The “Coming Big Pictures” were made and released in 1937, except for The Eagle’s Brood from 1935. But July 10 was on a Saturday in 1937, and on Sunday in 1938. Was The Circle showing second-run movies at this time?
Some new aerial photos from 1938 have come to light, showing this theater on the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Lincoln Street. They have been added to the photos. This means the entrance to this theater would have had a 3rd Avenue street address.
This theater was located less than one block from the Tivoli, which was across the street and down Williams. That building is still standing as of 2024.
The bungalow structure is not the Empire Theatre located at (modern) address 1521 SE Grand, based on a description provided in the Dec. 9, 1916 Moving Picture World magazine. In a roundup of “Portland’s Suburban Photoplay Theaters,” it is described as follows:
THE EMPIRE THEATER, PORTLAND, ORE.
Patrons Composed of Many Nationalities,
But Manager Kollross' Programs Please All
The Empire Theater, located at Grand and Hawthorne Avenues, Portland [which corresponds with the modern address 1521 SE Grand, today a parking lot located south of the Hawthorne Bridge on ramp], is confronted with the difficult task of pleasing many classes of people and several nationalities. Manager W. Kollross has met these difficulties successfully, as is evidenced by the fact that he has conducted the theater several years and is comparatively satisfied. South of the theater is a district inhabited by many Italians, north of it lives a mixed class of people and a few blocks to the west is the bridge that crosses the river to the downtown district where the big theaters cut into the trade of the close-in suburban houses.
“It is a hard proposition to please them all,” says Mr. Kollross. “Italians want Italian war pictures, Germans want German war pictures, and neither kind of war pictures make any special hit with the Americans. If I could get audiences that were all Italian, all German or all American, I would know what to do. I find Italians are good picturegoers.”
The Empire was built in 1910 and opened by M. F. Fenton. After being sold several times it was acquired by W. W. Tebbetts, now manager of the Alhambra [which has its own entry elsewhere here], who built up a good business there. Mr. Tebbetts sold to Mr. Kollross. The building is of concrete and was built for a theater.
(Photo of the Empire from the article has been added.)
The “bungalow” appearance of this theater also leads me to believe that this is the now vanished Empire Theater that would have been at the modern address 1521 SE Grand.
The other Empire at 1141 Albina would now be located at 5425 North Albina. There is now a vintage apartment building located there that could certainly have been the site of a storefront nickelodeon. I have been trying to find a Sanborn map or contemporaneous image of the area to confirm this. One fun fact– it would place the Empire just around the corner from the storefront Crystal Theatre.
There is a handy converter for Portland, Oregon pre-renumbering addresses located here: https://pastportland.com/ It has been a godsend in tracking down the contemporary locations of many of the existing pre-1930 theaters mentioned in newspaper ads and journals.
The Baker Stock Company was a peripatetic troupe who operated in Portland and the northwest from 1901-1923. They had a number of locations, some of which later were converted to cinemas. Among the performers was John Gilbert, Mayo Methot, Edward Everett Horton, and Verna Felton (who was a voice actor for several Disney films). The manager, George Baker was a busy fellow, serving as Mayor of Portland from 1917-1933, as well as the manager at one point of the Marquam Grand Opera House, which has its own entry elsewhere here.
New photos have been added for the current use of this building. All traces of the Studio recital hall (1927), Taylor Street Theatre (c.1930) and Guild (renovated, 1956) were demolished and removed. The entire space is now a bookstore, with the historic facade and marquee restored and refurbished.
The death knell for the Guild was when a restaurant moved into the ground floor space of the Studio Building next door. In the course of demolition they discovered that the bathrooms for the theater had been placed in the footprint of the rental space in the office structure. The owner of both buildings, Tom Moyer, allowed the demolition to proceed. Without bathrooms, the Northwest Film Center could no longer open the Guild to the public, and it permanently closed.
According to the Sellwood Bee, the Alpha Theatre, operated by Alfred Griessen, was located in the Strahlman Building. When Griessen built his own theater, the Star, the Alpha was renamed the Isis, which did close in 1924. Griessen’s Star Theater operated from 1911 to 1920 on the southwest corner of SE 13th and Spokane Streets.
It should be noted that the American Motion Picture Directory for 1914-1915 lists all three theaters in Sellwood at the same time.
Many historic and contemporary photos of the Cameo (exterior and interior) can be found attached to this 2018 Newberg City Council agenda. It includes the complete document nominating the Cameo for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
The correct name for this theater is the Portland Drive-In Amphitheater. The historic address was 9727 NE Union Ave. Today that corresponds to 9727 NE Martin Luther King.
