On June 25, 1921, W.A. Long opened the fourth theater in Oregon City. Located just off Main Street in the downtown area, the theater thrived for decades before permanently closing around 1960.
In addition to Vaudeville performances, the theater's programming prominently featured live musical performances. W.A. Long enlisted pianist Terry C. Miller from his Star Theatre to perform a series of Sunday piano concerts. The theater also hosted performances featuring the New Edison, where singers would perform live and then be compared to their recorded phonograph versions.
After ultimately closing in 1960, the building sat abandoned for decades before being demolished in March of 2004 to make space for Liberty Plaza, which still occupies the site today.
By 1921, W.A. Long had already established himself as a successful theater owner with his first, smaller theater in Oregon City, the Star Theatre, which opened in 1913. The Liberty Theatre, on the other hand, offered a large, 800-person capacity for the Vaudeville performances that filled the theater.
In 1922, an attempted robbery at the theater was interrupted when Chester Douglas, the theater's operator, arrived unexpectedly. Upon further investigation from the mayor of Oregon City, it was suspected that the thief was not after any money, seeing as none was kept on-site, but rather one of the newer film reels, which could be sold to buyers in Europe and Mexico for a high price.
