Details of New Music Venue at Washington High School Released

True West and Mississippi Studios partner on state-of-the-art 850-seat theater called Revolution Hall, scheduled to open in 2015.

By MATTHEW SINGER

Back in July, rumors circulated that the redevelopment of George Washington High School in Southeast Portland would include converting the school's auditorium into a live music venue. That has now been confirmed: An 850-seat event space, dubbed Revolution Hall, is tentatively slated to open on the site of the long-shuttered Buckman neighborhood campus in February 2015.

In essence, the Rev (that's how we're all eventually going to refer to the place, right?) will be something of an expanded Aladdin Theater—or, if you prefer, a more intimate Schnitz. In fact, the project is a partnership between concert promoter True West (which books the Aladdin) and Mississippi Studios owner Jim Brunberg. The room has been entirely rebuilt but, in a McMenamins-like touch, will retain "all of the historic charm of the original 1922 theater, as well as many touches from its most recent high school iteration," according to the official press release. There will be two full-service bars inside the building, Martha's and Great Meadows—the latter doubling as a cafe and market with daytime hours—in addition to a 200-capacity roof deck, available for private events. 

  • A full, wraparound balcony 
  • 850 plus seats with open space in front and in the wings for dancing
  • Class A, powerful and clear sound system & acoustical treatment
  • World Class lighting array and control system
  • Two full-service bars (Martha’s and Great Meadows)
  • Outdoor patio & 200-capacity ROOF DECK w/elevator access & 360 degree views.
  • Parking, tour bus parking
  • Reserved Seating
  • New infrastructure:new HVAC, 24 bathrooms (no lines!), new electrical 
  • Coffee / Sandwich shop and market
Though it isn't large enough to fill the most significant void in Portland's live music landscape—a true venue somewhere in that sweet spot between the Crystal Ballroom and Moda Center that isn't the Coliseum, the Keller or "Theater of the Clouds"—the Rev certainly sounds awesome, and could help us nab a few touring acts who'd otherwise skip over Portland. If nothing else, it's definitely the best thing that could've happened with Washington High School, which has been begging to be put to use as something other than an architectural artifact (and TBA host site) for three decades now. At least it's not condos or an overpriced brunch spot, at any rate.

WWeek 2015

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