Other Leisurely Activities - 1950s Hollywood Theater

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marlenaf

May 18, 2026

The Hollywood Theater served as a valued gathering place for the Portland community in the 1950s. Aside from screening films, the theater hosted annual ceremonies for the Junior Rose Festival Court, live cooking shows, and religious speakers.

Each Spring, around late April or early May, local primary school students were selected as ‘prince’ and ‘princess’ to represent District No.1 in the Junior Rose Festival court. The contest always took place at the Hollywood Theater, as the building was a key landmark in the parade’s route. An Oregonian newspaper clipping from June 10, 1951, shared that “An estimated 100,000 persons watched 10,000 youngsters in Saturday’s Junior Rose Festival Parade… Biggest crowds along the parade route were in the vicinity of Hollywood theater, where sidewalks were packed from curb to building wall for two full blocks.”¹

‘Homemaking’ was another notable aspect of the decade, and the Hollywood theater partnered with its local business neighbors to create unique live events catered towards housewives. In October of 1951, the theater hosted “home economist” Verna Miller for a three-day cooking school. The Oregonian’s advertisement for the event announced: “Tip on How to Get Your Man In Kitchen Given by Expert.”² A clipping from a few days prior revealed the event’s partnership between Harold Kelley’s Appliance Store and the Hollywood Theater.³ In May of 1955, the theater also partnered with its neighbor, Fred Meyer, for a free “Meat Cooking Show.”⁴ All three establishments, Fred Meyer, Harold Kelley, and the Hollywood Theater, were located in Northeast Portland near Sandy Boulevard.

Towards the end of the decade, the theater hosted religious speakers. In late October, 1958, the theater hosted “James Watt of Washington D.C.,”⁵ and around the same time the following year, “John D. Pickett of Chicago.”⁶ Both men lectured “under the auspices of Eighth Church of Christian Scientist."