The address for this theater is incorrect. It should have been 585 First Street, which is the historic address. The modern address would be 2215 SW First Avenue. Portland addresses were adjusted in the “Great Renumbering” of 1931-32.
It had closed permanently by 2022. In September of 2023 the Jesuit newspaper ran a story about the conversion of the old theater into classrooms and multipurpose space for the local Catholic high school.
https://jesuitnews.com/19914/news/former-valley-theater-now-two-classrooms-multipurpose-space/
Please change the status for this theater to closed.
Based on many sources, here is a timeline for the names given to this theater over the years:
1910: Heilig
1913: Earliest known exhibition of motion pictures
1919: Hippodrome
1929: Rialto
1930: Mayfair
1954: Fox
1990: Final year of film exhibition
1997: Demolished
This is not the Music Box on 9th Avenue. This is the Music Box on Broadway and Stark (Harvey Milk), as it appeared from 1928-32. It was best known as the Liberty Theatre.
The genesis of the Roxy Theatre’s lobby can be seen in this map. When it opened in 1914 as the National Theatre, the building occupied only the northern half of the narrow block. Lobby entrances were situated on West Park (which would become SW 9th in 1932) and East Park (which would become SW Park in 1932). After conversion to the Strand Theatre, a new lobby entrance was created through the Columbia Building, giving the Strand/Rivoli/Roxy Theatre a more prominent Washington Street address.
The modern address for this theater would be 801 SW Washington, at the corner of Park. The address was changed during Portland’s “Great Renumbering” of 1931-32.
I remember this. At one point, the owners of the theater took possession of a number of architectural artifacts from the old Oriental Theater in Portland and installed them in this theater. “The Oriental” was a revival house.
The “Coming Big Pictures” were made and released in 1937, except for The Eagle’s Brood from 1935. But July 10 was on a Saturday in 1937, and on Sunday in 1938. Was The Circle showing second-run movies at this time?
Some new aerial photos from 1938 have come to light, showing this theater on the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Lincoln Street. They have been added to the photos. This means the entrance to this theater would have had a 3rd Avenue street address.
This theater was located less than one block from the Tivoli, which was across the street and down Williams. That building is still standing as of 2024.
The bungalow structure is not the Empire Theatre located at (modern) address 1521 SE Grand, based on a description provided in the Dec. 9, 1916 Moving Picture World magazine. In a roundup of “Portland’s Suburban Photoplay Theaters,” it is described as follows: THE EMPIRE THEATER, PORTLAND, ORE. Patrons Composed of Many Nationalities, But Manager Kollross' Programs Please All
The Empire Theater, located at Grand and Hawthorne Avenues, Portland [which corresponds with the modern address 1521 SE Grand, today a parking lot located south of the Hawthorne Bridge on ramp], is confronted with the difficult task of pleasing many classes of people and several nationalities. Manager W. Kollross has met these difficulties successfully, as is evidenced by the fact that he has conducted the theater several years and is comparatively satisfied. South of the theater is a district inhabited by many Italians, north of it lives a mixed class of people and a few blocks to the west is the bridge that crosses the river to the downtown district where the big theaters cut into the trade of the close-in suburban houses.
“It is a hard proposition to please them all,” says Mr. Kollross. “Italians want Italian war pictures, Germans want German war pictures, and neither kind of war pictures make any special hit with the Americans. If I could get audiences that were all Italian, all German or all American, I would know what to do. I find Italians are good picturegoers.”
The Empire was built in 1910 and opened by M. F. Fenton. After being sold several times it was acquired by W. W. Tebbetts, now manager of the Alhambra [which has its own entry elsewhere here], who built up a good business there. Mr. Tebbetts sold to Mr. Kollross. The building is of concrete and was built for a theater.
(Photo of the Empire from the article has been added.)
The “bungalow” appearance of this theater also leads me to believe that this is the now vanished Empire Theater that would have been at the modern address 1521 SE Grand.
The other Empire at 1141 Albina would now be located at 5425 North Albina. There is now a vintage apartment building located there that could certainly have been the site of a storefront nickelodeon. I have been trying to find a Sanborn map or contemporaneous image of the area to confirm this. One fun fact– it would place the Empire just around the corner from the storefront Crystal Theatre.
There is a handy converter for Portland, Oregon pre-renumbering addresses located here: https://pastportland.com/ It has been a godsend in tracking down the contemporary locations of many of the existing pre-1930 theaters mentioned in newspaper ads and journals.
