A Southeast Portland movie theater with a history that includes screening X-rated movies, is getting a dramatic makeover, thanks to the Portland Art Museum’s PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow. The old Oregon Theater space, located at 3530 S.E. Division Street, will be born again this fall, as the Tomorrow Theater, a venue that PAM CUT is intending as a center for artists and audiences to experience cinema and new media, with planned screenings, exhibitions, performances and interactive programs.
According to the Portland Art Museum, the nearly 9,000 square foot Tomorrow Theater will feature up to 300 seats, designed with modular features that will allow for flexible use; accessible features, including gender-neutral restrooms; seating for patrons with disabilities, and more.
In terms of programming, the Tomorrow Theater will serve as a space that goes beyond simply screening films, and will offer cross-media performances, immersive theater, exhibitions, game nights, and workshops.
The Tomorrow Theater is also intended to showcase a range of mixed media arts, including art, film, XR, VR, design, and technology, to be developed with regional partners, and prioritizing diverse voices.
In addition, the space will host guest-curated programs and events, to expand the Portland Art Museum’s reach beyond its downtown location to the east side, where the Tomorrow Theater will be located.
The historic space where the Tomorrow Theater is located was originally architect Isaac Geller’s 1925 vaudeville theater, according to the PAM CUT press release. Over the years, the theater has hosted art house and Spanish-language films, though many Portlanders may recall its less-than-glorious stint as a home for X-rated movies.
The redesign of the theater is the work of the Portland-based design firm Osmose, which has worked on such previous projects as Salt & Straw locations and a Gothic-inspired home owned by “Portlandia” star and co-creator Fred Armisen.
“Cinematic storytelling, like artists and audiences, comes in all varieties and flavors,” Amy Dotson, the Portland Art Museum’s director of PAM CUT and curator of film and new media, says in a release about the new venue. “With the Tomorrow, we’re building a home for cultural snackers, a space where when people walk through this door, they will never quite know exactly what Tomorrow brings.”