CineMagic Theater
2021 SE Hawthorne Boulevard,
Portland,
OR
97214
2021 SE Hawthorne Boulevard,
Portland,
OR
97214
3 people
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Visited Portland last weekend and stopped in at CineMagic. I was late for the showtime of Lucy but the concession worker let me come in and view the lobby and auditorium — it was cool to stand in the back of the theater while the film screened and take in lovely, old-school vibe. They told me CineMagic is almost 100 years old and has operated continuously under various names. Great place that I will definitely return to next time I’m in Portland.
A November 2012 photo can be seen here.
It should be noted that this theater is independent and not associated with the Cinemagic theater chain.
Here is their website.
A 2012 photo can be seen here.
View link
I went to the Cinemagic last night to see Superbad. It does indeed have a small lobby where you buy your tickets and order concessions from behind the same counter. There were two people working, one handling tickets and the other doing concessions. It is far from a completely restored theatre, but you can see touches of its history here and there in the woodwork, smaller bathrooms, exterior and interior doors, and so on. The auditorium is done in blue walls and ceiling colors with blue curtains and a gold curtain that outlines the screen. There are tracks of tiny white lights worked into the walls that run up, across the ceiling, and back down the other wall staggered down length of the auditorium. The seats are not high back, but they are rockers upholstered in a pale orange. All in all this is a theatre with a lot of character. It is worth taking a trip to if you appreciate cinema treasures.
I love Cinemagic, it has a great old theater, amazing old atmosphere, still has the opening and closing of the Curtain before the movie starts and has vanilla coke! Like the old days where they add the vanilla, real cool.
My night-time image of the CineMagic
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/256943409
“The CineMagic Theater at 2021 SE Hawthorne Boulevard opened in 1914 as the Palm.
It has since had a succession of owners and name changes, including
Along with tasty popcorn, tiny 1950s-style restrooms, and a glittering gold curtain that graces the stage, the 87-year-old theater features a mix of contemporary releases, second-run films, and classics—everything from foreign films to mainstream Hollywood.“
(see View link)
Operating since the late 1940’s when it first opened as the 420 seat Plaza Theatre.
They may show an Indian film every once in a while, but they don’t specialize in only Indian films. I’ve seen Secret of Roan Inish, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Searchers, American Beauty, and Novocaine there. Right now they’re playing Capote.
The place is great because it’s obviously run by someone with a love of movies. Last time I went you could get real melted butter on your popcorn.
The Cinemagic shows 2nd run films now. It seems if one is popular it will run for months at a time, like “Ray” seemed to be there for eternity.
My wife and I saw “North Fork” at CineMagic in September, 2003. It is literally a one-man-show. One person takes the money, fixes the popcorn, runs the projector and opens and closes.