The historic Liberty Theater in Camas is closed, according to operator Greg Wood, a Portland businessman. Wood ran the two-screen movie theater, which daily featured first run movies, for the past 13 years. The theater first opened in 1927 as the Grenada and is owned by the Farrell family of Camas
The Granada Theatre in Camas opens its doors on June 14, 1927
On June 14, 1927, the Granada Theatre in Camas debuts, showing the silent feature Lost at the Front, a war comedy starring Charlie Murray and George Sidney. The theater is located at 315 N.E. 4th Avenue, and seats approximately 800 people. Camas is located in Clark County in southwestern Washington along the Columbia River.
Costing roughly $75,000 to build, the Granada sported a Moorish/Spanish flavor consistent with its name. The venue was envisioned by architect P. M. Hall Lewis of Portland, with interior work (and a unique Art Deco entryway) designed by Charles Anman, also of Portland. Financing for the project was raised by local Camas men – C. E. Farrell owned the land, partnering with O. F. Johnson, Roy Young, A. L. Powers, and F. W. Harrington, who operated under the banner of the Community Investment Corporation.
The Granada’s original stage was 25 feet deep and 32 feet wide, with a drop curtain of 22 feet top-to-bottom. The color scheme of the house was blue and gold, and no expense, it seemed, was spared to give the venue a luxurious feel. All told, the interior fixtures and furnishings cost a reported $30,000, which included a $12,000 organ and $6,000 spent on auditorium seating. “The new structure has placed Camas in the foreground of many more pretentious cities in the theatrical world,” boasted the Camas Post-Record, “and is going to prove an enduring monument to the credit of Mr. Farrell in the undertaking and carrying out a project of this type and magnitude” (Post-Record).
And endure the Granada has, albeit under its new name, the Liberty. Despite a fire that gutted the historic theater in 1994, the Farrell family – who still owned the venue at the time – lovingly restored Camas’s only movie theater to its former glory.
The Columbian will run a full story on Saturday.
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10 Comments
September 11, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Ouch, that is sad news.
September 11, 2009 at 3:30 pm
How sad. Lots of good memories there as a kid. I wonder what will happen with the space.
I did see a church is going into the old Dodge City
September 11, 2009 at 3:30 pm
What ? Very sad news it is a beautiful theater and will be missed greatly. First place I and countless others got our first “real” kiss.
September 11, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Indeed a sad day. But I have faith someone will pick it up … not the 1st time it has closed in the last 25 years.
Hey, SAy whAt … me too. In fact, most of my generation called that place The Puberty theater. I remember when they had a patrolling Juvenile Court officer there to cut down the boondoggling!
September 11, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I thought of referring to it as the Puberty as well , I held back for fear of being called immature or worse : )
September 11, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Lets not forget the infamous Wesley Allen Dodd.
September 11, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Oh my I did forget , my son was at the Liberty with friends the night before it happened. Thank goodness the monster Dodd was caught.
September 11, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I didn’t go to the Liberty because I thought it smelled bad in there.
September 11, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I have a keen sense of smell and never noticed, but then I probaly had a big tub of aromatic popcorn in my lap. Unless you are talking before the remodel , it was gross back then . Big holes in the screen , disgustingly dirty with a constant fog of cigarette smoke. Man those were the good old daze.
September 11, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I will miss the theater too. It’s a shame that it is closing…
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