Fox Theatre

I recall seeing this theater in 1991. I was taking the train across the country and down the Pacific coast to San Diego. In Portland there was a longer than usual stop. I had just happened to have met someone from Los Angeles who belonged to a group which was devoted to saving old Fox theaters. Since this theater was a short walk from the train station he suggested taking a look at it since by that time it was slated for demolition. I thought it was a beautiful building. I could not, cannot and will not understand anyone who, with casual deliberateness, would allow tangible history to slip through their fingers. And in a supposedly forward thinking and progressive city like Portland.

Unfortunetly, The Fox had been altered over time that
renovation was almost impossible. Downtown Portland
property is very valuable and the entire block
was cleared for the fox towers. There had
been another theatre there as well called the
music box. Tom Moyer had bought the fox, the broadway
and I think the music box, I don't know the man so I can't
attest to his intent, but we all have a price. Portland
has lost most of it's cinema jewels.

This theatre is one of some 200 that could be described as "Skouras-ized For Showmanship" which is the title of the ANNUAL of 1987 of the Theatre Historical Soc. of America. In the late 1930s through the 1950s, there occurred on the west coast of the United States a phenomenon known as the 'Skouras style' in recognition of the oversight of the Skouras brothers in their management of several cinema chains. They employed a designer by the name of Carl G. Moeller to render their cinemas/theatres in a new style best described as 'Art Moderne meets Streamlined.' The then new availability of aluminum sheeting at low cost was the principal material difference to this style allowing for sweeping, 3-dimensional shapes of scrolls to adorn walls and facades in an expression that would have been much more expensive and not at all the same in plaster. With the use of hand tinted and etched aluminum forms, the designers could make ornaments in mass production that allowed much greater economies of scale. The ANNUAL also show in its 44 pages how some 20 theatres were good examples of this combining of aluminum forms with sweeping draperies heavily hung with large tassels, and with box offices and facades richly treated with neon within the aluminum forms. Few of these examples survive today, but it was a glorious era while it lasted, and this collection of crisp b/w photos is a fitting epitaph by the late Preston Kaufmann.
PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either "Marquee" or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on their first page the link "PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List" and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The "Marquee" magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall ('portrait') format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long ('landscape') format, and are anywhere from 26 to 44 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to lend it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]

Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.

Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at: execdir@historictheatres.org
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)

Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM--4PM, CT)

Old photos & postcard at this link, which shows the transformation over the years:

http://www.pstos.org/instruments/or/portland/heilig.htm

Note that the original theatre name was Helig.

Undated photo from the Oregon Historical Society:
http://www.ohs.org/collections/library/images/33529021.jpg

On August 12th. 1954 the new Fox Theatre in Portland reopened after a $230,000 remodel. Which tranformed the theatre into a Skouras style theatre for the Fox West Coast Theatre chain. In this remodel a new 61' x 30' CinemaScope screen and Full 4-Track Magnetic Stereo sound was installed. The theatre had a 122 foot projection throw from the booth to the screen. When this theatre was known as the Fox Mayfair Theatre it seated 1500 people.

That photo ken mc posted on Jan 9th 2006, would date around July/August of 1954 just before the new Fox reopened to the public. The theatre reopened on August 12th. 1954.

There's a great 1954 photo of the ticket booth and surrounding area at http://www.ohs.org/exhibitions/movies/gimmicks.htm

Here is a vintage photo of the Mayfair theater. Caption with photo: "Mayfair Theater, SW Broadway and Taylor, 1940".

It broke my heart when THEY demolished this, Portland, Oregon's greatest, theatre. A theatre which I had dreamed of one day owning.

Are you sure that this theater was known as the Hippodrome? The only names that I can find for this theater are Heilig, Mayfair, and Fox.

Lost Memory, take a look at the 4th photo down on the page at
http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/broadway.html
It looks like perhaps in between the space being the Heilig and the Fox, it was the Hippodrome for a while...? Although in the photo at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41894180030@N01/373026726/
it shows the Heilig sign up and an over-the-street sign for the Hippodrome down the street at the same time--maybe the theatre went by two names? Or partitioned into two separate stages or something?...
Please add a new comment if you find out the answer as I'm curious as well.

strawberry....The Flickr photo shows a Hippodrome, Heilig and Orpheum theater located on Broadway at the same time. They appear to be three seperate theaters. The Orpheum Theater on Cinema Treasures also has an aka name of Hippodrome Theater. Hippodrome must have been a popular name.

On the PSTOS website, there is a listing for a Hippodrome Theater and a Heilig (Mayfair, Fox) Theater and another listing for a Orpheum (Empress, Pantages) Theater. Notice that the Hippodrome is listed as a seperate theater and the Fox and Orpheum have no aka name of Hippodrome on the PSTOS website. I don't know if the Hippodrome Theater listed on PSTOS ever showed movies.

