The Star Hawthorne was renamed in 1934. They showed 10 cent double features anytime, everyday. They showed films such as Hold ‘Em Jail, Night of Terror, Last Frontier, Morning Glory and Lady for a Day. It was renamed the Zephyr Theater and bought by Vernon Kelso and the opening day was Friday, August 20th, 1937. The Zephyr had special bills such as showing ‘The Great Delmar’, hypnotist, alongside the film Her Husband's Secretary. It also presented Merill Lee Gabeel the magician, alongside showing the films Gods Country and the Woman and Turn Off the Moon. The Zephyr closed on January 9th, 1938. On April 5th, 1938, the Zephyr was renamed the Plaza Theater and bought by C.J. Hanzlick. It was reported then that the theater had 465 seats, which has since changed. The Plaza showed films such as Calling Dr. Kildare and Missing Daughters in 1939. Then, it was renamed The Fine Arts Theater in 1957. I am unsure who owned the theater at that time. The Fine Arts was remodeled and bought by Webber C. Harrington in 1963. In 1977, the Seven Gables Theaters Chain of Seattle bought the Fine Arts. The Seven Gables “was a historic Seattle-based independent art house cinema circuit founded by Randy Finley, which specialized in foreign, independent, and cult films from the 1970s through the 1980s.” The Fine Arts showed foreign and independent American films, alongside arthouse or out of the mainstream films. The film The Gods Must Be Crazy ran for several months there. The Fine Arts Theater closed in mid February 1986 due to the Seven Gables opening the KOIN Center Cinemas, and they were overwhelmed by their amount of cinema ownership. There were 290 seats in the Fine Arts, but the Columbia took it down to 200. It was bought by the Columbia Theater Company, which turned the cinema into a cultural center that showed live theater productions. The Columbia Theater Company opened in September of 1986 and made the space available to other local theater and dance companies. The Columbia also held adult and children's acting classes.
Finally, Gary Fine bought and renamed it Cinemagic Theater on June 1st, 1991 and it opened with 239 seats. Fine owned the Guild Theater in downtown Portland for 10 years before Cinemagic. Fine re-did the theater with a wide Cinemascope screen, at 20 feet high and 30 feet wide, alongside a sub-woofer sound system. For the grand opening, Fine showed Star Wars in 70 mm surround sound on Thursday, August 22, 1991 at 7:30 pm. It was the first screening of the film since 1982. Fine acquired Star Wars by reaching out to George Lucas himself, who approved the screening under the conditions that the proceeds from the one night only showing will go to Youth Resources, a non-profit that helps underprivileged children in Multnomah County. Snacks and drinks were free for the grand opening and the tickets were $50 for individuals and groups up to four people. Cinemagic showed two movies per week, one from Wednesday through Saturday, and one from Sunday through Tuesday. The tickets were $5 for adults and $3 for children. Cinemagic showed films such as A Clockwork Orange, My Fair Lady and The Wind and the Lion. It is still open today.
