“Still in operation as a silent movie theatre in 1932…” Were it true, that would be quite a story. Guessy date aside, Bend Theatres - operators of the Liberty and Capitol - closed the Grand without converting it to sound with Hoot Gibson in “Burning the Wind” on February 27, 1929. The venue was used for sporadic live events until 1931 when its 15-year lease expired. It was converted to a short-lived dance hall called the New Palace at that time.
The origins of the Grand date back to its former life as the Dream Theatre. When Hugh O'Kane built the multi-purpose O'Kane Building, L.C. Rudow moved the Dream there which was supposed to have been the New Dream; but Grand became its name just a day or two prior to the relaunch on December 9, 1916. The old Dream Theatre was retrofitted as a fraternal lodge for the Moose Club.
The Encore launched on March 17, 1972 with “T.R. Baskin” and “Friends“ (not X-rated). Wall Street Theatres, operators of the Fine Arts, found audiences didn’t want an Encore after the December 26, 1982 showing of “Still of the Night.” A cartoon matinee featuring “Heidi’s Song” and assorted cartoons for the kiddies had taken place earlier that day. The venue was still used for occasional events and limited, special purpose screenings thereafter.
A benefit concert ends things following the expiry of the venue’s 25-year leasing agreement on August 10, 1985. It followed the venue’s last double-feature film showing of “The Last Dragon” and “Clonus Horror” on August 4, 1985.
Operational years under the Vista Theatre nameplate was from 1933 to 1982 by Alvin B. Stockdale who also opened the Gay Drive-In. The venue was purchased by Russell Fordwho changed it back to the OK Theatre beginning on May 1, 1982. The venue closed as a regular movie house with “Bolt” on December 28, 2008. It reopened with a mixture of repertory and special programming films and live events. It then shifted to live events only thereafter.
Closed May 29, 1980 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” The operator concentrated on the new Hermiston Tri-Cinema in nearby Hermiston that opened soon thereafter.
The Grove Drive-In Theatre launched September 17, 1949 by L.A. Moore with “The Fuller Brush Man” on the big screen. It closed as the Grove Drive-In Theatre on September 4, 1989 with a double-feature of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Ghostbusters II”.
The Hermiston Tri-Cinema serving the Tri-cities launched November 19, 1980 with two operating screens and 652 seats with “Blue Lagoon” and “Smokey and the Bandit 2.” In 1983, it expanded to the Hermiston Tri-Cinema 5. It appears to have completed a 25-year leasing agreement although may have dropped “Tri” in 2000.
Designed as a Jerry Lewis Cinema, architect Charles W. Yeager’s design kept the town’s aesthetic continuity, retaining neighboring mature trees and mountain harmony. It eschewed the standard Lewis design with a 366-seat auditorium and a much smaller parking lot due to the preservation of the trees.
And then the operation really strayed as Lewis ankled the nationwide project and Network Cinema, its parent company, went into freefall financial ruin. So Lewis was scrubbed from the building plans' exterior signage as it opened as the Big Bear Theatre on July 14, 1972 with Walt Disney’s “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “In Search of the Castaways.“ And even the Lewis' no “R” policy wasn’t followed as the venue had a big hit with “The Godfather” the next year.
The venue closed at the end of its 40 year lease on August 14, 2012 with “Dark Knight Rises” and “Total Recall (2012).”
Final showtime was “Hawaii” on January 27, 1968. A fire the morning of February 2, 1968 destroyed the venue prior that evening’s showing of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” It was demolished.
Earle C. Strebe of the hardtop The Villages’s Big Bear Theatre opened the ozoner on May 24, 1957 with “That Strange Feeling” and “The Last Command.” It staged an official grand opening a month later competing with the nearby and newly opened Lake Drive-In. It dropped “Woodland” becoming the Peter Pan Drive-In beginning in 1961. It closed as the Peter Pan D-I on September 2, 1967 with “Fathom” and “The Reluctant Astronaut” likely leaving after a 10-year leasing agreement.
The Lake Arrowhead Village Theater appears to have opened on July 8, 1938 with “Four Men and a Prayer.” The theater co-existed with the open-air Lake Arrowhead Theater which had opened a decade earlier as the Ye Jester Theater for the remainder of the 1938 season. The open air theater doesn’t appear to have reopened in 1939. The Lake Arrowhead Village Theater’s last advertised sho was “Frenzy” on September 9, 1972 although it may well have continued past that date.
Its sound era name was the Lake Arrowhead Theater and operated through the 1938 season. The Village Theater, a hardtop, was constructed and appears to have essentially replaced the Lake Arrowhead with the two co-existing from July 8, 1938 through the open air venue’s closure later that year.
Bonnie and David Parmelee opened the venue in 1957 with Bonnie at the concession stand and David as the projectionist. It closed after the 1974 season.
The Dufwin Theatre launches October 8, 1928 with a live play. But the Depression would take its toll on the Henry Duffy Players' new legit house. The Roxie appears to have closed August 18, 1983 with “48 Hours,” “Flashdance,” and “Don’t Answer the Phone” on a grindhouse, triple feature policy.