I cannot find another source that shows an aka name of Hippodrome for the Heilig Theater. If you want to be confused even more, look at the listing for the Fox Theater on Cinematour. They give aka names of Mayfair, Heilig, and Rialto. No Hippodrome.

This 1964 photo of SW Broadway shows the Fox Theater.

I worked for Tom Moyer (Luxury Theaters)in the early 1980's and was visiting the home office in Portland and had an opportunity to visit the Fox. The theater was in great shape very well kept and the auditorium was beautiful. His other theaters especially the ones outside of Oregon were not very nice But this one was amazing. It was like stepping back into the 1940's / 50's. Nothing much had been done from the last remodel, the colors and interior styling were just as Fox West Coast had put in. Such a shame!

I worked at the Fox Theatre during my teen years and my friends worked at the Music Box Theatre next door and the Orpheum down the street. What wonderful memories we share of those years "on Broadway". The Fox was a beautiful Theatre and I was saddened to hear it was demolished. When I worked there in the 60's, it was owned by National General Corporation who owned a number of West Coast Theatres. They sold out to Tom Moyer sometime in the 70's as I recall. I appreciate the links to the old photos on this site so I may add them to my scrapbook pages. I have visited the new Fox Towers cinemas and couldn't help but feel an emptiness in my heart for the history forever gone.

Lost Memory, looking at a theater map from Cecil Matson's book "The Way It Was" (a scan of which I posted on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/41894180030@N01/1427610468/?edited=1) it looks like the "Empress/Hippodrome" was on the northwest corner of Seventh (Broadway) and Yamhill. So yeah, the Hippodrome wasn't related to the Heilig, or even in the same space—but in fact, one block north.

I love that idea of the theatre name strewn right across the street from building to building- ive never seen that before.

Salt Lake City's (still open) CAPITOL THEATRE once had a huge sign across the street.

This is the same 1964 photo that I posted about two years ago only this one is a little larger. Two of the movie titles on the marquee appear to be "Dr. Strangelove" and "Lilith".

1970 Photo

1980 Photo

1982 Photo

Here is a December 1973 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d5mrxs

That is a beauty.

1987 photo of the Fox Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c37%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=29628

1982 Night photo of the Fox Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c37%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=32737

This was in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin on May 21, 1952:

PORTLAND, (AP) — Fire from a waste basket in a janitor's supply room halted the movie at the Mayfair theater Tuesday night. When the door to the room was opened the fire blazed up and although firemen appeared quickly and put out the blaze, smoke filled the theater and the program was not resumed. Firemen estimated damage at $750.

I'm surprised that the article didn't say that the theater was "destroyed" by fire as they usually do.

LM, some of those newspapers articels are as useless as tits on a bull, they have no significance as to the history of the theatre. Once in a while there might be some interesting facts but in general they are repititious as to facts already listed on the theatre page itself. Most of the time now if it is a newspaper article I just delete the email. They remind me of Warren and his number game.

I know what you mean Chuck. I get tired of it myself. To be fair, many articles contain useful information. They might include an address, previous names for a theater, some sort of timeline for the theater, etc. Some articles are nothing more than gossip. And sometimes the information given in the article is just plain wrong. When you post older articles, you have to become the editor and determine what information is useful and which information isn't. Common sense should tell you what information is relevant to a particular theater. I'd rather read comments that people post about the old neighborhood than to read newspaper gossip. As for the number game, anyone that posts alot of garbage just to play number games, should be the winner of a one way ticket off this site.

My sentiments exactly. I found an article in one of the St. Louis papers about the Kingsland Theatre. When they were dismatling the theatre they found boxes of old Automaticket when the price was 25 and 10 cents. That really isn't anything to post to the site since ticket prices went from 10 cents back then to over ten dollars today, it has nothing to do with the history of the theatre.

I must disagree. Newspapers are the first draft of history. Whilst not all the stories are acurate, neither are the fading memories of someone who worked there 30 or 40 years ago.
I would also say that the price of admish in a given time frame is VERY much part of the history of the theatre.
Instead of wanting people to censor what they post, I say post it. Only by publishing it can we decide how important it might or might not be.

Kirk, it is great to see someone post a comment contrary to what someone else feels and not be nasty about it, but as far as posting an article about something that is already listed in the history of the theatre it is repititious. And as for the tickets that were found giving pices of 25 and 10 cents you would also have to know a little of the history of the theatre and its type of run, first, second or third run house. The ticket prices wouldn't ordinarily reflect a time frame. If the Apache in the fifties was 25cents and 12cents and a walking distance away the Gravois was 35cents and 15 cents at the same time you couldn't really go by the ticket price for a time frame. But I do honor your comments even if I disagree with them.

For the postings above concerning the name Hippodrome, this was never a name for the Fox. The theater opened as the Heilig, renamed the Rialto in 1929 when Paramount/Pubix took control, then a couple years later under still new management it was renamed the Mayfair. Finally it became the Fox. A block north, the theater best known as the Orpheum used the Hippodrome name for a short time around 1916.