Tag: Oregon Historic Theatres

Oregon Historic Theaters: Highlights and Lost Footage

Posted on by Julia Havens

One nice pleasure from researching Oregon theaters has been reading the popular success stories. As we continue to move forward with understanding the results of our theaters’ needs assessment, we wish to highlight some of our findings. Here, we take a look at two theaters that have sustained operations and one theater forever lost.

Liberty Theatre, Astoria
Oregon Historic Theaters John Jackson Rodney Bohner CPW Community Planning WorkshopThe Liberty Theatre located in Astoria, OR is a place that is very dear to the people that live there. The theater offers a self-guided tour through its complex, and is considered a treasure my many. Built in 1925, the building housed a stage, Movie Theater, radio station, dance studio, and roughly two-dozen businesses. The Liberty quickly became a hub of entertainment for the area. It contributed to the community economically, culturally, and socially. Currently the Liberty stage is home to a number of events. These include the Astoria Performance Arts classical and operatic presentations, town hall meetings, and different national forums. The community has spent a lot of time in the past 10 years renovating and restoring the theater. It’s something they are proud of, as the theater is part of the town’s history and identity.

Majestic Theater, Corvallis
The Majestic Theater is a well known theater in the southern Willamette Valley region. Located in Corvallis, OR and opening in 1913, the theater has served the area as a movie theater for over a century. The interior of the theater is something to be marveled. Inclusive with 800 chairs in leather upholstery, mirrors, tiled entrances, three double doors in front, and an exit on each side the theater is fully loaded with everything a historic theater needs to be a success The towns Gazette-Times wrote an entire article on the grand opening of the theater and gave the theater a great review and promising endorsement. By offering live theater and live music, the theater keeps busy by offering over 200 events per year. Being one of the oldest theaters in the state, the movie theater has remained loyal its customers and continues to serve the community of Corvallis and the surrounding area.

Oriental Theater, Portland
Oregon Historic Theaters John Jackson Rodney Bohner CPW Community Planning WorkshopThe Oriental Theater, which existed in Portland, OR from 1927 through 1970, is an example of a lost cinema treasure. Due to lack of operational revenue, the theater was closed, demolished, and remains to this day as a parking lot. The theater’s life is captured in a vintage documentary available on YouTube. The short and somewhat obscure video (1,272 views at press time) tells the story of the fantastic theater. “Before the Dark: Portland’s Oriental Theater” takes us back among the revelry of New Year’s Eve 1928, when the theater opened its doors for the first time. As the name suggests, the theater displays elements from the Far East including life-sized elephant busts protruding from the walls. These and other sculpted plaster decorations maintained an exotic excitement. The loss of this gem is a reminder to the care required to preserve these architectural icons.

Link to video about the Oriental Theater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oZ88y4i9BY

As we prepare recommendations and solutions to the difficulties facing historic theaters, it is important to examine both gains and losses. The Liberty and Majestic demonstrate the possibilities and diversifying theaters’ business model. In the case of the Oriental, the demolition demonstrates a break in the downtown fabric and the loss of an icon. Moving forward, our team hopes to identify paths to saving these threatened structures.

 

John Jackson Oregon Historic Theatres Community Planning Workshop CPWAbout the Authors: John Jackson is a Midwesterner turned West Coaster and a first year Community and Regional Planning Masters student at the University of Oregon. Growing up both in Chicago, Illinois and Lincoln, Nebraska, Jackson is an avid geographer who has taken his talents to the Pacific Northwest to study the craft of urban planning and the unique ways of land use, built environment, and transportation that U of O has to offer. In his spare time, he enjoys drumming, playing basketball, and working out at the campus recreation center. He is an active member of U of O LiveMove.

 

Rodney Bohner CPW Community Planning Workshop Oregon Historic TheatresRodney Bohner is a concurrent Master’s student in Community and Regional Planning as well as Historic Preservation at the University of Oregon. Originally from Pennsylvania, Rodney has worked on cultural resource projects in the Keystone state as well as Colorado, West Virginia, and Massachusetts.

 

Photo Credits
Google, Inc. (2014). Retrieved from Google Maps: www.google.com/maps
Krefft, B. Oriental Theatre. Retrieved from Cinema Treasures: www.cinematreasures.org/theaters/2728
Speer, D. (2013). Liberating the Liberty: Honoring the Liberty Theatre of Astoria, Oregon and Other Historic NW Theatres. Critical Dance. Retrieved from Critical Dance: www.criticaldance.org

Works Cited
Greiff, C. (Ed.). (1972). Lost America: From the Mississippi to the Pacific. Providence: Pyne Press

Respecting the Craft of Theater

Posted on by Julia Havens

Oregon-Historic-Theatres-Team

Time flies when you’re having fun. I still can’t believe we are past week 6 of the term, and finally getting into the thick of our Oregon Historic Theater project. If you were wondering about what I’m referring to, our Community Planning Workshop Team is working on a project to preserve, renovate, and promote historic theaters in the state of Oregon.

Theaters have had a substantial effect on towns nationwide, and being in Oregon this stays true more than ever. Not only do these theaters contribute to the economic aspect of these neighborhoods and communities, they bring a certain sense of culture to the places they are located in. These theaters have so much history that it would be foolish to not want to preserve these timeless treasures. Partnering with organizations such as Pacific Power, Travel Oregon, and Oregon Main Street, their want to preserve historic theaters stems far beyond the campus of the University of Oregon.

This past week we finally broke down what theaters we are going to be reaching out to for our case studies with our project. Each member of the team has two theaters and one theater program or initiative. These theaters are usually at the state level or on a wider scale than just a local scale. One thing I like about the theaters we’ve chosen is that they’re from a variety of place. From all parts of the state these theaters are unique to the place that they’re located and each give back something different to their community. From here in the Pacific Northwest to the far region of New England, these theaters are marvels to be held for everyone who visits them.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this project is listening to the people who truly care about this project  – our clients. Talking with people such as Erik Andersson from Pacific Power and Sheri Stuart from Main Street Oregon this past week, these people in elevated positions who truly care a lot about these theaters and what they mean to communities in Oregon. It’s amazing and it is something that has made me strive to work harder while partnering on this project, as I’m sure it has for other members of my team.

Growing up back in Lincoln, Nebraska, my high school was a huge theater school, winning multiple state championships and being known throughout the district as the “theater school.” I can honestly say that this helped me appreciate the art of theatre even more. So when I was approached with this project, this was one of the first things that went through my head. The craft of theatre is important to many people around the world. The ability to host this craft in a venue like the ones we are trying to preserve here in Oregon is one to be marveled.

 

John Jackson Oregon Historic Theatres Community Planning Workshop CPWAbout the author: John Jackson is a Midwesterner turned West Coaster and a first year Community and Regional Planning Masters student at the University of Oregon. Growing up both in Chicago, Illinois and Lincoln, Nebraska, John is an avid geographer who has taken his talents to the Pacific Northwest to study the craft of urban planning and the unique ways of land use, built environment, and transportation that U of O has to offer. In his spare time, John enjoys drumming, playing basketball, and working out at the campus recreation center. He is an active member of U of O LiveMove.