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Small but determined group hopes to reopen Portland’s Guild Theatre
posted by
CSWalczak
on
July 16, 2010 at 7:48 am
PORTLAND, OR — They’re not all that well known, they’re underfunded, they have no history as a theater operator, and they know that times are tough economically, but Opera Theatre Oregon is confident that they can successfully renovate and reopen the Guild Theatre as a mixed use venue for both film and live events. The theater was originally a recital hall; it closed in 2006.
Taylor’s challenges are considerable: raise a minimum of $300,000 (her own estimate) and find another $300,000 worth of pro bono work to make basic renovations. Then, persuade Moyer’s firm that her plan to run the Guild will make money. Taylor may be underestimating costs. Another estimate puts the price tag at at least $1 million to bring wiring, heating and cooling, plumbing and roofing up to code.
Taylor shouldn’t count on much city money in these tight economic times. However, the Portland Development Commission might have money available for such a project, but public affairs manager Shawn Uhlman says the PDC has yet to receive a request from Taylor. Taylor also could face competition from the recent reopening of another former movie house, the Alberta Rose Theatre, with a similar mission.
The story is at Oregon.Live.
Comments (6)
Good Luck.
The restaurant next door to the Guild has put a wall up and taken over the theatres restrooms. Will the wall come down and the bathrooms go back to the Guild or will the new remodel put in new restrooms? Hope the remodel takes effect someday so the Portland downtown movie crowd can see films and other events again in a single screen venue. A sad day when the Broadway Theatre(Todd-AO) & Fox Theatre (CinemaScope) got torn down in downtown Portland many years ago. How many seats does the Guild have? Any one have photos of the inside? Thanks Terry.
Is this the theater the late Gary Fine operated in the early 80’s?
Yes; this article about the building mentions that fact: View link
Thanks for the well wishes! We have a lot of community support behind us, and the building owner would like to see the place up and running again. We also have an amazing pro bono team on board, including Diloreto Architects, KPFF Consulting Engineers, PAE Engineers, Ball Janik and forensic architect Gary Olmon. The restrooms are, of course one of the trickiest parts of the project (though not the trickiest). The facilities taken out by Pastini took up a significant amount of the footage in the space now being used for their kitchen. The restrooms were in Pastini’s leasehold space, so they were entitled to take them out. The remodel of the Guild (if our lease offer is accepted) would include new restrooms.
Go tell your story to the owner of San Francisco’s fabulous Castro Theatre… they do exactly what I mentioned above and are still just about the most popular single screener in the bay area!
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