Northeast Portland Music Venue the Fremont Theater Is Closing

The all-ages venue was a frequent host for jazz, folk and "kindie" concerts.

(Henry Cromett)
By Matthew Singer

Northeast Portland music and performance venue the Fremont Theater is closing next month, just over a year after opening.

The theater's final day in operation is Nov. 12, according to co-owner David Shur.

"The basic circumstances are that we just ran out of money," Shur says. "We knew we had enough going in to try it for a year and would need good luck to turn sustainable in that time. We basically ran out of time."

Shur, a member of the band Future Historians, opened the Fremont Theater at 2393 Northeast Fremont St. with fellow musician Johnny Keener last October. The all-ages venue primarily booked local and touring folk and "kindie" artists, and also became a frequent host for jazz concerts following the closure of Jimmy Mak's in January.

Attendance was often good, Shur says. But attempts to adequately soundproof the venue to appease the building's other tenants proved costly, and cancellations during the winter snow storms also damaged them financially.

Shows currently scheduled after Nov. 12 will either be cancelled or moved to the Old Church, where Shur's wife works as executive director.

"We did what we wanted to do," Shur says, "just not as long as I wish we could've done it."

See Related: "The Fremont Theater Is Portland's New Home to Caspar Babypants and Tallulah's Daddy."

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