On June 25, 1921, W.A. Long opened the Liberty Theatre in Oregon City. This location was the fourth theater to exist in Oregon City. By 1921, W.A. Long had already established himself as a successful theater owner with his first, smaller theater in Oregon City known as the Star Theatre, which opened in 1913. The Liberty Theatre, on the other hand, offered a large, 800-person capacity for extravagant Vaudeville performances. 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. A $15,000 Wurlitzer organ was installed in 1921 when the establishment first opened (3). 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 for unknown reasons, the building sat abandoned for decades before it became the 88 Cent Store in the 90’s (3). After the space was purchased by Clackamas County by a relative of the original theater owner, it was eventually demolished in March of 2004 to make space for the Liberty Plaza, which still occupies the site today (3).
In 1922, an attempted robbery at the theater was interrupted when Chester Douglas, the theater's operator, arrived unexpectedly (6). 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.