George L. Baker launched the Baker City Opera House on January 18, 1901 and shortened to the Baker Opera House. It used the name Baker Theatre from 1906 to 1925 at which time it was closed for a major refresh by the Heilner Brothers and the Burks. It became the Clarick Theatre on November 9, 1925 launching Wirth “Blossom Time.”
The Orpheum Theatre launched on September 6, 1909 with live vaudeville and short films. A later article said it was built on the site of a retail store that had burned down. The Orpheum closed briefly and had a second grand opening as the Orpheum Theatre on January 24, 1910. After a refresh by Haisch & Cutter in the Summer of 1916, the venue had third grand opening as the New Orpheum relaunching on September 20, 1916 with “Poor Little Peppina.” It soon lost “New” to be just the Orpheum Theatre.
The Orpheum added sound to remain viable. It closed on September 18, 1935 and was enlarged and modernized in a three-month project that subsumed the neighboring Pollman Building to the plans of architect J.W. DeYoung of Portland. On December 21, 1935, the new streamline moderne New Orpheum opened with its fourth grand opening with the film, “Collegiate.” (There’s no record of a fire closing the theater in 1936.)
It became just the Orpheum dropping “New” in 1938 before suffering a fire on September 15, 1943 that gutted the theater. Its basement was used surreptitiously by the “Panther Club,” a juvenile delinquent group through 1947. It finally relaunched five years later as the New Baker Theatre on December 2, 1948 with “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid.” It appears to have closed January 27, 1957 with “The Queen of Babylon” and “Bigger Than Life.”
Appears to have opened on September 29, 1950 with “Trail of the Lonesome Pine.” Its second season was cut short when it was destroyed by fire on August 20, 1951. It was reopened the following April. In its final season, the concession building was destroyed by fire on August 18, 1976 but they completed the year with a temporary building closing October 31, 1976 with “Jaws.”
The former Aloha became the Empire Theatre on May 22, 1912. It closed on October 29, 1950 with “Singapore” and “Pirates of Monterey” supported by the cartoon, “Little Cut Up” and Chapter 2 of the “Batman and Robin” serial. became a revival center in 1951. It was next turned into a retail venue.
“Still in operation as a silent movie theatre in 1932…” Were it true, that would be quite a story. Guessy date aside, Bend Theatres - operators of the Liberty and Capitol - closed the Grand without converting it to sound with Hoot Gibson in “Burning the Wind” on February 27, 1929. The venue was used for sporadic live events until 1931 when its 15-year lease expired. It was converted to a short-lived dance hall called the New Palace at that time.
The origins of the Grand date back to its former life as the Dream Theatre. When Hugh O'Kane built the multi-purpose O'Kane Building, L.C. Rudow moved the Dream there which was supposed to have been the New Dream; but Grand became its name just a day or two prior to the relaunch on December 9, 1916. The old Dream Theatre was retrofitted as a fraternal lodge for the Moose Club.
The Encore launched on March 17, 1972 with “T.R. Baskin” and “Friends“ (not X-rated). Wall Street Theatres, operators of the Fine Arts, found audiences didn’t want an Encore after the December 26, 1982 showing of “Still of the Night.” A cartoon matinee featuring “Heidi’s Song” and assorted cartoons for the kiddies had taken place earlier that day. The venue was still used for occasional events and limited, special purpose screenings thereafter.
A benefit concert ends things following the expiry of the venue’s 25-year leasing agreement on August 10, 1985. It followed the venue’s last double-feature film showing of “The Last Dragon” and “Clonus Horror” on August 4, 1985.
Operational years under the Vista Theatre nameplate was from 1933 to 1982 by Alvin B. Stockdale who also opened the Gay Drive-In. The venue was purchased by Russell Fordwho changed it back to the OK Theatre beginning on May 1, 1982. The venue closed as a regular movie house with “Bolt” on December 28, 2008. It reopened with a mixture of repertory and special programming films and live events. It then shifted to live events only thereafter.
August 7, 1953 opening ad with “The Sea Hawk” and “The Gunfighters” in ads. The venue had space for 350 cars and featured a 60-foot screen.
Closed May 29, 1980 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” The operator concentrated on the new Hermiston Tri-Cinema in nearby Hermiston that opened soon thereafter.
The Oasis Theatre closed in 1975
The Grove Drive-In Theatre launched September 17, 1949 by L.A. Moore with “The Fuller Brush Man” on the big screen. It closed as the Grove Drive-In Theatre on September 4, 1989 with a double-feature of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Ghostbusters II”.
The Hermiston Tri-Cinema serving the Tri-cities launched November 19, 1980 with two operating screens and 652 seats with “Blue Lagoon” and “Smokey and the Bandit 2.” In 1983, it expanded to the Hermiston Tri-Cinema 5. It appears to have completed a 25-year leasing agreement although may have dropped “Tri” in 2000.
Cinemark leaves the building on April 17, 2025. It will be operated by Phoenix Entertainment Circuit through 2025 and will be demolished thereafter.
