The Tower Theatre is a historic movie theatre located in Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon

Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The Tower Theatre was built in 1940 in only three months. The theatre's name on its landmark 40 feet (12.2 m)-tall tower is surrounded by more than 1200 feet (365.8 m) of neon tubes of green and gold. Initially, the seating capacity of the Theatre was 998 on two levels.

In order to provide a wide range of movies, four studios were contracted to provide material: Columbia

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

, RKO

RKO Pictures

RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...

, Monogram

Monogram Pictures

Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...

 and Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 In 1948, the theatre began to host fashion shows, variety shows, an amateur hour and ballet.

The theatre was closed when it fell into disrepair.

The New Tower Theatre

Initial plans called for a conversion into retail and office use. A first grass-roots effort was started by local individuals and the theatre put on nearly 100 shows from 1994-1996. In 1995, the City of Bend purchased the theatre, but failing to invest in renovations had to close it down again in 1996.

In the fall of 1996, a second attempt to save the theatre was made. A group of 30 local people gathered feedback from the community and formed a board. In 1997, they approached the City of Bend for a purchase option. Their request was met with a challenge from the city to generate $300,000 of cash and in-kind pledges of support for the project.

In July 1997, The Tower Theatre Foundation was founded as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Only a few weeks after the challenge by the city, the foundation had raised cash and in-kind pledges of $362,590.

In 1999 a campaign called "Encore! The Return of the Tower Theatre" was launched to raise further funds. It showed later that a total of $4.2 million would be needed to restore the Tower.

In 2001 the foundation purchased the Tower from the City of Bend.

Construction began in 2002. The interior space was to be expanded from 10,432 to 13630 square feet (1,266.3 m²), the basement was enlarged to accommodate an orchestra pit

Orchestra pit

An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...

, new box seats were obtained, and the lobby area was expanded. Many local businesses pledged support by providing material, labor and other resources in exchange for being recognized on plaques in the lobby area. A concession stand selling snacks and beverages (including beer and wine) was included in the design.

The Tower features state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment, a video projection system and a 35mm film projection system.

The Tower Theatre re-opened its doors with a gala for all involved parties.

The Tower today

The Tower Theatre is in full operation and features a wide variety of live acts, movie screenings, presentations and functions such as weddings. For most events, volunteers work as ushers and ticket takers. Depending on the performance, beer and wine can be purchased in the lobby and in some cases even taken inside the theatre.

External links

• The Tower Theatre (official website)