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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1920)
20 THE MORXIXG OREGOXIAX, TOURSDAT, JANUARY 1, 1920. iiHMHniminHtnmiituutun J PORTLANDS PUBLIC AUDITORIUM IDEAL; I NEEDS OF CITY ARE NICELY FULFILLED s Three Seasons llave ProTed Practical Value of Fine Building, Showine It to Be Just What Is Needed in 1' many as 1200 men have been ,ed I Tif ;si; f TVi. c: a . . ... c one sitting- and numerous affairs """"""nimwiiiiiiiiMiiiniiiii ! rtVi if - V 111 33 i MoeMAJ , 11- "" ' " ' , I ' ' ' " ' ' Portland's Magnificent Public Auditorium. jJHP' l, sC7'r frn,,l,lu.l,l77;:''? $.. - J I cational attraction. Probably no au ditorium in the country has been put to so many different uses as has Port land's. During- the year the building- has accommodated the receptions and banquets for returning- soldiers. As at gr and numerous affairs lor from 200 to 600 were riven, followed in each case by a dance. In serving banquets to returned soldiers the meals have been cooked in the audi torium kitchens and served with table equipment accumulated by the audi torium from contributions, etc., during- the past two years. Fvtnre Looks Bright. Prospects are extremely bright for the future. During- the war period the large 'theatrical attractions trav eling over circuits were discontinued, and it is expected that by next season they will be in the field again and that many of these will be presented at the auditorium. The present season is well booked with attractive entertainments, including- errand opera, musicalea. cho ruses, larfsre dances, etc. Also the building will be used for a number of large conventions, among them being the imperial, session of the Shrine in June. The fact that Portland has this auditorium was an Important fac tor in winning this convention, as well as others. The auditorium Is a wonderful as set. Oftentimes the remark is heard, "What would we do If we had no such building?" The success of Portland in winning national conventions has been due in many cases to the fact mniiits J 4 ! By Hal M. White, Manager Pnblle Auditorium. EXPERIENCE of three seasons has shown that, from a practi cal standpoint, Portland, has an Ideal public auditorium. , By practi cal is meant the diversity of uses to which the building may be put, and also the cost of maintenance and operation, together with the possibili ties for revenue from rentals, etc.. The common Idea Is that an ajidir torlum should be an immense struc ture, capable of seating from 10,000 to 20,000 persons. There are occa sions when a building of that size Is needed, yet when a crowd of that size Is brought together it Is impos sible for all to hear a speaker or get the fullness of a musical entertain ment or even a theatrical entertain ment. Experience shows that the number of meetings re.quiring such an immense seating capacity are so Infrequent that the maintenance of a. building- of that size is a burden on the city that is not warranted. There have been but few occasions In Portland in the last three years when the auditorium has been inade quate. On several of those occasions a building twice or three times the felze would not have been adequate. Portland's auditorium has a regu lar seating capacity of 3700 persons, with space in assembly rooms for 2000 additional seats, or a total seat ing capacity of virtually 6000 per sons. By using the assembly rooms for standing room (which can be dons, but is decidedly undesirable), a total of more than 8000 persons can be accommodated. The Portland auditorium is of suf-fic-ient size to take cars of 6000 per- Interior of Auditorium 'ft u sons in such a way that all may dls- formances, exhibits, etc. Still later tinctly hear a speaker. With a larger the removable hardwood dance floor building the accoustic qualities are which covers the entire lower floor lost to a decree, and such a building was Put in and the building was con- therefore loses some of its usefulness, i verted into a carnival. It was con The auditorium has been put to al most every . conceivable use during the past 12 months. Had it not been for the fact that two months of the best part of the year were lost on account of the building being used for an influenza hospital, the revenue from rentals and percentages on the atrical and other productions would have offset the operating1 cost, and probably would have showed a net profit. - Building; Much Used. The auditorium during- the year was constantly in use for patriotic work, the building being granted rent free to various patriotic organizations for mass meetings, dances, entertain ments, drives, exhibits, etc. The rec ords show the building was used 47 times during the year for meetings of this sort, all of which cost the auditorium money without returning any revenue. For other purposes the building was used 127 times with a total attendance of about 400,000 per sons. The total receipts for the year sum up approximately $20,000, while the cost of operation will total about $25,000, not including items expended for additional equipment. The building has had a wide va riety of uses during the year. From an emergency hospital of the most complete and modern type, accommo dating: 800 patients, it was converted into a grand opera palace, where a week of the best of grand opera was produced by the San Carlo compnay of New York. Later it was used for musicals, lectures, entertainments, dances, mass, meetings, theatrical performances, motion picture per verted from this into an auditorium again, accommodating such attrac tions as President Wilson. ex-Presl dent Taft, United Johnson and others. again changed to a carnival, and still later was changed into an immense banquet hall. Dozens of other similar changes were made during the year. In the course of these changes in uses various improvements have been worked out in the building, enabling the conversion of the spaces into dif ferent uses on short notice. An effort has been made to make the building ' suitable for every form of amuse ment, exhibit, entertainment or edn- Horizontal Hydraulic Oil Hoists and Dump Bodies Order your truck equipped with Coast ' hydraulic oil hoists, the modern, up-to-date method of unloading.- Made for any make of truck and capacity. Koad work or wood and coal hauling. Unload ing time 30 seconds. Patented 1905 Prices ob Application Coast Engine & Machine Works East Taylor and Water Streets Phone East 6345 OREGON IS GREAT GAME s STATU. Deer and bear, as well as many other- game specimens, abound in Oregon. Deer are plentiful in the coast. Cascade and eastern Oregon mountains and are increasing rather than diminishing in numbers. Bear are also increasing. s Chinese pheasant shooting is one of Oregon's "most fasclnat- ing outdoor sports. These are quite plentiful In many spots. The state commission is win- tering 3000 of these birds for release to less favored sections, where there is a scarcity, so 1 that next fall hunters may have good shooting. The state is full of all other kinds of game. utiianiiiiiuiwtiiuiiitiniiiiiiHtiMiMinuiiiiMUMitiiinuiHiiiiiitiiiiuniitmims that we have the auditorium, which is available for free use for conven tion purposes. Our success along this line has been so pronounced that other cities are endeavoring to over come the advantage now possessed by Portland. These other cities, notably Seattle and Spokane, are now at work on the preliminary plans for the erec tion of auditoriums. Portland is materially interested in the establishment of auditoriums throughout the country, because when they are available it will be possible for the group of cities to get together and bring large attractions to the coast, attractions which cannot be brought here by any one auditorium because of the expense Involved. By dividing this expense, a circuit of large attractions will be possible, and the people of the city will benefit by having the very biggest and best in music, theatricals and education at minimum cost. An effort has been made within the past year to organize such a circuit, but as yet the northwest has bo few auditoriums that the plan has not worked out. It has been necessary for Portland's auditorium, therefore, to pick up such large attractions as have planned on trips to the coast. These have included during the year such attractions as Sousa's band. John McCormack. the Paulist choristers, the San Carlo Grand Opera company, etc. Auditorium and Home. The auditorium has become the home of large local attractions, such as the Apollo club, the Portland Op era association, the Music Festival association, the Norwegian Singing society, the Columbia Singers. Also it has come into general use for large lectures on account of the seating capacity, as well as the pipe organ and the excellence of the stage ar rangements. The fact that the build inr is lartre and that all seats are States Senator available for aftairs or mis sori na Later it was enabled these organizations io uuwu up rapidly. Tne pumic is wromms more interested In these attractions for the reason that the large seat ing, capacity enables them to make their expenses by charging a nominal admission fee. An added attraction during the fall has been the Sunday afternoon popu lar organ concerts. These have been given each Sunday afternoon since September with an admission charge of 10 cents, which c-vers costs. I tilftrH--irriiiaiiiI We Are Workers and Fabricators BRASS Specializing in the Various Forms of Journal Bearings and Locomotive Bronze Propeller Wheels Marine Fittings AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS OF BRASS We Also Manufacture . Bank and Office Fixtures, Cremation Urns in Artistic and Appropriate Designs'. Oregon Brass Works PORTLAND, OREGON - ARCHER & WIGGINS COMPANY " Distributors of HIGH-GRADE AUTOMOTIVE ACCESSORIES Diamond Tires Sixth Street at Oak Portland, Oregon The Shevlin-Hixon Company BEND, OREGON 115,000,000 feet of Western White Pine produced by our plant in 1919. 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