Coliseum Cinema
310 Main Avenue,
Tillamook,
OR
97141
310 Main Avenue,
Tillamook,
OR
97141
1 person
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Coliseum Cinema - Tillamook (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: Frank Hyde
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
503.842.6111
Manager:
503.842.6111
Nearby Theaters
The 750-seat Coliseum Cinema was opened on September 25, 1923. Alive and well in September of 2003, the Coliseum Cinema had a showy combination sign and marqee. In white letters outlined in red and accented with neon, “Cinema” was spelled vertically with “Coliseum” on either side and stars on both sides on a light blue background.
Contributed by
Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
I have been in that theatre. What is their schedule now? Do they do movies, live theatre?
My image of the COLISEUM in Tillamook www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/250732456
Don: Is there any change of ownership?
I saw and photographed this theatre’s exterior last week. One of the young women who work there apologized that the COLISEUM name was not lit up on one side of the marquee. She said that the firm who built and maintained the present marquee was from Portland and had gone out of business, and the theatre staff had yet to find a new neon contractor to take care of the problem.
We were let into the tiny and plain lobby. There is a photo on the lobby wall of the theatre exterior when new, which shows a vertical sign to the right of the facade. Below this is a little written tribute to the theatre, written by a longtime patron.
There are some older photos on the pstos page:
http://tinyurl.com/yq7wyx
For many years, the Coliseum was operated by a fellow named Dude Smith. That’s how he was styled in many issues of Boxoffice Magazine from the 1930s through the 1950s. Other issues give his formal name of Claude H. Smith, but I prefer Dude.
Dude bought the Coliseum and another Tillamook house, the Castle, in the mid-1930s. In 1952, he opened a drive-in nearby called the Tillavue. At some time he added the Columbia Theatre at St. Helens, Oregon, to his holdings. He operated all these theaters until his death, at which time (according to Boxoffice’s issue of March 4, 1963) they were taken over by the administrator of his estate, a Mr. Gus Elbow Jr.
A small photo of Dude Smith accompanies a thumbnail biography of him, commemorating his twenty years in movie exhibition, published in the March 17, 1945, issue of Boxoffice. The last line of the biography reads “His hobby is exploitation.”
I think Dude deserves a plaque in the Coliseum’s lobby.
This theater was closed for the better part of 2014 as it transitioned into new ownership. Ted Bump, owner since 1995 handed the keys over to Shiela & Matthew Zerngast in August of 2014.
They went into remodel mode with a new snack bar and digital conversion. The City of Tillamook gave them a $35,000 grant from the Urban Renewal Fund whicj allowed them to put new carpet & tiles in the lobby as well as a heat pump for the front area. The auditorium was the only part that had warmth until then.
The Grand Opening was Nov. 1 with showings of BoxTrolls & Gone Girl. They also have live performances too with Comedy nights and a Hypnotist show. The next step is to reopen the balcony with 21+ seating serving beer and wine. The space might evolve into a second screen. I counted 234 seats on the main floor.
the new website is tilamookcoliseum.com and the FB page is Tillamook Coliseum Theater. Both sites have before & after photos of the remodeling and grand opening.
This item, complete with misspellings and the wrong name for the theater, is probably about this house, and is from the May 12, 1923, issue of The Moving Picture World:
2 post card images added via Bob Culpepper. Coliseum on the left in both, late
50s and mid60s.The Coliseum Theatre opened its doors on September 25, 1923 by the firm of L.E. Partridge & Morrison in the Beal Building, originally housing 750 seats. It was originally planned to open on August 15, but was postponed for unknown reasons. According to an article on its 100th anniversary, this was either the third or fourth movie theater to open in Tillamook.
During a 4th Of July performance on the evening of July 4, 1924, a fire broke out in the basement of the building next to the Coliseum. The fire was only noticed because owner Morrison was headed into the basement when the fire started at around 8:00 p.m. that evening, and he immediately notified the fire department about the disaster. The Coliseum was filled to capacity with all of the holiday visitors for the 4th of July, and panic began to fill the Coliseum as the audience saw smoke coming from below the stage. Mr. Morrison quickly mounted the stage and told the audience that “a blaze had started in an adjoining building, that there was no immediate danger, and warned the audience to leave without disorder.” At that same time, the organist, Merle Harrington, struck up a lively tune and continued to play while the audience left the Coliseum until it was completely empty. According to the fire department, the blaze was believed to have started in a pile of rubbish that was sparked in the basement of the building next door. The firemen came as quickly as they could, but the blaze had already burned through to the second floor, and extensive damage had been done. So extensive was the damage that the property loss of the theater was estimated at $35,000. Despite the extensive damage, however, the Coliseum was able to bounce back from the flames and continued to play films and hold special events for the community once the damage was repaired.
After Partridge’s reign over the Coliseum for nearly 10 years, he decided to lease the theater to Claude “Dude” Smith, and the Coliseum continued to prosper with Smith running and managing the theater.