A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter, and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a film-programming strategy dating back to the early 1920s which continuously showed films at cut-rate ticket prices that typically rose over the course of each day. This exhibition practice was markedly different from the era's more common practice of fewer shows per day and graduated pricing for different seating sections in large urban theatres, which were typically studio-owned.
Satyricon was a nightclub in the Old Town neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States that operated from 1984 to 2010. It was the longest-running punk venue in the western United States, and has been referred to by some journalists and historians as the "CBGB of the West Coast." It is also the place where musicians Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love are said to have first met.
The Blue Mouse Theatre title was used for several historic vaudeville and movie venues opened by John Hamrick in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The name may have been inspired by a lounge in Paris. Hamrick is said to have used the colored rodential title for his first theatre in each city.
The Hollywood Theatre is a historic movie theater in northeast Portland, Oregon built in 1926. It is a central historical landmark of the Hollywood District, which is named after the theatre itself. The theatre is located at 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, and is operated by a non-profit organization. The Hollywood Theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and is considered to be a gem of Northeast Portland's historic culture and tradition. It is the only theater in Oregon showing movies in 70mm film.
Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Portland, Oregon. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the "skid row" of Portland.
The Standard Theatre is an inactive theatre in Toronto that originated as the city's main venue for Yiddish theatre, and later became the Victory Burlesque, which would be the last traditional burlesque theatre in Toronto when it closed in 1975. It is located at 285 Spadina Ave. the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street.
Aladdin Theater is a theater in the Brooklyn neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon. It originally opened as a vaudeville house called Geller's Theatre on December 25, 1927. Its name was changed to Aladdin in 1934. Later the venue operated as a pornographic cinema for more than 30 years, screening the film Deep Throat for fourteen of them. It was revived as a classic movie and live music venue with a capacity of 620 in 1991.
The Roseland Theater, sometimes called the Roseland Theater and Grill, is a music venue located at 8 Northwest Sixth Avenue in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The building was originally a church, constructed by the Apostolic Faith Church in 1922. In 1982, Larry Hurwitz converted the building to a music venue called Starry Night. In 1990, the club's 21-year-old publicity agent was murdered in one of the theater's hallways; Hurwitz was convicted for this murder ten years later. Hurwitz sold the club in 1991, claiming he had lost support from the local music industry. The venue was given its current name during the 1991 ownership transfer. During the 1990s, Double Tee acquired control of the hall's operations, then purchased and renovated the building.
Mary's Club is the oldest strip club in Portland, Oregon, and among the oldest in the United States. In 1954, Roy Keller bought the business from Mary Duerst Hemming, who owned and operated Mary's as a piano bar beginning in the 1930s. Keller initially hired go-go dancers as entertainment during the piano player's breaks, later hiring them full-time because of their popularity. Topless dancers wearing pasties were introduced in 1955. The club also featured comics, musicians, singers and other acts. All-nude dancing began in 1985, after a judicial ruling against City of Portland ordinances banning it in venues which served alcohol.
LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.
Cinema 21 is a movie theater in the Northwest District of Portland, Oregon, United States. The venue opened as State Theatre in 1925, and was known as Vista during 1941–1942 and 21st Avenue Theatre from 1942 to 1965.
Tomorrow Theater is a movie theater and multimedia space in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is operated by PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, the film and new media center of the Portland Art Museum.
Backspace was a coffee shop, gallery, Internet café, and all-ages music venue located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The venue opened in mid 2003 and closed in 2013.
Alexis Restaurant was a Greek restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. It was established in 1981 and closed on November 7, 2016.
House of Louie was a Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The restaurant was managed by James Leung, as of 2006, and closed in 2018 after operating for 30 years. In 2023, the building which housed the restaurant was purchased by the nonprofit organization Sisters of the Road. The group plans to use the building for offices and a cafe, opening in June 2025.
At the advent of the 20th century, the city of Portland, Oregon, was among the first on the United States West Coast to embrace the advent of the silent and feature film. The city's first movie palace, the Majestic Theatre, opened in 1911. By 1916, Portland had "the finest array" of movie houses on the West Coast relative to its population, pioneering venues dedicated exclusively to screening films. The popularization of the sound film in the early 1920s resulted in another boom of new cinemas being constructed, including the Laurelhurst, the Hollywood Theatre, and the Bagdad Theatre, the latter of which was financed by Universal Pictures in 1926.
No Vacancy Lounge (NVL) was a short-lived nightclub in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. "No Vacancy" began in 2014 as a party hosted at various local venues. NVL opened in a former McCormick & Schmick's restaurant December 2017, following an approximately $1 million renovation. The venue was named Willamette Week's 2018 Bar of the Year. The club hosted a variety of acts and events but was most known for electronic dance music (EDM). Conflict between NVL, a neighboring tenant, and the property manager began almost immediately. In February 2019, the bar closed as the result of the dispute and financial difficulties; some scheduled events were moved to other venues.
The Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge are a Chinese restaurant and bar in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown, in the United States. The restaurant is one of Portland's oldest, established in 1922, and continues to operate under the Mui family's ownership. Serving Chinese cuisine such as Mongolian beef, General Tso's chicken, chop suey, and egg foo young, the Republic Cafe has been described as a "staple" of the neighborhood and the city's Chinese American history. Celebrities have visited the restaurant which has also seen several longtime employees. Ming Lounge is among the city's oldest bars and has been characterized as "seedy".
Mi Mero Mole was a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States.
