The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the “Knob Hill” Theatre in Portland as a 1938 project. The project must have been the conversion of the Nob Hill into the Esquire, which took place that year.
The December 28, 1918 issue of Motion Picture News said that “J. B. SPARKS of the Liberty theatre at Condon, Ore. has purchased a fotoplayer for his house and intends to depend exclusively on this instrument for music.” Items in various trade journals earlier that year said that J. B. Sparks had bought the American Theatre at Condon. As I find no earlier mentions of the Liberty and no later mentions of the American, it is likely that the Liberty was the American renamed. The American Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list unspecified work at the Liberty Theatre in Condon as a 1939 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the Columbia Theatre in Longview as a 1936 project. There’s no indication of how extensive the remodeling was.
In the late 1940s, J. C. Allmon was operating the original Canby Theatre, and in 1948 he hired architect Day Walter Hilborn to design a new theater. Later that year, Allmon sold his theater interests to Irvin Westenskow, who took over the new theater project, opening it in 1950.
There was a movie theater in Roslyn as early as 1909, but the item in the April 17 issue of Moving Picture World that mentioned it didn’t give its name. It could have been the Rose, as the theater was located on the ground floor of the Knights of Pythias lodge hall, which had been built in 1890. This web pagehas a photo of the Rose Theatre dated circa 1910, which could conceivably be accurate.
The Knights of Pythias building, still occupied by the lodge and the theater, was destroyed by a fire in 1943.
Here is an item from the August 2, 1950 issue of The Exhibitor: “Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Reneau opened a new theatre, the C. J., Bridgeport, Wash., on Aug. 28. It seats between 650 and 700, and gets its name from Chief Joseph dam, near which it is situated.”
Boxoffice of October 2, 1948 ran an item about the ninth anniversary of the Onate Theatre which also had this information about the Cortez: “Manager Jim Snelson also showed a full week’s program at the Cortez Theatre for the week of the anniversary celebration. The Cortez was to get a change in policy at a later date for the showing of Spanish language pictures on Tuesday nights and English language films on other playnights. The house will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.”
It looks like the Onate Theatre opened around September, 1939. Here is an item from the October 2, 1948 issue of Boxoffice: “BELEN, N. M.— The Onate Theatre celebrated its ninth anniversary recently with a change of program every day and a stage show at each evening performance.”
A house called the Vista Theatre was listed at Altavista in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but it was not this one. It’s possible that the 1914 Vista was the same house that was later called the Liberty Theatre.
The modern Vista Theatre was built in 1936, according to this article from The News & Advance of May 29, 2021. At that time, the City of Altavista had recently bought the property and intended to fund a study for a possible renovation and reuse of the house as a multi-purpose theater. The article features about three dozen photographs of the derelict theater.
The Liberty Theatre in Altavista was mentioned in the September 14, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World. The only theater listed at Altavista in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory was called the Vista. It’s possible that it was the same house, as a great many theaters in the United States were renamed Liberty during WWI.
Ken Layton’s capsule history of this house at CinemaTour says that it was built by Ralph Peel in 1982, the operation was taken over by Luxury Theatres around 1986, it was acquired by Act III Theatres in 1991, and then Regal Cinemas bought the Act III chain in 1998 and operated the house for about four years. In 2002 local resident Daryl Lund, owner of the downtown Chehalis Cinema, took over and made many improvements, including installing stadium seating. Lund closed it in March, 2009, but it was then reopened by independent operators Scott White and Jeff Frias.
Layton’s history ends there, but an article in the Chehalis Daily Chronicle of December 30, 2009 said that the house had closed again after a six month attempt to draw customers by showing English language movies with Spanish subtitles. I’ve found no later information about the place, so that closure might have been final. The Midway Cinema had opened on October 10, 2008
The name of this house was Cinema 3, and the Yard Birds shopping center was its location. All the newspaper references I’ve found to it call it Cinema 3 in Yard Birds or at Yard Birds or, after Regal took over, Regal Cinema 3. The newspaper was still referring to it as the Regal Cinema 3 after Lund took over, so it might be that Regal still owned the master lease and Lund was operating with a sublease.
