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Bagdad Theatre
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Portland Historic Landmark[1]
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View from across Hawthorne Boulevard.
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| Location: | Portland, Oregon |
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| Built: | 1927 |
| Architect: | Thomas & Mercier |
| Architectural style: | Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 89000099 |
| Added to NRHP: | March 8, 1989 |
The Bagdad Theater is a movie theater in the Hawthorne District of Portland, Oregon, United States. It originally opened in 1927 and was the site of the premiere gala of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975, and of My Own Private Idaho in 1991.[2]
The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Bagdad Theatre in 1989.[3] It is currently owned by the McMenamins brewpub chain.
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In 1927, Universal Pictures spent the then-substantial sum of $100,000 to build a state-of-the-art theater in Portland, complete with a large stage, fountain and Middle-Eastern decor, right down to the usherettes' Arabian-styled uniforms. The theater was proclaimed "a triumph of artistry and craftsmanship."
During the Bagdad's early years, the movie industry was revolutionized by the replacement of silent movies with "talkies." Also during this period live stage shows were presented which proved extremely popular and consistently drew large crowds. Live Vaudeville shows remained a key part of the Bagdad's offerings all the way through the 1940s. One of the best-known vaudeville stars to grace the Bagdad's stage was Sammy Davis, Jr., who performed there in the 1940s as part of the song-and-dance team the Will Mastin Trio along with his father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will Mastin.
In later years the Bagdad has been the scene of some notable movie premieres. In 1975, actors Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, as well as producer Michael Douglas, appeared at the Bagdad for the Oregon premiere of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Sixteen years later, just after McMenamins' renovation of the theater, My Own Private Idaho debuted here. In its present incarnation as a cinema-and-pub, the Bagdad continues as a favorite spot to watch second-run movies while enjoying pizza and one of their locally brewed beers or ales.