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Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)

Paris Theatre
Paris Theatre (8732863425).jpg
The theater's front exterior in 2013
Paris Theatre is located in Portland, Oregon
Paris Theatre
Paris Theatre
Location in Portland, Oregon
Former names Third Avenue Theatre
Address 6 Southwest Third Avenue
Location Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates 45°31′22″N 122°40′24″W / 45.52288°N 122.67320°W / 45.52288; -122.67320Coordinates: 45°31′22″N 122°40′24″W / 45.52288°N 122.67320°W / 45.52288; -122.67320
Owner
  • Chris Lenahan
  • Michael Sun
  • Brad McCray
Type Theatre
Opened 1890 (1890)
Website
www.theparispdx.com

Paris Theatre, formerly Third Avenue Theatre and also known as Paris Theater or Ray's Paris Theatre, is an historic building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The theatre was constructed in 1890 and opened as a burlesque house. It was later converted to a cinema, then a club and music venue, before serving as an adult movie theater until 2016. The building is now a live venue and nightclub.

Paris Theatre, located at 6 Southwest Third Avenue at the intersection of Third and West Burnside Street in downtown Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, operates as a venue and nightclub. The building was completed in 1890 and opened as a burlesque house under the name Third Avenue Theatre.

The venue was later renamed Paris Theatre and converted to a movie cinema. It was listed in Film Daily from at least 1941 to 1950. The cinema screened the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat for four years.

By 2003, the building served as a nightclub and music venue.

In 2007, Ray Billings, owner of Jefferson Theatre, closed that venue and relocated his adult movie theater operation to the Paris.

Cinema Treasures said the building's exterior featured a red marquee with "Theatre" written vertically and "Paris" appearing horizontally across the bottom. An additional four-panel marquee was displayed above the front entrance. The theater screened heterosexual adult films on one large screen and gay pornography on a smaller screen. It featured a stage where guests could engage in sexual activities in front of a crowd, along with a "perky exam table" and a "voyeuristic bedroom". The venue was open 24 hours to patrons age 18 or older; as of 2007, entry cost $8.

In 2007, Willamette Week included the Paris in its list of Portland sites "Where Ghosts Wouldn't Be Caught Dead". The paper said of the venue, "Unfortunately, the Paris Theater... hosts a bunch of winos, users and sleazy old guys the same age as your dad (or granddad), with their pants around their ankles and greasy cum rags in hand. A deformed zombie may be slightly more grotesque, but at least he won’t flash you." In 2013, the same publication provided the following description of the theater and its clientele:


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