Portage Theatre

The 200-seat Royal Theatre was opened in 1915 as a silent motion picture operation in downtown Oak Harbor. In 1933, owner John Knopp built a new 400-seat venue moving the Royal name there. It launched on December 15, 1933.

While the new Royal Theatre was being built, H.O. Thomas of Toledo’s Shoreway Theatre took on the former Royal Theatre and renamed it as the Portage Theatre. It opened September 29, 1933 with Buck Jones in “Forbidden Trial,” W.C. Fields in “The Dentist” and the Scrappy cartoon, “Movie Struck”.

Knopp would reacquire the former Royal Theatre turned Portage Theatre in 1935. Knopp would move the stage back to create space for 100 new seats in May of 1936.

Oak Harbor was a one-owner, two theatre town into 1948. The Portage Theatre was reduced to twice a week operation. Though the trade press shows activity into the early-1950’s, the Portage Theatre appears to have gone out of business in 1948 along as advertising ceases and the theatre advertised and equipment and theatre seat sale. The ‘new’ Royal Theatre would continue to operate until closing in January of 1964.

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