Guild Theatre

The Guild Theatre (originally the Taylor Street Theatre) is a historic former movie theater building in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Completed and opened in 1927, it was the last remaining single-screen theater in downtown Portland. The 5,000-square-foot building was originally called the Taylor Street Theatre until 1947, when J.J. Parker purchased the theater and renamed it the Guild. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Guild screened classic films and advertised itself as "Oregon's finest film classics theater"; it later shifted to showing second-run films. From 1998 to 2006, the theater served as the home of the Northwest Film Center and its Portland International Film Festival, leasing the space from owner Tom Moyer for just $1 a year. The Guild closed in 2006 and remained out of use for years; a 2010 proposal to renovate and reopen it did not come to fruition. In late 2016, Moyer's company TMT Development began remodeling the building as part of an $8 million project that also covered the adjacent Studio Building. After renovation, the Japanese bookstore chain Books Kinokuniya announced in May 2019 that the former theater would house its new Portland store, which opened in August 2019. A cafe called Book of Tea Café, run by the owner of Behind the Museum Café, opened within Kinokuniya on August 21, 2019. The building is no longer operated as a cinema.

The Guild Theatre, originally named the Taylor Street Theatre, is a historic former movie theater building in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was completed and opened in 1927 and was the last remaining single-screen theater in downtown Portland. The 5,000-square-foot building kept the Taylor Street Theatre name until 1947, when J.J. Parker purchased the theater and changed its name to the Guild. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Guild screened classic films and advertised itself as "Oregon's finest film classics theater." It later changed to showing second-run films. From 1998 to 2006, the Guild was the home of the Northwest Film Center and the center's Portland International Film Festival; the center leased the theater from its owner, Tom Moyer, for just $1 a year. The theater closed in 2006 and remained out of use. A proposal in 2010 to renovate and reopen the theater did not come to fruition. In late 2016, Tom Moyer's company TMT Development, which owned the property, began remodeling the building as part of an $8 million project that also covered the adjacent Studio Building, a nine-story office building. In January 2017, TMT told the Portland Business Journal that the former theater space was being remodeled for a new tenant whose identity could not yet be revealed due to a non-disclosure agreement; TMT forecast that its part of the work would be completed by early spring 2017, after which the tenant would take over for its own work. Renovation of the marquee took place later in 2017. In May 2019, the Japanese bookstore chain Books Kinokuniya announced that the former theater would be the site of its new Portland store, which opened in August 2019. After the remodeling and conversion, the Portland Tribune described the modified interior as "light and airy, to the point of being sparse," with high ceilings decorated with long strands of fiber and an upstairs balcony—once the projectionist's domain—given over to tightly packed rows of Japanese comics and graphic novels. In 2019, Behind the Museum Café's owner Tomoe Horibuchi confirmed plans to open a second location called Book of Tea Café within Kinokuniya; the cafe opened on August 21, 2019.

• 2019

  Books Kinokuniya announces in May that the former theater will house its new Portland store, which opens in August; Book of Tea Café opens within Kinokuniya on August 21.

• 2017

  TMT tells the Portland Business Journal the space is being remodeled for an undisclosed new tenant; the marquee is renovated later in the year.

• 2016

  TMT Development begins remodeling the building as part of an $8 million project also covering the adjacent Studio Building.

• 2010

  A proposal to renovate and reopen the theater does not come to fruition.

• 2006

  The theater closes and remains out of use.

• 1998

  The Guild becomes home to the Northwest Film Center and its Portland International Film Festival, leased for $1 a year from owner Tom Moyer.

• 1947

  J.J. Parker purchases the theater and renames it the Guild.

• 1927

  The theater, originally the Taylor Street Theatre, is completed and opened in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Historic downtown Portland single-screen cinema known for classic and second-run films; later converted to retail use.

• Classic film screenings

  In the 1970s and 1980s the Guild screened classic films, advertised as "Oregon's finest film classics theater."

• Second-run film screenings

  The theater later changed to showing second-run films.

• Portland International Film Festival venue

  From 1998 to 2006 the Guild hosted the Northwest Film Center and its Portland International Film Festival.

1. 1Guild Theatrewikidata.org
2. 2Guild Theatre (Portland, Oregon)en.wikipedia.org