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(National Register nomination) |
In the middle decades of the 20th Century, Southwest Broadway
glowed at night from the blazing signs of Portland’s major theaters – the Paramount,
Broadway, Mayfair and Heilig. Residents
sometimes by tens of thousands gathered to see movie stars, parades and new
productions.
Portland’s latest nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places recalls that era, not by enshrining a theater but by honoring the enlarged, palatial
residence of J.J. and Hazel Parker, who took turns running Oregon’s largest
independent theater company.
“For 50 years, J. J. and then Hazel shaped the entertainment
landscape in Portland. The theater buildings and the entertainment offered
therein played an important role in the city—architecturally, economically, and
socially,” according to the national register nomination.
J.J. Parker started in the movie business in 1916, parlaying a
$5,000 Louisiana Lottery payout -- a substantial amount of money at the time -- into real estate investments. He came to manage several theaters in
Portland and Astoria as part of several business deals before his death in
1941.
The couple visited Los Angeles frequently, where they socialized with the era's biggest stars and film executives. Their connections help build and sustain their theater chain.
Hazel Parker had not been involved in her husband’s
management before his death. When she decided to continue
the business on her own, theater experts told her a woman wouldn’t survive in
the rough-and-tumble movie business.
“Through several key decisions, she built upon the solid business
foundation that her husband had established and, under her leadership, the
glitz and glamour of the movie industry was amplified with film premieres and
promotions that brought the biggest stars to her palatial downtown theater—the
Broadway,” the nomination states.
Their Colonial Revival house that the Parkers purchased in 1924
was large but not unusually impressive. The Parkers owned it from 1924 to 1951, and,
with the help of architect Harry Herzog, made some dramatic changes to its
structure and interior designs. “Harry
Herzog transformed the Parkers’ home from what was likely a typical Colonial
Revival home constructed in 1917 to a house with a surprisingly unique and
lavish interior,” the nomination states.
His revisions included “unique design elements that were expressive of
the Parkers’ lavish taste including French-inspired boiserie paneling and
moldings, wrought iron stair details, marble fireplaces, mirrors, and Art Deco
bathrooms.”
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(National Register nomination) |
In 1933, J.J. Parker took control of the seven-year-old Broadway
Theater. He transformed its interior,
added bold exterior signs and converted it to a full-time movie theater as stage entertainment was dying out. The Broadway
became the Parkers' crown jewel, bearing a tagline on the marquee that said, “There’s
always a better show at Parker’s Broadway.”
|
1940 |
Hazel Parker’s life changed as a corporate executive. “I had to reach a decision in my life, and it
was that if I were going to be a businesswoman, I’d give all my time to my
business. It meant an end to my social life, which I had always enjoyed,
particularly the entertaining part, but that’s the way it had to be.”
She steered the theaters through a successful decade in the 1950s,
but by the 1960s television had radically changed the movie business. Hazel Parker gradually sold her various
interests in the 1960s and 1970s. Yet
she had proved herself as one of Oregon’s top female entrepreneurs. “For these
reasons, the Parker House also has significance in local women’s history,” the
nomination states.
Hazel Parker died in 1976 when she was 87.
Except for the Hollywood Theatre and the small Guild theater, all theaters managed by the Parkers in Portland have been demolished.
The National Register nomination will be presented to the Oregon
State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation in mid-June. Assuming approval, it will be forwarded to
the federal Department of Interior for final consideration.
-------Fred Leeson
Join Building on History’s email list by writing “add me” to
fredleeson@hotmail.com
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