One of the things I love about Portland is that there is a strong belief in historic preservation. There was a period where many beautiful historic buildings gave way for more modern sleek architecture. A good example of this is downtown along Broadway, where buildings like the Portland Hotel made room for Pioneer Courthouse Square and grand movie palaces came down and were replaced by the likes of Nordstroms and the Fox Tower...named for the theater it replaced.
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| Hollywood Theater 1926 |
One of my favorite parts of town is the cozy Spanish revival neighborhood of Hollywood and it's grand mascot the Hollywood Theater. Built in 1926, the Hollywood was the last theater in Portland built for Vaudeville and the pictures. It originally had 1500 seats, an eight piece orchestra and a large pipe organ. It's grand Rococo facade could be seen from blocks away and gave the neighborhood a sense of grandeur. By the 1970's the theater had fallen into disrepair and was finding it harder to compete with larger newer movie-plexes. Most of it's lavish interiors were painted over in dark paint and the balcony was divided into two separate auditoriums.
Today the Hollywood is breathing new life with the help of a film preservation group and strong neighborhood support. Film Action Oregon has made the Hollywood a not-for-profit organization who's goal is to educate through film and save a historic Portland landmark. In 1983 the building was put on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1997 Film Action Oregon organized and began transforming the old Hollywood Theater into a thriving cinema hub for Northeast Portland. In 2011 the organization dropped the name Film Action Oregon and now is known simply as the Hollywood Theater.
Jake
Thank you for providing your readers with a new post!
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