Whiteside Theatre Foundation Endowment Fund
The Whiteside Theatre was one of the grandest theaters in Oregon when it opened its doors to the public on Nov. 9, 1922, with a showing of “The Old Homestead.” Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is located at the corner of Madison and 4th Streets in downtown Corvallis.
Built by Sam and George Whiteside, the movie palace originally seated about 1,000 people and was designed for movies and traveling vaudeville performances. Henderson Ryan, a well-respected theater architect from Seattle, Wash., designed the exterior in Italian Renaissance style. The theater housed a Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ especially made to accompany silent movies and thus was built for acoustic integrity.
The Whiteside family owned the theater until 1984, when it was sold to Tim Moyer Cinemas. It became part of the Luxury Cinemas chain when Moyer’s firm merged with his father’s business. The theater was later purchased by Act III Theaters, which was purchased by Regal Cinemas. Problems with crumbling cement sewer pipes caused Regal to close the Whiteside in January 2002 with a showing of “Lord of the Rings.”
Regal put the building on the market and several groups showed interest, but Regal insisted on including a non-compete clause in any sales contract stipulating that the purchaser could not show first-run movies. A development corporation wanted to purchase the building and turn it into a shopping mall, which alarmed many local citizens and caused them to form an organization called Friends of the Whiteside to try to save the historic structure. When their attempts to work through the issue locally failed, the group approached and gained the support of the State of Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. One of the primary investors in the retail project pulled its funding and put an end to the plan to develop it as retail space.
Friends of the Whiteside sent a letter—along with some delicious Burst’s candies—to Regal Cinemas suggesting that the company donate the building to Friends of the Whiteside and write it off as a charitable donation for tax purposes. To the group’s surprise and delight, Regal Cinemas agreed. The Whiteside Theatre Foundation applied for status as a nonprofit corporation, which was granted, and took possession of the building in February 2008.
Initial inspections of the building indicated that it was structurally sound. The original seats had been replaced to accommodate today’s audiences and the house now seats approximately 800: 400 in the balcony and 400 on the main floor.
One of the many goals the foundation established and completed was to obtain grant money for refurbishing the Wurlitzer pipe organ. The plan was to reinstall it in the facility. In addition, by October 2009, the group was very close to raising enough funds to pay for a formal structural analysis of the building. The board of directors called the analysis “Act 1 Scene 1” of the foundation’s three-act rehabilitation plan for the Whiteside. Scene 2 encompassed an upgrade the sewer and plumbing systems, Scene 3 addressed the electrical system, and Scene 4 addressed the building’s heating and cooling systems. The intention was to reopen the theater to the public when Act 1 was complete.
The Whiteside Theatre Foundation wants to provide a venue for musical performances of all kinds. The theater will show silent and classic films from time to time and will be available as a rental for events such as reunions, parties, weddings, and business meetings. In the 1930s and 1940s, KOAC broadcast live shows and pipe organ concerts from the Whiteside, and a long-term goal is to bring back a similar tradition via the Internet.
Act 2 of the rehabilitation plan adds amenities such as an ADA-compliant bathroom on the main floor and 35mm film capability. Plans for Act 3 include replacing the roof, reweaving the original carpet, replacing the modern seats with replicas of the original seats (although they will still be wider to accommodate today’s audiences), retrofitting the marquee with the original style three-dimensional letters, expanding lighting and sound capabilities, and perhaps adding solar or wind collectors on the roof.