Tomorrow Theater

Tomorrow Theater is a historic movie theater and multimedia venue in Portland, Oregon. The building began operating in 1925 as the Oregon Theater, a neighborhood cinema designed by Hubert A. Williams with plans prepared by Universal Plan Service. Its original program combined conventional film exhibition with live entertainment: the two-story building included a vaudeville stage, a large screen, approximately 750 high-backed seats, ornate lighting, and a Wurlitzer pipe organ. The structure reflects Italianate and Streetcar Era Commercial architectural influences, with a brick façade, ornamental parapet detailing, second-story double-hung windows, and a street-facing retail base. During its early decades, the venue presented Hollywood films, art-house titles, and Spanish-language pictures. The building underwent several changes, including alterations to its entrance and ticket facilities in 1930 and a later remodeling of the front entrance and ticket booth in 1954. It also served an unusual temporary civic role in 1949, when a local Congregational church used the theater for services while its new building was being reconstructed. The original organ was later removed and reinstalled elsewhere in Portland. Ownership changed several times before the building was acquired by the Maizels family in 1967. The family operated a number of Portland-area cinemas, and the Oregon Theater subsequently became associated with adult film exhibition. The screening of I Am Curious (Yellow) in 1967 generated substantially more business than the theater’s regular mainstream programming, prompting a shift to exclusive adult-film operation. The 1972 success of Deep Throat reinforced that direction and coincided with a broader expansion of adult cinemas in Portland. For decades, the venue operated as one of the city’s best-known adult theaters and was described by local observers as Portland’s longest-running pornographic cinema. The adult-cinema era continued as video cassettes, cable television, and changing entertainment habits reduced attendance at traditional adult theaters. The single-screen auditorium replaced conventional seats with sofas and later advertised live sex shows. Despite its adult programming and increasingly unconventional appearance, preservation and planning discussions recognized the building’s architecture, street orientation, and continuity of local ownership as neighborhood assets. It became a distinctive remnant of an earlier Portland entertainment landscape. The property remained associated with the Maizels family until it entered foreclosure on February 13, 2020. The Oregon Theatre closed on March 3, 2020. In 2023, the Portland Art Museum began operating the renovated or repurposed venue under the name Tomorrow Theater through PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, its film and new-media center. The current venue broadens the site’s role from single-screen exhibition to multimedia storytelling and cultural programming while retaining the building’s identity as a historic neighborhood theater.

The building now known as Tomorrow Theater was completed in Portland, Oregon, in 1925. Designed by Hubert A. Williams from plans prepared by Universal Plan Service, it was built as a two-story neighborhood theater of roughly 8,700 square feet. Its Italianate and Streetcar Era Commercial features included a brick exterior, ornamental brickwork, belt courses, second-story windows, and a flat roof. The original interior was substantially more elaborate than the later venue’s appearance: it included a Wurlitzer pipe organ, decorative lighting beneath a high domed ceiling, 750 high-backed chairs, a vaudeville stage, and a 16-by-20-foot screen. The theater began operation on September 4, 1925, although the exact opening program is uncertain. J. W. McFadden Inc. was the original owner. The building later passed through a succession of owners and operating entities, including C. C. and Leedy Maude, J. S. Middleton, Oregon Theater Co., Mary Watt, and Ernest Bass. Alterations to the doors and ticket facilities were made in 1930, including construction of a new ticket booth. In 1949, the building was used for church services while the Waverly Heights Congregational United Church of Christ reconstructed its church building. The original theater organ was eventually repossessed and installed at the studios of Portland radio station KXL. Ferguson Cassady Co. remodeled the front entrance, doors, and ticket booth in 1954. A major change came in 1967, when the theater was acquired by the Maizels family, which also had interests in several other Portland cinemas. The theater initially continued to show a mixture of Hollywood, art-house, and Spanish-language films. Its commercial direction changed after the presentation of the sexually explicit film I Am Curious (Yellow), which reportedly produced several days of unusually strong ticket sales. The venue then moved to an adult-film format. The release of Deep Throat in 1972 became another important turning point, helping increase the visibility and number of adult-film cinemas in Portland. The Oregon Theater continued operating as an adult cinema for decades. It became known for its single-screen format, sofa seating, adult-film programs, and, later, advertising for live sex shows. As home video and cable television reduced the audience for adult theaters, many comparable venues disappeared. The Oregon Theater nevertheless remained in operation and was frequently described as the city’s longest-running pornographic cinema. Its persistence made it both a controversial business and a surviving example of an earlier entertainment sector. Local commentary also treated the building as an architectural and neighborhood landmark. A 2004 planning report identified it as an Investment and Identity Site, emphasizing its quality architecture, street-facing orientation, and history of local ownership. Critics differed sharply in tone: some regarded the venue as an anachronistic or seedy presence on a rapidly changing commercial corridor, while others saw its survival as part of Portland’s cultural history. The building’s continued existence also prevented the loss of a distinctive historic theater structure. The ownership associated with the Maizels family ended when the property entered foreclosure on February 13, 2020. The venue closed on March 3 of that year. In 2023, the Portland Art Museum began operating the property as Tomorrow Theater through PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow. The new identity repositioned the site as a film and new-media venue for multimedia storytelling. This transition marked a substantial change in programming and institutional context, while linking the current venue to the building’s long history as a place for screen culture and live presentation.