Here is untimely news from the August 4, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Rialto Opening Delayed.
“Medford, Ore.— The Rialto, Percy-Moran Company’s new theater, which was scheduled to open July 25, will not be completed until August 5, when the grand opening will be held. The new seats for the big show house were unloaded at Chico, Cal., by mistake, causing the delay.”
This Facebook page has a 1934 photo of the Sunset Theatre. The accompanying text is from an interview with Jack Williams, long-time owner of the house, who also operated the Ilwaco Theatre in Ilwaco.
Another Facebook post is about Walter Strauhal, who owned the theater before Williams. It says that the Strauhals “…took over the old tent showhouse in 1910, replacing it with a building that became known as the Sunset Theater, and later as the Long Beach Theater….” Long Beach Theatre was the final name of this house. A June 26, 1956 Boxoffice item about Williams closing the Ilwaco Theatre said that he intended to focus on running his Long Beach Theatre.
It appears that the Sunset had opened under a different name as well. An item datelined Long Beach in the August 4, 1917 Moving Picture World said “C. B. Strauhal has opened the Row theater.” I’ve found no indication that Long Beach (or the Strauhals) ever had any other theaters, so the item must have been about the house that became the Sunset/Long Beach. The second Facebook page says that the building was demolished in 1974, but doesn’t say when the theater closed.
The first Madera Theatre was either a rebuild of or a replacement for the Madera Opera House on the same site. It opened in 1913 and was destroyed by fire on November 30, 1940. The rebuilt Madera, designed by Cantin & Cantin, opened on September 5, 1941. It closed in 1991 and was demolished in 1997.
The reopening of the former Vista Theatre as the Forum Theatre was noted in the July 20, 1931 issue of Film Daily. The name change apparently turned out to be temporary.
At some point, architect Day Walter Hilborn provided plans for remodeling the Avalon Theatre, but his records don’t give the date of the project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list the Roxy Theatre in Morton, Washington as a 1937 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list the Sellwood Theatre as a 1938 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the “Knob Hill” Theatre in Portland as a 1938 project. The project must have been the conversion of the Nob Hill into the Esquire, which took place that year.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the Irvington Theatre as a 1938 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the lobby of the Hollywood Theatre in Salem as a 1938 project.
The December 28, 1918 issue of Motion Picture News said that “J. B. SPARKS of the Liberty theatre at Condon, Ore. has purchased a fotoplayer for his house and intends to depend exclusively on this instrument for music.” Items in various trade journals earlier that year said that J. B. Sparks had bought the American Theatre at Condon. As I find no earlier mentions of the Liberty and no later mentions of the American, it is likely that the Liberty was the American renamed. The American Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list unspecified work at the Liberty Theatre in Condon as a 1939 project.
The streamline modern elements of the Kelso Theatre were designed by architect Day Walter Hilborn, whose records list the house as a 1940 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a remodeling of the Columbia Theatre in Longview as a 1936 project. There’s no indication of how extensive the remodeling was.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list a lobby remodel at the Castle Theatre in Vancouver as a 1947 project.
The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn list the Broadway Theatre in Vancouver as a 1947 project.
In the late 1940s, J. C. Allmon was operating the original Canby Theatre, and in 1948 he hired architect Day Walter Hilborn to design a new theater. Later that year, Allmon sold his theater interests to Irvin Westenskow, who took over the new theater project, opening it in 1950.
There was a movie theater in Roslyn as early as 1909, but the item in the April 17 issue of Moving Picture World that mentioned it didn’t give its name. It could have been the Rose, as the theater was located on the ground floor of the Knights of Pythias lodge hall, which had been built in 1890. This web pagehas a photo of the Rose Theatre dated circa 1910, which could conceivably be accurate.
The Knights of Pythias building, still occupied by the lodge and the theater, was destroyed by a fire in 1943.
Here is an item from the August 2, 1950 issue of The Exhibitor: “Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Reneau opened a new theatre, the C. J., Bridgeport, Wash., on Aug. 28. It seats between 650 and 700, and gets its name from Chief Joseph dam, near which it is situated.”
