I chose to research The Star Theater in Astoria Oregon because I grew up there and I was curious to know the history of one of the theaters that once existed there. So far the research process has been pretty smooth and I have been able to find quite a bit of relative information that provides a deeper understanding of what kinds of events took place at The Star. The information I have been able to obtain so far includes many ads detailing the events happening there, the address of the venue, reviews of motion pictures being shown there, basic information about the manager, as well as some of the other operations that took place in the same building as The Star.
Something I discovered while doing my research is that the building of The Star was multifunctional, meaning that above the theater were apartments and office buildings. I found this very intriguing because the building that is located at the address of The Star is currently a restaurant with apartments above which makes me wonder if that building was once the theater. Although this is a possibility, I will have to do some further research to know if that area of town was affected by the fire in 1922.
Some other compelling information I have found about The Star is it was a vaudeville theater which points to the fact that motion pictures were not the only types of events to take place at the theater with live events having a strong presence as well. The way the theater was advertised can also imply that there was possible nearby competition. Many of the newspaper ads I have come across state the type of projector used to premier the motion pictures which is a way that theaters often promoted their theater to stand out from others.
As I continue my research, I plan to find more information about the types of movies that played at the theater and possibly more about the kinds of people who attended these events. I also would like to find out more about the manager of the theater as well as the theater's capacity. Overall I think my research on The Star Theater is off to a good start but could be enhanced by finding some more specific details.
