After a short run as a theater, according to available newspaper clippings, The Nickelodion had its first ad in January 1907. The name of this theater was crucial to the advertisement that the theater started their marketing campaign with, as in their first ad, a nickel for a moving picture should be all that someone needed to make their decision on whether or not to go out and see a film. From the first advertisement, it is clear that this may have been one of the few theaters in the area, as there's no specific address for the theater. Along with the cheap price of this theater, most of the moving pictures that were shown were either family friendly or religiously influenced, such as The Life of Christ. Along with boasting of the family friendly entertainment that was provided, the films that were shown, as seen in second clipping in The Sunday Oregonian, seemingly prestigious film companies' films were shown to add prestige to The Nickelodion itself. Within the second ever advertisement for the theater or that the theater put out a complete address. This could have been for a number of reasons, one of which could have been because of the films that were showing may have been playing at other theaters or perhaps the attendance that was anticipated by the theater was not becoming a reality.
After being in business for a little over a year, The Nickelodion was hit with a high demand for The Life of Christ. This demand became so large, that the theater had to put out advertisements in The Sunday Oregonian, warning attendees that prices would be raised from a jitney to two jitney's. This was of course due to the length of the film and having to pay the staff. Paying for prestige films may keep costumers happy for awhile, but as in The Nickelodion's case, it put the theater in a corner. After a few months, attendance clearly dropped as The Nickelodeon began advertising an assortment of new and various different films played everyday in hopes that audiences come back to the theater. No admission price can be seen in this seemingly last ad for The Nickelodion and no specific description of what will be shown, other than a vague statement of "All good subjects". There could have been a myriad of reasons for this theaters failure that were simply not found, but one big reason could have been for over compensation through advertising and raised ticket prices.
Citation:
The Oregon Daily Journal, July 7, 1908 p.28. Historic Oregon Newspapers
The Sunday Oregonian, April 7, 1907 p.35. Historic Oregon Newspapers
The Morning Oregonian, January 1, 1907 p.28. Historic Oregon Newspapers
The Sunday Oregonian, February 2, 1908 p.5. Historic Oregon Newspapers
