still screens films; some noted as inactive still function as other types of arts venues.
: indicates building has been demolished or destroyed
===Movie houses===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Opened
! style="width:16%;"| Name
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:7%;"| Status
! style="width:15%"; class="unsortable"| Notes
! style="width:1%";| [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]] #
! style="width:1%;" class="unsortable"|
|-
| 1948 || [[Academy Theater]] || 7818 SE Stark Street || Active || Renovated in 2006; temporarily closed due to fire in 2017. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1912 || [[Avalon Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Avalon Theatre]] || 3451 Belmont Street || Active || Originally the Sunnyside Theatre. || ||align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Aladdin Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Aladdin Theater]] || 3107 SE Milwaukee Avenue || Active || Originally the Geller's Theatre, a [[vaudeville]] venue; opened Christmas Day 1927. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Alberta Rose Theatre]] || 3000 NE Alberta Street || Inactive || Originally the Alameda Theatre. Stopped showing films in 1978, and contemporarily functions as a performing arts venue. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1913 || [[Alhambra Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Alhambra Theatre]] || 4811 SE Hawthorne Boulevard || Inactive || Later known as Sabala's, the Mt. Tabor Legacy, and Mt. Tabor Theater. Subsequently served as a live music venue, and houses an arcade as of 2016. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1926 || [[Bagdad Theatre]] || 3708–26 SE Hawthorne Boulevard || Active || Acquired by [[McMenamins]] in 1991. || [https://ift.tt/2QCzrmS 89000099] || align=center|
|-
| 1991 || Broadway Metroplex 4 || 1000 SW Broadway || Inactive || Located in the block once occupied by the original Broadway Theatre built in 1926; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Closed in September 2011.<ref name=metroplex></ref> Sound system was salvaged by the Hollywood Theatre.<ref name=salvaged></ref> || || align=center|<ref name=regbroad></ref>
|-
| 1926 || Broadway Theatre || 1008 SW Broadway || Inactive || Located across from the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]]. Demolished in 1988. || || align=center|
|-
| 1926 || [[Cinema 21]] || 616 NW 21st Avenue || Active || Independent cinema primarily showing [[art film|art house]] films. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1914 || [[Clinton Street Theater]] || 2522 SE Clinton Street || Active || Known as the 26th Avenue Theatre in 1945 and the Encore in 1969 before returning to its original name. || || align=center|
|-
| 1913 || Columbia Theater || 106 SW 6th Avenue || Inactive || || || align=center|
|-
| 1997 || Division Street Stadium 13 || 16603 SE Division Street || Active || Previously owned by ACT III; acquired by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center| <ref name=division></ref>
|-
| 1966 || Eastgate Theater || 2025 SE 82nd Avenue || Inactive || First multiplex in Portland; originally a two-screen cinema, though a third was subsequently added. Closed in 2001; building is contemporarily used as a Slavic church.<ref></ref> || || align=center|
|-
| 1998 || [[Eastport Plaza]] 16 || 4040 SE 82nd Avenue || Active || Originally owned by [[Century Theatres]]; subsequently acquired by [[Cinemark Theatres|Cinemark]], but retains Century brand. || || align=center| <ref name=eastport> </ref>
|-
| 1970 || [[5th Avenue Cinema|Fifth Avenue Cinema]] || 510 SW Hall Street || Active || Originally the Moyer Theater. Acquired by [[Portland State University]] in 1980 and has since been operated by the university film department. || || align=center| <ref name=fifth></ref>
|-
| 1910 || [[Fox Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Fox Theatre]] || SW Broadway and Taylor Street || Inactive || Originally an [[opera house]], leased for films and vaudeville beginning in 1929. Also known as the Heilig, Rialto, and Mayfair Theater. Demolished in 1997. || || align=center|
|-
| 2000 || [[Fox Tower]] Stadium 10 || 846 SW Park Avenue || Active || Located within the [[Fox Tower]] building; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center|<ref name=fox></ref>
|-
| 1912 || [[Blue Mouse Theatre#Blue Mouse Theatre Portland|Globe Theatre]] || 1032 SW Washington Street || Inactive || Renovated and renamed the Blue Mouse Theatre in 1921. Showed the first sound picture in Portland in 1926: [[John Barrymore]] in ''[[Don Juan (1926 film)|Don Juan]]''. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1924 || Egyptian Theatre || 2511 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard || Inactive || Closed in 1962 and was used as a warehouse. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Guild Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Guild Theatre]] || 829 SW 9th Avenue || Inactive || Originally known as the Taylor Street Theatre. Closed in 2006. || || align=center|
|-
| 1926 || [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]] || 4122 NE Sandy Boulevard || Active || ||[https://ift.tt/2E1wkOK 83002172] || align=center|
|-
| 1997 || [[Kennedy School]] || 5736 NE 33rd Avenue || Active || Kennedy School was acquired by [[McMenamins]], who converted the property into a hotel and restaurant 1997; gymnasium was converted into a cinema. || [https://ift.tt/2QwfE8P 88003472] || align=center|
|-
| 1923 || [[Laurelhurst Theater]] || 2735 E Burnside Street || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1914 || Liberty Theatre || 411 SW Broadway || Inactive || 2,200-seat cinema, commissioned as the Broadway Theatre, but opened as the Orpheum. Renamed the Empress in 1915; reprised Broadway name in 1916; then reprised original Liberty name in 1916. Closed in 1959. || || align=center|
|-
| 2006 || Living Room Theaters || 341 SW Tenth Avenue || Active || Showcases independent films, and offers a full food menu and bar serving concessions to patrons' seats. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
