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It’s free movie weekend at the Moreland Theater in Southeast Portland as the historic one-screen cinema marks its 100th year in business.
The lineup of free screenings Sept. 19–21 includes Oregon classics such as The Goonies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Stand By Me. (Full schedule is below.) Seats are first-come, first-served with no reserved advance tickets.
“I think what makes the theater so special is it’s got this old, classic charm to it,” says manager Patrick Schranck. “It feels like you’re stepping into the past and it enhances the experience.” The theater has up-to-date projection and sound technology, though, and the comfy, enormous seats that modern audiences expect.
The Moreland was built in 1925 and remains independently, family-run, Schranck says. It opened as a venue for vaudeville acts and silent films and had a pipe organ, which is still visible toward the front of the theater.
Another cool feature: the upstairs “cry room,” a small seating area where families could take disruptive babies. It has a large window that looks out over the movie screen so the parents wouldn’t miss the show.
Cinema 21 is also throwing its centennial celebration starting Sept. 19.
As for all movie theaters, the pandemic was a calamity for the Moreland. It survived, partly, on selling tubs of buttered popcorn to community members who refused to let their neighborhood independent theater go under. The Moreland is asking for support again now, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, with a GoFundMe to restore the theater’s marquee, among other improvement projects.
“We’ve persisted for 100 years definitely through the support of the community around here in Southeast Portland, particularly in the Sellwood neighborhood,” Schranck says.
Friday, Sept. 19:
The Goonies (1985) - 1pm
The Gold Rush (1925) starring Charlie Chaplin - 4pm
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) - 7pm
Saturday, Sept. 20:
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) - 1pm
The Goonies (1985) - 4pm
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) - 7pm
Sunday, Sept. 21:
The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 1pm
Stand By Me (1986) - 4pm
The Goonies (1985) - 7pm
GO: Moreland Theater 100th Anniversary, 6712 SE Milwaukie Ave. morelandtheater.com. Various times Sept. 19-21. Free.
