The Star Theater, formerly known as Princess Theatre and several other names, is a historic former
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
theater in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, United States. The theater currently operates as a live music and performance space; in the past, it has operated as a film theater as well as a
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. theater and an
adult movie
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotical ...
theater.
History
It opened in May 1911 as the Princess Theatre at Sixth and Burnside Street with 300 seats.
It was one of many "semi-fireproof picture show
that opened that year in Portland and the first in Downtown Portland to comply with the new fire codes.
It was being run by the Sax Amusement Company circa 1923; it became the Star Theater in 1939, but was also known as the Star Burlesk, 4 Star Theater or New Star Theater at various times.
In the 1940s it became a live
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. theater.
Tempest Storm was one of the dancers.
It closed briefly during
Dorothy McCullough Lee
Dorothy McCullough Lee (April 1, 1901 – February 19, 1981) was an American politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. She was the first female mayor of Portland, Oregon; she also served on the Oregon Legislative Assembly, on the Mul ...
's mayorship, but reopened in 1953.
Jim Purcell
"Diamond" Jim Purcell (1909 – 1968) was an officer, chief detective, and then the Chief of Police in Portland, Oregon from January 1, 1953 to December 31, 1956.
Purcell was an associate of Portland mob boss Jim Elkins, and he helped protect Po ...
, Portland's Chief of Police, was a regular at the Star Theater.
In the late 1960s, the Star Theater became an
adult theater
An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films.
Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the patro ...
which showed erotic movies and also had strippers on stage. In the 1970s the Star Theater experimented with presenting everything from underground and classic comedy films to controversial "live sex shows". Eventually the Star Theater went back to the somewhat less controversial adult movies and live strippers. The Star Theater was closed around 1975.
The property was owned for several years by Portland film director
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...
. Van Sant sold it to "embattled restaurateur" Andrew Sugar in 2001.
The theater briefly re-opened as another nightclub called Five Star Theater, held some shows in October 2008,
but then was shut down again on September 27, 2009, by the
Portland Police Bureau and the
Oregon Liquor Control Commission
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), formerly known as Oregon Liquor Control Commission is a government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OLCC was created by an act of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1933, days after the rep ...
for selling alcohol without a liquor license and violating building codes.
Local news outlet
KATU described Five Star as a modern
speakeasy.
As of 2011, the theater seating and original interior have been removed.
Further reading
*
References
External links
Star Theatre picturesat historicphotoarchive.net
Photo of Star Theater in 1979on
Flickr
Photo of Star Theater in the 1970son
Flickr
{{Theatres in Portland, Oregon
1911 establishments in Oregon
Burlesque theatres
History of Portland, Oregon
Music venues in Portland, Oregon
Northwest Portland, Oregon
Old Town Chinatown
Theatres in Portland, Oregon