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Inventory Form
NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:304 E 1st St historic name:Cameo Theatre
Newberg, Yamhill County current/other names:Cameo Theater
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:3S 2W 19
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Building height (stories):2.0 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1937 second date: date indiv listed:10/22/2018
primary orig use: Theater orig use comments:
second orig use:
primary style: Art Deco prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Concrete: Other/Undefined siding comments:
secondary siding: Concrete Block
plan type: Theater architect:Hilborn, D W and Fritsch, Margaret Goodin
builder:Johnson, Peter
comments/notes:
Owner interested in National Register listing. Includes original neon signage.
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   Newberg Downtown RLS 2013 Survey & Inventory Project 2013
   Newberg Downtown RLS 2016 Survey & Inventory Project 2016
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 10/22/2018
ILS survey date: 05/16/2016
RLS survey date: 04/08/2016
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
Built in 1936-1937, the Cameo Theatre is located at 304 E First Street in the historic City Center/Downtown neighborhood of Newberg, Yamhill County, Oregon. The building is located within a commercial setting surrounded by restaurants, retail stores, and other small businesses. The Cameo Theatre is a two-and-one-half-story building designed by Day W. Hilborn and Margaret Goodin Fritsch with prominent Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architecture features, such as its smooth concrete exterior walls, asymmetrical façade, geometric lines, grouped windows, and slight vertical projection above the roof line. Other typical Art Deco and Streamline Moderne features displayed on the Cameo Theatre include low-relief decorative panels, horizontal grooves, pigmented structural glass (Carrara glass), and stainless steel trim. The building was constructed by Peter Johnson and the Johnson Construction Company of Vancouver, Washington, out of board-formed reinforced concrete, which extended below grade creating a full-height partial basement. The primary (north) façade consists of a recessed entry under a projecting marquee to the west and a recessed storefront bay to the east at the ground floor. The second floor consists of the projecting bay above the primary entrance and a set of vertical windows to the west. Although the primary façade displays two separate entrances, the theatre building is one volume. The remaining elevations, where exposed, are unfinished and lack architectural detail. Although the theatre retains its original exterior configuration and form, alterations have been made to the main entrance, marquee, and storefront. However, much of its original Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural details remain present. The interior of the Cameo Theatre is planned around the 350-seat, two-story-volume, German-inspired auditorium with its sloping floor, two-aisle seating arrangement, and interior decorations. In plan, the interior of the theatre consists of the foyer, snack bar, and stairs to the north, the centrally located auditorium, and the proscenium stage and fly tower to the south at the ground floor. The second floor includes the lounge, current projection room (modified from original lounge corridor and usherette room), toilet rooms, and office to the north, and the second-story volume of the auditorium and fly tower to the south. The original projection room and attic are located above the current projection room on the second floor. The basement is below the proscenium stage and fly tower. The interior walls are constructed out of board-formed reinforced concrete and are primarily finished with plaster and stucco by H. G. Gosney of Portland, Oregon. The theatre retains its original paint scheme of light greens, pinks, and reds displayed in the acoustical fabrics, curtains by Charles Ammon Co. of Portland, Oregon, and replaced period-style interior carpet. Interior Art Deco and Streamline Moderne stylistic details include curved walls, geometric Art Deco lighting fixtures and signage, low-relief decorative panels, vertical and horizontal semi-cylindrical reeded moulding, and decorative cast-metal chair side panels. Although the theatre retains much of its original details and aesthetic, there have been alterations to its interior configuration and seating. Overall, the Cameo Theatre retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The building remains in its original location within the downtown Newberg setting, which includes a streetscape and buildings that represent the city’s early 20th century infrastructure and business development. The theatre conveys its overall design and retains character-defining materials and features that display the building’s construction and workmanship. The theatre’s operation under long-term owner Ted Francis and continued use since 1937 convey the building’s integrity of feeling and association. Several minor and few moderate alterations to exterior and interior features are noted in the nomination, but these do not inhibit the building’s overall integrity or its ability to convey the theatre’s historic significance.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The Cameo Theatre is locally significant under Criteria A in the area of Entertainment/Recreation and Criteria C in the area of Architecture. The property is significant for its association with the Golden Age of Hollywood, its status as Newberg’s first theatre built with a sound system for talking pictures, and its important role as a primary form of entertainment in the community since its construction in 1937. The property is also significant for its representation as a 1930s purpose-built movie theatre that displays Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural features. The period of significance is 1937-1965, beginning with the date of construction and ending with an owner’s rule that changed the theatre’s culture.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library:Newberg Public Library (503 E. Hancock Street) University Library:
Historical Society: Other Respository:Francis Family Records
Bibliography:
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