Boxoffice of October 2, 1948 ran an item about the ninth anniversary of the Onate Theatre which also had this information about the Cortez: “Manager Jim Snelson also showed a full week’s program at the Cortez Theatre for the week of the anniversary celebration. The Cortez was to get a change in policy at a later date for the showing of Spanish language pictures on Tuesday nights and English language films on other playnights. The house will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.”
It looks like the Onate Theatre opened around September, 1939. Here is an item from the October 2, 1948 issue of Boxoffice: “BELEN, N. M.— The Onate Theatre celebrated its ninth anniversary recently with a change of program every day and a stage show at each evening performance.”
A house called the Vista Theatre was listed at Altavista in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but it was not this one. It’s possible that the 1914 Vista was the same house that was later called the Liberty Theatre.
The modern Vista Theatre was built in 1936, according to this article from The News & Advance of May 29, 2021. At that time, the City of Altavista had recently bought the property and intended to fund a study for a possible renovation and reuse of the house as a multi-purpose theater. The article features about three dozen photographs of the derelict theater.
The Liberty Theatre in Altavista was mentioned in the September 14, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World. The only theater listed at Altavista in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory was called the Vista. It’s possible that it was the same house, as a great many theaters in the United States were renamed Liberty during WWI.
Ken Layton’s capsule history of this house at CinemaTour says that it was built by Ralph Peel in 1982, the operation was taken over by Luxury Theatres around 1986, it was acquired by Act III Theatres in 1991, and then Regal Cinemas bought the Act III chain in 1998 and operated the house for about four years. In 2002 local resident Daryl Lund, owner of the downtown Chehalis Cinema, took over and made many improvements, including installing stadium seating. Lund closed it in March, 2009, but it was then reopened by independent operators Scott White and Jeff Frias.
Layton’s history ends there, but an article in the Chehalis Daily Chronicle of December 30, 2009 said that the house had closed again after a six month attempt to draw customers by showing English language movies with Spanish subtitles. I’ve found no later information about the place, so that closure might have been final. The Midway Cinema had opened on October 10, 2008
The name of this house was Cinema 3, and the Yard Birds shopping center was its location. All the newspaper references I’ve found to it call it Cinema 3 in Yard Birds or at Yard Birds or, after Regal took over, Regal Cinema 3. The newspaper was still referring to it as the Regal Cinema 3 after Lund took over, so it might be that Regal still owned the master lease and Lund was operating with a sublease.
Here is untimely news from the August 4, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
This Facebook page has a 1934 photo of the Sunset Theatre. The accompanying text is from an interview with Jack Williams, long-time owner of the house, who also operated the Ilwaco Theatre in Ilwaco.
Another Facebook post is about Walter Strauhal, who owned the theater before Williams. It says that the Strauhals “…took over the old tent showhouse in 1910, replacing it with a building that became known as the Sunset Theater, and later as the Long Beach Theater….” Long Beach Theatre was the final name of this house. A June 26, 1956 Boxoffice item about Williams closing the Ilwaco Theatre said that he intended to focus on running his Long Beach Theatre.
It appears that the Sunset had opened under a different name as well. An item datelined Long Beach in the August 4, 1917 Moving Picture World said “C. B. Strauhal has opened the Row theater.” I’ve found no indication that Long Beach (or the Strauhals) ever had any other theaters, so the item must have been about the house that became the Sunset/Long Beach. The second Facebook page says that the building was demolished in 1974, but doesn’t say when the theater closed.
The first Madera Theatre was either a rebuild of or a replacement for the Madera Opera House on the same site. It opened in 1913 and was destroyed by fire on November 30, 1940. The rebuilt Madera, designed by Cantin & Cantin, opened on September 5, 1941. It closed in 1991 and was demolished in 1997.
The reopening of the former Vista Theatre as the Forum Theatre was noted in the July 20, 1931 issue of Film Daily. The name change apparently turned out to be temporary.
The July 20, 1931 issue of Film Daily reported this theater’s name change from Lincoln Theatre to Daly Theatre.
Correct date of the Film Daily report of the name change at (what might have been) this house was July 20, 1931.