• 2023

  Reopens as Tomorrow Theater

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The Portland Art Museum begins operating the former Oregon Theater as a multimedia storytelling venue.

• 2020

  Foreclosure and closure

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The property enters foreclosure in February and the theater closes in March.

• 2004

  Recognized as an Investment and Identity Site

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  A neighborhood planning report highlights the theater’s architecture, local ownership, and relationship to the street as community assets.

• 1972

  Deep Throat becomes a commercial turning point

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The successful run of Deep Throat reinforces the theater’s adult-cinema identity and coincides with broader growth in Portland adult-film exhibition.

• 1967

  Maizels family acquires the theater

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The theater is acquired by the Maizels family, which owns and operates other cinemas in the Portland area.

• 1967

  Venue shifts to adult-film programming

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  Strong attendance for I Am Curious (Yellow) leads the theater to focus exclusively on adult films.

• 1954

  Front entrance remodeled

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The entrance, doors, and 1930s ticket booth receive another major remodeling.

• 1949

  Theater temporarily hosts church services

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  Church services are held at the theater while a nearby Congregational church building is reconstructed.

• 1930

  Entrance and ticket facilities altered

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The original owner makes changes to the front doors and ticketing area and adds a new ticket booth.

• 1925

  Original theater opens

  [1]Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org

  The building opens as the Oregon Theater on September 4, with a vaudeville stage, movie screen, pipe organ, and approximately 750 seats.

A historic neighborhood cinema repurposed as a film, new-media, and multimedia storytelling venue operated by PAM CUT and the Portland Art Museum.

• Cinema programming · 1925

  Film exhibition

  The venue’s core function has historically been screen exhibition. Across different operating eras, it presented Hollywood films, art-house cinema, Spanish-language films, and adult films. Under the Tomorrow Theater identity, film exhibition forms part of a broader multimedia and new-media program rather than operating solely as a conventional commercial cinema.

• Cultural venue programming · 2023

  Multimedia storytelling

  Tomorrow Theater is positioned as a venue for multimedia storytelling operated through PAM CUT and the Portland Art Museum. The format extends beyond standard theatrical film screenings and provides a setting for film, new-media, and other screen-related cultural presentations.

• Historical cinema programming · 1967

  Adult-film cinema

  From the late 1960s until its closure in 2020, the Oregon Theater was principally known as an adult movie theater. Its programming included sexually explicit films, and the venue later advertised live sex shows. This was the defining historical business model of the Oregon Theater period but is not the current positioning of Tomorrow Theater.

• 2023

  Repositioning as a multimedia venueStrategy

  Background

  After the closure of the Oregon Theater, the Portland Art Museum sought to operate the property through PAM CUT.

  Action taken

  The site reopened as Tomorrow Theater for multimedia storytelling, film, and new-media programming.

  Aftermath

  The venue moved from adult-film exhibition into an institutional cultural and screen-arts context.

  Source

• 2020

  Closure following foreclosureOther

  Background

  The property entered foreclosure on February 13, 2020, after decades of operation as the Oregon Theater.

  Action taken

  The venue ceased operations on March 3, 2020.

  Aftermath

  The building later returned to cultural use under the Tomorrow Theater name.

  Source

• 1967

  Adoption of an adult-cinema strategyStrategy

  Background

  A sexually explicit film generated unusually strong attendance compared with the theater’s conventional programming.

  Action taken

  The Oregon Theater shifted to exclusive adult-film exhibition.

  Aftermath

  The venue became one of Portland’s longest-running adult cinemas and remained associated with that format for more than five decades.

  Source

1. 1Tomorrow Theateren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Oregon Theater at Cinema Treasurescinematreasures.org