Mayflower Theatre
E. 11th Avenue and Alder Street,
Eugene,
OR
97401
E. 11th Avenue and Alder Street,
Eugene,
OR
97401
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I helped run ‘dallies’ of Animal House filming in 1977 while a freshman at U of O. One scene showed Pinto and Flounder walking down the sidewalk toward Delta House. As the camera panned, the marquee of the The Mayflower came into view, prominently displaying Star Wars on the Marquee! Lots of laughter in the screening room. That scene is cut in the movie, just before the marquee appears.
This theater was located across the street from the frat house where they filmed much of “Animal House.” I watched “Animal House” at the Mayflower! The Delta House was torn down in 1986 but I think the other 11th Avenue fraternity buildings are still standing.
Prior to being called the Mayflower this house was called the Colonial Theatre. The June 24 issue of the Eugene Guard that year made reference to “…the Mayflower (formerly the Colonial)”.
A December 31, 1925, Guard retrospective of that year’s construction in Eugene said that “…the new Colonial theater was erected by Laura B. Paine….” The September 30 issue of the Guard had noted that the formal opening of the Colonial Theatre would take place that night.
The PSTOS page for the Mayflower, missing some information, doesn’t mention the original name of the theater, and says that its Robert Morton organ was installed in 1922. It’s possible that the organ was moved to the Colonial from some other theater. It was removed in 1936, according to a 1990 Portland Oregonian article featured on the page.
The PSTOS text says that in 1977 the Mayflower booked the original Star Wars, which played to packed houses in its small auditorium for weeks.
The Register-Guard only lists this cinema 1935-1957, 1965-1986
The microfilms are online at View link
Here is an item in Boxoffice magazine from June 1946:
EUGENE, ORE.-George Roys, one of the oldest theater operators in the Pacific Northwest, is retiring from the field after 40 years in show business. He has sold his State Theater here to West Johnson, who operates a circuit which includes the Mayflower, the Helig and the new Hawaii Theater, the latter now under construction.