The Hollywood Theatre is a historic movie theater in northeast

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, owned by a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. It is the central historical point of the Hollywood District. The Theatre is located at 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, across the street from the first suburban

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...

store, which is currently occupied by

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 lis ...

. The Hollywood Theatre was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1983 and is considered to be a gem of Northeast Portland's historic culture and tradition. Commissioned by Jensen and Herberg, architects

John Virginius Bennes John Virginius Bennes (August 23, 1867 – November 29, 1943) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings throughout the state of Oregon, particularly in Baker City and Portland. In Baker City he did an extensive redesign of the ...

and Harry A. Herzog designed the building in multiple styles including Spanish Colonial (exterior) and after the

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...

and

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

(interior). The theater opened on Saturday, July 17, 1926, with 1,491 seats, as a venue for

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and silent movies. It became a

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...

theater in 1961, utilizing the ultra-widescreen process until 1963. It was still labelled a "Cinerama theater" until 1969, running exclusively 70-millimeter films. On June 13, 1968, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey opened, and ran for over 10 months. In 1975, the theater was divided into three auditoriums, and ran second run films throughout the '80s and '90s. The theater became a non-profit in 1997. Starting in 2011, major renovations were done, including new seats, screens, sound systems and an updated paint job. In 2013, a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign raised the funds necessary to erect a new marquee, and in 2015, 70-millimeter capability was re-installed. The Hollywood Theatre currently screens first run films; along with a wide range of both well known and obscure classic cinema, offbeat exploitation, educational, independent and experimental films; with a focus of screening repertory films on 35-millimeter and 70-millimeter. The theater also has hosted many special guests since 2015, including

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distin ...

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), '' Carrie'' (1976), and '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), all of which brought her Academy Award no ...

and

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

. The main auditorium has a 50-foot screen and 384 seats, while two smaller auditoriums are located upstairs, each seating 111. The theater is self-owned and operated by a non-profit organization of the same name. Its mission is to preserve and maintain the historic theater and use it to present a diverse program of films.

Airport theater

In December 2015, Hollywood Theatre announced plans to open an annex theater in

Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...

. The theater will seat 18 with standing room for 10 to 20 people and also have space for live performances. The theatre will show short films no longer than 20 minutes and be free of charge. In mid-February 2017, it was reported that the airport "microcinema" would open on February 23 and have seating for 17 people.

Movie Madness

In 2017, the Hollywood Theatre purchased the iconic Portland video store Movie Madness, and its collection of over 90,000 movies.

Gallery

File:Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon) at night, 2011.jpg, Exterior at night with neon sign illuminated (2011) File:Hollywood Theatre lobby and stairs - Portland, Oregon.jpg, Lobby with chandelier File:Hollywood Theatre.jpg, September 2013 view, shortly after new marquee was brought into use

References

External links

*
News Reel of Hollywood Theatre
* {{John Virginius Bennes 1926 establishments in Oregon Cinemas and movie theaters in Oregon Hollywood, Portland, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon Theatres completed in 1926 Theatres in Portland, Oregon Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks