Known Years of Operation

Jul 1, 1920 - Dec 31, 1930

Number of Seats

500

Owner/Managers

L. C. Mears (Manager), Operated by Majestic Amusement Company

The Majestic Theatre opened on July 1st 1920 with nearly 500 modern opera chairs, carpeted isles, restrooms with running water, and elegantly designed light fixtures. This theater also had an automatic printing machine according to this article. 

The Ontario Argus, 07/01/1920, p. 1
Ontario Argus, 07/01/1920, p. 1

This theatre was owned and operated by the Majestic Amusement Company, whose goal was to build a "circuit of twenty-five theatres," and to "please as many patrons as physically possible." This theater achieved this by showing a wide variety of content in order to attract a wide variety of audiences in this small town like comedies, horror pictures, and live performances including music and theater. 

In the process of researching this theater, I found difficulty tracking down the address. There was no mention of its specific address in historical newspapers in online databases besides that it was on the "main street" of the town. I turned to "Special Collections" in the University of Oregon Library in order to find a city directory. While I did not find a directory that included dates that may have shown the Dreamland Theatre property, I did learn that there were maps of Malheur County elsewhere in the library. I scoured said maps and met the same issue, the dates of the maps were not old enough to include the theater. Finally I decided to email the Malheur County Historical Society and send a message to the Ontario, Oregon Public Library. The historical society was able to provide me with photographs of the Majestic Theatre and another theater, "The Dreamland Theatre," and the Public Library was able to share the addresses of both of these theaters as well as images of both.

The images of the theaters that were provided to me were dated in 1909 according in the Malheur County Historical Society, which conflicts with the dates of operation found in newspapers.

Sanborn Fire Map from Ontario, OR.
Sanborn Fire Map from Ontario, OR, 1911

 

Works Cited

  • Ontario Argus, 07/01/1920, p. 1

  • Ontario Argus, 10/19/1922, p. 3

  • Ontario Argus, 07/28/1921, p. 3

  • Ontario Argus, 10/19/1922, p. 3