Holly Theatre (Medford, Oregon) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Holly Theatre
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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The theater's exterior in 2013
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| Location | 226 W 6th Street, Medford, Oregon, U.S. |
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| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Frank Chamberlain Clark |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Part of | Medford Downtown Historic District (ID98000949) |
| Added to NRHP | 1998 |
The Holly Theatre is a really old and special building in Medford, Oregon. It's a historic theater built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. This means it looks like buildings from old Spanish colonies. It's located in Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States.
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The Holly Theatre's Past
The Holly Theatre was the second movie theater to open in Medford. Building the theater started in 1929. But work had to stop because of the Great Depression. This was a time when many people lost their jobs and money.
Construction started again in March 1930. The theater was finished later that year. Frank Chamberlain Clark, a famous architect from southern Oregon, designed the building.
Movies and Live Shows
The Holly Theatre was a big place for both live shows and movies. It could seat 1200 people. This was enough for ten percent of Medford's population when it was built! The theater was very popular until the 1970s.
But its large size eventually became a problem. Smaller, more modern theaters started opening. The Holly Theatre couldn't keep up. So, it closed in 1986, just like many other big, single-screen theaters. In 1998, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important historic places in the U.S.
New Life for the Holly
In 2010, a group called the JPR Foundation bought the theater. They wanted to fix it up, just like they did with the Cascade Theatre in Redding, California.
Restoring the Holly Theatre
The JPR Foundation bought the building in 2011. They started working to restore it. Fixing the theater was expected to cost about 3.5 million U.S. dollars.
Fixing the Building
The building had broken ceiling parts and a leaky roof. These were fixed first. The outside of the building, called the façade, was also restored. It now looks just like it did when it was first built in 1930.
A new blade sign and marquee were added. These are the big signs that light up outside a theater. The new sign has 347 lights and 500 feet of neon! A special ceremony was held on April 21, 2012, to light up the new sign.
Public Tours and Support
In 2013, the JPR Foundation started offering tours of the theater. People could see how the restoration was going. These tours help them raise money for the project. The inside of the theater is still being worked on. You can see the old beams, stained walls, and faded paint. The tour includes climbing 144 steps to the top! An elevator will be added later.
Actor Jim Belushi even performed a concert in 2015 to help raise money for the Holly Theatre. He really loved the theater when he saw it. Randy McKay, who works for Jefferson Live!, said Jim Belushi helped get many new donors. He also helped keep state funding for the project. As of November 2018, more restoration work was expected to begin soon.
See also
Images for kids
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Restoration on the interior of the theater in 2014
