United Artists Theatre

I believe the monster sign had originally been on the United Artists Theater in downtown Portland (demolished long ago). Portland updated its sign restrictions and the UA sign was deemed too tall. Both theaters were part of the Portland-based J.J. Parker circuit. The Portland UA then got a slightly shorter sign that conformed to the new limit. That sign had more neon white and red frosting than the now-illegal one. The Portland stage wasn’t very wide, and installing the new CinemaScope-type screen would have been awkward and costly. So it wasn’t upgraded and closed in 1954.The last movie it played was “About Mrs. Leslie,” with Shirley Booth and Robert Ryan.