Known Years of Operation

Sep 15, 1922 - Jan 1, 1967

Number of Seats

450

Owner/Managers

F. E. O'Neil, M. W. Mattecheck, R. J. Mattecheck

McMinnville Oregon's Lark Theater was opened on September 15, 1922 by F. E. O'Neil. In addition to projecting films, the Lark also hosted a variety of community events and live performances, including a "dairy demonstration" hosted by the Women's Club of McMinnville and a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado" put on by members of Linfield College. In 1927, the theater installed a 2/6 Robert Morton pipe organ, which provided accompaniment for silent films. This organ was later relocated to Lyons Music Hall in Seattle in 1936. Prior to the Lark's opening in 1922, the building served as a retail space, which it would eventually revert back to sometime in 1967. Over the years the building has undergone various transformations, which includes operating as the 3rd Street Pizza Company, as well as a venue for showing first-and-second-run films dubbed the Moonlight Theater. The Moonlight Theater made the switch from a 35 mm projector to digital equipment in 2014. During the annual UFO Festival hosted by McMinnville's Hotel Oregon, a historic location currently owned by the McMenamins chain, the Moonlight Theater has frequently served as a venue for live music and speakers. In the early hours of May 4, 2023 a fire was started at the 3rd Street Pizza Company. The restaurant and the attached Moonlight Theater were badly damaged, and both spaces have since been closed for reconstruction.

Works Cited

  • Puget Sound Theater Organ Society - Lark Theatre, McMinnville Oregon. Pstos.org. Published 2025. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.pstos.org/instruments/or/mcminnville/lark.htm

  • Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1922) : Nov-Dec : Internet Archive. Published 2016. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor59novd/page/64/mode/2up

  • Moonlight Theater in McMinnville, OR - Cinema Treasures. Cinematreasures.org. Published 2016. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/36801

  • MDAweb. Historic McMinnville Downtown District - McMinnville Downtown Association. Published March 14, 2023. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://downtownmcminnville.com/historic-mcminnville-downtown-district/

  • Digital Sanborn Maps. Proquest.com. Published 2025. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://digitalsanbornmaps.proquest.com/browse_maps/38/7376/36105/37816/503891?accountid=14698

  • Suspect arrested for causing fire that damaged McMinnville pizzeria and theater, police say. kgw.com. Published May 24, 2023. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/fire-mcminnville-3rd-street-pizza-company/283-cb3f465e-64ee-4ad6-949e-50fb4b64de8c

  • History - McMenamins UFO Festival. McMenamins UFO Festival. Published May 8, 2024. https://ufofest.com/history/ ‌