The Riviera Theater opened on Marine Drive, Astoria, Oregon on June 2nd 1925 and was designed by architect Charles T. Diamond who specialized in buildings such as Carruthers and Old Fellows. Riviera theater was shortly opened after the Astoria fire and has transformed over the years from a wrestling arena to a rollerink and then finally into a vaudeville theater consisting of comedy, songs and dances.
In the 1950s, the Riviera theaters was then changed into the Lewis and Clark Theaters which was then owned by Ron Brott and altered into the Columbian Theater in the 1980s with the ownership falling over to Jeanine Fairchild and Uriah Husley.
There is no information regarding advertisement for the Riviera theater due to Astoria’s lack of digitized newspaper in the 1900s as it had only begun to do so in the late 1990s. Digitization of historical Oregon newspapers rely on external funding such as institutional support, grants, and donations. In Astoria, only a few Astorian historical newspapers have been successfully digitized such as The Daily Morning Astorian, The Morning Astorian, and Toveri which could be the reason why advertisements promoting the Riviera Theater are unavailable.
Currently, the Columbian Theater displays cinematic films and live music events with a theater and balcony bar that allows you to enjoy a variety of snacks and drinks.