The AMC Classic Hays 8 closed permanently on April 3, 2025.
Announce closure on March 27, 2025
Designed as a Jerry Lewis Cinema, architect Charles W. Yeager’s design kept the town’s aesthetic continuity, retaining neighboring mature trees and mountain harmony. It eschewed the standard Lewis design with a 366-seat auditorium and a much smaller parking lot due to the preservation of the trees.
And then the operation really strayed as Lewis ankled the nationwide project and Network Cinema, its parent company, went into freefall financial ruin. So Lewis was scrubbed from the building plans' exterior signage as it opened as the Big Bear Theatre on July 14, 1972 with Walt Disney’s “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “In Search of the Castaways.“ And even the Lewis' no “R” policy wasn’t followed as the venue had a big hit with “The Godfather” the next year.
The venue closed at the end of its 40 year lease on August 14, 2012 with “Dark Knight Rises” and “Total Recall (2012).”
Exterior shot from 1999
Final showtime was “Hawaii” on January 27, 1968. A fire the morning of February 2, 1968 destroyed the venue prior that evening’s showing of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” It was demolished.
Earle C. Strebe of the hardtop The Villages’s Big Bear Theatre opened the ozoner on May 24, 1957 with “That Strange Feeling” and “The Last Command.” It staged an official grand opening a month later competing with the nearby and newly opened Lake Drive-In. It dropped “Woodland” becoming the Peter Pan Drive-In beginning in 1961. It closed as the Peter Pan D-I on September 2, 1967 with “Fathom” and “The Reluctant Astronaut” likely leaving after a 10-year leasing agreement.
The Lake Arrowhead Village Theater appears to have opened on July 8, 1938 with “Four Men and a Prayer.” The theater co-existed with the open-air Lake Arrowhead Theater which had opened a decade earlier as the Ye Jester Theater for the remainder of the 1938 season. The open air theater doesn’t appear to have reopened in 1939. The Lake Arrowhead Village Theater’s last advertised sho was “Frenzy” on September 9, 1972 although it may well have continued past that date.
Its sound era name was the Lake Arrowhead Theater and operated through the 1938 season. The Village Theater, a hardtop, was constructed and appears to have essentially replaced the Lake Arrowhead with the two co-existing from July 8, 1938 through the open air venue’s closure later that year.
Bonnie and David Parmelee opened the venue in 1957 with Bonnie at the concession stand and David as the projectionist. It closed after the 1974 season.
The Dufwin Theatre launches October 8, 1928 with a live play. But the Depression would take its toll on the Henry Duffy Players' new legit house. The Roxie appears to have closed August 18, 1983 with “48 Hours,” “Flashdance,” and “Don’t Answer the Phone” on a grindhouse, triple feature policy.
George L. Baker launched the Baker City Opera House on January 18, 1901 and shortened to the Baker Opera House. It used the name Baker Theatre from 1906 to 1925 at which time it was closed for a major refresh by the Heilner Brothers and the Burks. It became the Clarick Theatre on November 9, 1925 launching Wirth “Blossom Time.”
The Orpheum Theatre launched on September 6, 1909 with live vaudeville and short films. A later article said it was built on the site of a retail store that had burned down. The Orpheum closed briefly and had a second grand opening as the Orpheum Theatre on January 24, 1910. After a refresh by Haisch & Cutter in the Summer of 1916, the venue had third grand opening as the New Orpheum relaunching on September 20, 1916 with “Poor Little Peppina.” It soon lost “New” to be just the Orpheum Theatre.
The Orpheum added sound to remain viable. It closed on September 18, 1935 and was enlarged and modernized in a three-month project that subsumed the neighboring Pollman Building to the plans of architect J.W. DeYoung of Portland. On December 21, 1935, the new streamline moderne New Orpheum opened with its fourth grand opening with the film, “Collegiate.” (There’s no record of a fire closing the theater in 1936.)
It became just the Orpheum dropping “New” in 1938 before suffering a fire on September 15, 1943 that gutted the theater. Its basement was used surreptitiously by the “Panther Club,” a juvenile delinquent group through 1947. It finally relaunched five years later as the New Baker Theatre on December 2, 1948 with “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid.” It appears to have closed January 27, 1957 with “The Queen of Babylon” and “Bigger Than Life.”
Appears to have opened on September 29, 1950 with “Trail of the Lonesome Pine.” Its second season was cut short when it was destroyed by fire on August 20, 1951. It was reopened the following April. In its final season, the concession building was destroyed by fire on August 18, 1976 but they completed the year with a temporary building closing October 31, 1976 with “Jaws.”
The former Aloha became the Empire Theatre on May 22, 1912. It closed on October 29, 1950 with “Singapore” and “Pirates of Monterey” supported by the cartoon, “Little Cut Up” and Chapter 2 of the “Batman and Robin” serial. became a revival center in 1951. It was next turned into a retail venue.
Architect Day W. Hilborn drew the plans for the streamline moderne $70,000 Eltrym which opened on June 27, 1940 with “The Ghost Breakers.”