The Clinton Street Theater is a theater located in southeast

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. It is believed to be the second oldest operating movie house in the city and one of the oldest continually operating cinemas in the United States. The theater was designed by Charles A. Duke in 1913, built in 1914, and opened as The Clinton in 1915. It became known as the 26th Avenue Theatre in 1945 and the Encore in 1969, before reverting to a resemblance of its original name in 1976. The Clinton often screens

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of Animals *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts an ...

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

and

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

s, and has become known for hosting regular screenings of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'' (since 1978, marking one of the film's longest-running showings) and ''

Repo! The Genetic Opera ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'' is a 2008 American musical film. Described as a gothic rock opera, the film was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and based on the 2002 stage musical of the same name, written and composed by Darren Smith and Terranc ...

''. The venue also hosts the annual Filmed by Bike festival, the Faux Film Festival and the Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.

History

A photograph of the building that was to house the theater appeared in ''The Morning Oregonian'' newspaper in 1913. Known as the Kleist Building after its owner, Edward Kleist, it had a pressed brick front and walls with hollow tiles. The second floor was intended for residential rooms and apartments, and the ground floor was designed for business storerooms and a movie theater. According to a February 1915 newspaper advertisement, ''

The Exploits of Elaine ''The Exploits of Elaine'' is a 1914 American Serial (film), film serial in the damsel in distress genre of ''The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial), The Perils of Pauline'' (1914). ''The Exploits of Elaine'' tells the story of a young woman named ...

'', the first in a continuing series of

Craig Kennedy Professor Craig Kennedy is a fictional detective created by Arthur B. Reeve. Description Kennedy is a scientist detective at Columbia University similar to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Thorndyke. He uses his knowledge of chemistry and psychoanalys ...

detective stories, was to show at The Clinton on March 1. The 300-seat theater was designed by Charles A. Duke in 1913 and opened in 1915 as The Clinton. Its main entrance faced 26th Avenue until 1922. The venue became known as the 26th Avenue Theatre in 1945 and the Encore in 1969, before reverting to a variation of its original name on May 30, 1975. At that time, a five-person collective bought the theater. The collective consisted of Jim Blashfield, Joe Uris, Lenny Diener, David Lifton and others. The group also published the ''Clinton St. Quarterly'', with poetry by

Walt Curtis Walt Curtis (July 4, 1941 – August 25, 2023) was an American poet, novelist, and painter from Portland, Oregon. His autobiographical work, ''Mala Noche'' (1977), became the basis for Gus Van Sant's 1985 film of the same name. He was the co-foun ...

and cartoons by John Callahan. The movie house had been showing

X-rated An X rating is a film rating that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of graphic violence or explicit sexual acts that may be disturbing or offensive ...

films, which the collective replaced with a wide variety of movies including foreign films, ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', and older films like '' The African Queen''. In September 1999, Elizabeth Rozier and

Dennis Nyback Dennis Nyback (July 30, 1953 – October 2, 2022) was an American independent film archivist, found footage filmmaker, historian and writer. Nyback operated the Dennis Nyback Film Archive, which has over 13,000 short films, from 1895 onward, ...

took over operation of the theater. Nyback had previously shown films at the Clinton beginning in 1997. He was told about the availability of the theater when he was showing films in June 1999. During his time operating the theater with Rozier, Clinton showed a mix of new films, revival films, and creations by Nyback using his archive. His shows included: "Defining the 1970's Through Classic Commercials", "Bad Bugs Bunny", "Strange and Surreal Industrial Films", "F&#k Mickey Mouse", "Scopitone A Go Go", "Jazz on Film", "The Dark Side of Dr. Seuss", "Forty Years of Classic Commercials", and "The Genius of Bob Clampett". Seth and Nicola Sonstein purchased the business from Elizabeth Rozier in September 2003. The couple "fell in love with both the city and the theater" after visiting in July 2002 as coordinators of San Francisco's Sick Puppy short film festival. The Sonsteins added heating and air conditioning, both firsts for the theater, and refurbished the bathrooms, lobby and walls, among other upgrades. Screening

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

s and supporting local filmmakers remain the couple's primary goals. In March 2012 the business, including fixtures and projection and concession equipment, but not the building itself, were listed for sale. In April 2012 ownership of the business transferred from the Sonsteins to Roger and Lani Jo Leigh. After the sale, Seth Sonstein said in a press release: "For the last eight-and-a-half years I have had the opportunity to run the coolest movie theater, in the coolest neighborhood, in the coolest city in America. My eternal gratitude goes out to the citizens of Portland. I can never say thank you enough times for all of the support you have given to the Clinton." Events to mark the change included an open house "meet-and-greet", which included screenings of two documentary films by Lani Jo, and an evening of rare trailers and video clips from the

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. Originally based in New York City from 1982 through 2002, it is now based in San Franci ...

. Lani Jo confirmed the theater will continue to offer screenings of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' and focus on

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

and independent films. In April 2022, ownership was transferred from the Leighs to a collective of six co-owners, who plan to continue the weekly screening of ''Rocky Horror''.

Events

Clinton Street Theater offers: "a mixture of grindhouse, music films, political documentaries and experimental films". The theater has become known for its weekly screenings of ''Rocky Horror'' and ''

'', and for its annual Filmed by Bike festival, which began in 2003 and features: "bike-themed independent short movies from around the world." ''Rocky Horror'' screenings began in 1978, marking one of the longest-running showings of the film. The theater also hosts the Faux Film Festival, offering

and independent film showings, and the Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, in 2009 the theater screened the 1978 rare and out of circulation documentary ''Fast Break'' about the team's 1976–77 championship season. In 2010 the Clinton hosted the Three-Minute Picture Show, which featured screenings of three-minute films by first-time filmmakers. The venue has also hosted benefit events, such as "Can't Stop the Serenity" (presented by PDX Browncoats), which included showings of the film '' Serenity'' among other features to benefit

Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...

and the Oregon Food Bank. Other hosted events have included the Portland Underground Film Festival, comedy shows, commemorations for holidays such as

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokespers ...

, and lectures on film making. Many celebrities have appeared at the theater to promote films, including

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentricity (behavior), eccentric Character actor, character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in ''Back to ...

in 2008, and

Bill Plympton Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Award–nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting ...

and

Tom Shadyac Thomas Peter Shadyac (born December 11, 1958) is an American director, producer, and writer. The youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, Shadyac is widely known for writing and directing the comedy films ''Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', ...

in 2011.

Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael Palahniuk (;, , born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist of Ukrainian and French ancestry who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two ad ...

Tom Potter Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is an American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau from 1987 to 19 ...

and

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...

have also appeared at the theater.

References

External links

* * {{Good article 1910s architecture in the United States 1915 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Hosford-Abernethy, Portland, Oregon Cinemas and movie theaters in Oregon Theatres completed in 1915 Theatres in Portland, Oregon

History

Events

See also

References

External links