The Baker Stock Company was a peripatetic troupe who operated in Portland and the northwest from 1901-1923. They had a number of locations, some of which later were converted to cinemas. Among the performers was John Gilbert, Mayo Methot, Edward Everett Horton, and Verna Felton (who was a voice actor for several Disney films). The manager, George Baker was a busy fellow, serving as Mayor of Portland from 1917-1933, as well as the manager at one point of the Marquam Grand Opera House, which has its own entry elsewhere here.
289 NE Grand Avenue is not the correct address for this theater. After the “Great Renumbering” of 1931-32, the modern address would be 1521 SE Grand.
The correct address for this theatre was 1033 NW Wall St.
The Capitol was demolished and, as noted above, a Bank of America now occupies the site.
New photos have been added for the current use of this building. All traces of the Studio recital hall (1927), Taylor Street Theatre (c.1930) and Guild (renovated, 1956) were demolished and removed. The entire space is now a bookstore, with the historic facade and marquee restored and refurbished.
The death knell for the Guild was when a restaurant moved into the ground floor space of the Studio Building next door. In the course of demolition they discovered that the bathrooms for the theater had been placed in the footprint of the rental space in the office structure. The owner of both buildings, Tom Moyer, allowed the demolition to proceed. Without bathrooms, the Northwest Film Center could no longer open the Guild to the public, and it permanently closed.
According to the Sellwood Bee, the Alpha Theatre, operated by Alfred Griessen, was located in the Strahlman Building. When Griessen built his own theater, the Star, the Alpha was renamed the Isis, which did close in 1924. Griessen’s Star Theater operated from 1911 to 1920 on the southwest corner of SE 13th and Spokane Streets.
It should be noted that the American Motion Picture Directory for 1914-1915 lists all three theaters in Sellwood at the same time.
Many historic and contemporary photos of the Cameo (exterior and interior) can be found attached to this 2018 Newberg City Council agenda. It includes the complete document nominating the Cameo for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
https://www.newbergoregon.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/historic_preservation_commission/meeting/16681/hpac_packet_5-22-18.pdf
The correct name for this theater is the Portland Drive-In Amphitheater. The historic address was 9727 NE Union Ave. Today that corresponds to 9727 NE Martin Luther King.
The address for this theater is incorrect. It should have been 585 First Street, which is the historic address. The modern address would be 2215 SW First Avenue. Portland addresses were adjusted in the “Great Renumbering” of 1931-32.
By 1940 the theater was operating as the Rio, at the same address. (Display advertisement added to the photo section.)
This was operated a Moyer Luxury Theater, yes.
It had closed permanently by 2022. In September of 2023 the Jesuit newspaper ran a story about the conversion of the old theater into classrooms and multipurpose space for the local Catholic high school. https://jesuitnews.com/19914/news/former-valley-theater-now-two-classrooms-multipurpose-space/
Please change the status for this theater to closed.
This is a photo of the Liberty Theatre, with the Empress marquee.
Based on many sources, here is a timeline for the names given to this theater over the years: 1910: Heilig 1913: Earliest known exhibition of motion pictures 1919: Hippodrome 1929: Rialto 1930: Mayfair 1954: Fox 1990: Final year of film exhibition 1997: Demolished
This is not the Music Box on 9th Avenue. This is the Music Box on Broadway and Stark (Harvey Milk), as it appeared from 1928-32. It was best known as the Liberty Theatre.
The genesis of the Roxy Theatre’s lobby can be seen in this map. When it opened in 1914 as the National Theatre, the building occupied only the northern half of the narrow block. Lobby entrances were situated on West Park (which would become SW 9th in 1932) and East Park (which would become SW Park in 1932). After conversion to the Strand Theatre, a new lobby entrance was created through the Columbia Building, giving the Strand/Rivoli/Roxy Theatre a more prominent Washington Street address.
This photo is not the Rivoli. It is the peoples Theatre (Music Box).
The modern address for this theater would be 801 SW Washington, at the corner of Park. The address was changed during Portland’s “Great Renumbering” of 1931-32.
This is not the Rivoli (later Roxy) Theatre in Portland, Oregon. This is the Rivoli in Pendleton, Oregon.
Scanned from a 1916 issue of Moving Picture World magazine.
I remember this. At one point, the owners of the theater took possession of a number of architectural artifacts from the old Oriental Theater in Portland and installed them in this theater. “The Oriental” was a revival house.
The Baker Theatre c.1910. It was converted from a former stable and was used as the home of the Baker Players.