| 1987 || [[Lloyd Center]] 10 || 1510 NE Multnomah Street || Active || Owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Due for redevelopment as of 2018. || || align=center| <ref name=lloyd10></ref>
|-
| 1991 || [[Lloyd Center|Lloyd Mall]] 8 || 2320 Lloyd Center Mall || Inactive || Located within Lloyd Center mall; originally owned by Act III before being acquired by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]] in 1998. Converted into office space in 2015. || || align=center| <ref name=lloyd8></ref>
|-
| 1911 || [[United Artists Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Majestic Theatre]] || 739 SW Washington Street || Inactive || First [[movie palace]] in the city of Portland; renamed the United Artists Theatre in in 1929. Demolished in 1957. || || align=center|
|-
| 1987 || [[Mission Theater and Pub]] || 1624 NW Glisan Street || Active || Former Swedish church acquired by [[McMenamins]] in 1987, partially converted into a cinema. || || align=center|
|-
| 1925 || [[Moreland Theater]] || 6712 SE Milwaukie Avenue || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1971 || [[Northwest Film Center]] || 934 SW Salmon Street || Active || Formerly located in the [[Guild Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Guild Theatre]] building from 1998 to 2006. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1925 || [[Oregon Theatre]] || 3530 SE Division Street || Active || Originally used for vaudeville and films; has served as an [[adult movie theater]] since the 1970s. || || align=center|
|-
| 1927 || [[Oriental Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Oriental Theatre]] || 828 SE Grand || Inactive || Demolished in 1970. || || align=center|
|-
| 1913 || Orpheum Theatre || 759 SW Broadway || Inactive || Renamed the Empress Theatre shortly after opening; the T & D Theatre after 1916; the Hippodrome Theatre after 1917; and the Pantages Theatre from 1927 to 1929. Reprised Orpheum name after 1929. Demolished in 1976. || || align=center|
|-
| 1922 || [[Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Paris Theatre]] || 6 SW Third Avenue || Inactive || Originally a [[burlesque]] house; later known as Third Avenue Theatre, Paris Theater, and Ray's Paris Theatre. Served as an [[adult movie theater]] from 2006 to 2016, after which it was converted to a live music venue.<ref></ref> || || align=center|
|-
| 1911 || People's Theater || 901 SW Alder Street || Inactive || Was extensively renovated in 1929 by [[John V. Bennes]] and Herman Herzog and reopened as the Alder Theatre; 1935 it was renamed the Music Box Theatre. || || align=center|
|-
| 2003 || [[Pioneer Place]] Stadium 6 || 340 SW Morrison Street || Active || Located within [[Pioneer Place]] mall; owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. || || align=center| <ref name=pio></ref>
|-
| 1910 || [[Playhouse Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Playhouse Theatre]] || SW Morrison Street and 11th Avenue || Inactive || Opened as the Baker Theatre; subsequently known as the Dufwin, Alcazar, Music Box, and El Capitan. Demolished in 1954. || || align=center|
|-
| 1928 || [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall|Portland Publix Theater]] || 1037 SW Broadway || Inactive || Known as the Paramount Theater after 1930. Has served as the [[Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall]] since 1984. || [https://ift.tt/2QBTSAh 76001585] || align=center|
|-
| 1920 || Rivoli Theatre || 809 SW Washington Street || Inactive || Opened in January 1920, and featured 1,200 seats. Renamed the Newsreel Theatre in 1941, and later the Roxy. || || align=center|
|-
| 1924 || [[Roseway Theater]] || 7229 NE Sandy Boulevard || Active || || || align=center|
|-
| 1998 || [[National Cash Register Building|St. Johns Theatre & Pub]] || 8203 N Ivanhoe Street || Active || Formerly the [[National Cash Register Building]]; acquired by [[McMenamins]] and converted into a pub and cinema in 1998. || || align=center| <ref></ref>
|-
| 1913 || [[St. Johns Twin Cinema]] || 8704 N Lombard Street || Active || Formerly known as the Northgate Theater and St. Johns Theater. || || align=center|
|-
| 1908 || [[Star Theater (Portland, Oregon)|Star Theater]] || 13 NW 6th Avenue || Inactive || Originally a [[silent film]] house; subsequently operated as an [[adult movie theater]]. Serves as a performing arts venue as of 2018. || || align=center|<ref></ref>
|-
|}
===Drive-ins===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:1%;"| Opened
! style="width:16%;"| Name
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:7%;" | Status
! style="width:15%"; class="unsortable"| Notes
! style="width:1%";| [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]] #
! style="width:1%;" class="unsortable"|
|-
| 1948 || 82nd Street Drive-in || 9600 SE 82nd Avenue || Inactive || City's first [[drive-in theater|drive-in]] cinema; second screen installed in 1976 before the venue was closed in 1985. || || align=center|
|-
| 1959 || 104th Street Drive-in || SE Powell Boulevard & SE 108th Avenue || Inactive || Original drive-in sign remains as of 2017.<ref></ref> || || align=center| <ref name=104th></ref>
|-
| 1969 || Foster Drive-in || 11501 SE Foster Road || Inactive || 1,800-car capacity drive-in, originally owned by Tom Moyer Group; expanded to three screens<ref> </ref> in 1974. Subsequently owned by [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal]]. Closed in 1998 and demolished in 1999. || ||align=center| <ref name=sold> </ref>
|-
| 1954 || Powell Boulevard Drive-in || 11040 SE Bush Street || Inactive || || || align=center| <ref name=legal> </ref>
|-
|}
==See also==
*[[History of Portland, Oregon]]
==References==
==Sources==
*Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)
*
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/2E1wo0W Portland cinema history] at PDX History
[[Category:Industry in the United States]]
[[Category:Lists of cinemas|Portland]]
[[Category:History of Portland, Oregon|Cinema]]
December 06, 2018 at 05:07PM
