Bob White Theater

Great little theater in the heart of Foster. Went for West Coast Wrestling on a Saturday morning. I can’t wait for other events & concerts to come through. Would love to support this place & see it do well! Awesome spot & I’m thrilled someone didn’t let it go to waste.

The theater itself is… well, like any olé theater. I didn’t venture upstairs so I can’t say much on that. The place was being rented out for a party. I don’t know if the promoter did much promoting and the only reason I was there was because I was with one of the DJs on the line up. It was an 18+ venue. It could have potential and I am sure that there are parties and events that do well here.
If I ever return, I’ll write an update and hopefully the experience is better and more thorough. For now, I was not very impressed at all.

I saw a reggae show there last night and what a disappointment! First there was one line for people paying and people with tickets. They should of had 2 lines so it went smoother. Once you got up to pay they told us cash only. The line for the bathroom was super long they need more bathrooms. There were a few acts before the main one. By 1am me and my friends were getting a little annoyed a few of them decided to leave. By 1:45 I called it quits and never saw the opening act. My friend who stayed said he came on finally around 2ish! If you want to see reggae and don’t mind waiting till 2am to see the main act and getting overcharged go to bob white theatre, if not I recommend you don’t go there!

Back before the Internet, people gathered by hundreds, in dozens of Portland theaters, to see movies on film. Heating those spaces with their lofty ceilings was practical; fuel oil was less than a 50^th of todays price. But one by one they closed, with the advent of broadcast television, cable, the VCR, the DVD, the multiplex, BitTorrent and Netflix. Most were demolished. Some became revival churches. A very few were just closed up and forgotten.
The Bob White Theater was one. Built in 1924, it has had many lifetimes. It was home to epic Russ Meyer films for years, country music themed films, then Vietnamese language films. In its final days, it was the residence and workshop of a restorer and collector of pipe organs.
It’s now a restoration project for the Foster neighborhood.
It’s entrance is to the West (left) of Bar Carlo and the theater proper is behind Bar Carlo and the apartments above.
The theater holds about 750 with a balcony, a little bigger than the Aladdin. It has a good dancing area between the seating and stage, though it’s not all level. The current seats are a little rough, but I’ve experienced worse in local theaters. The balcony isn’t open and not sure about restrooms. It doesn’t have the ornate style of the Aladdin, or the Bagdad, it’s plain inside like the Hollywood, with a 60’s box office entryway. It does have a stage, about 15 – 20 feet deep, but all lighting and sound has to be brought in. There is no fly space above the stage. No projection capability. There is an alley and parking lot with access to the stage and a large backstage area.
They are reaching out to the neighborhood and groups that want to use the theater for special events, and did so for a local East County resident running for political office. With the March Fourth Marching Band as entertainment, free. The first floor public areas and seating clean and usable. But they have a lot of work ahead getting the cobwebs out of the balcony.
By conventional Unilocal standards, this is a 1 star facility. A dive theater that closed and then has just been discovered by archaeologists. It’s still essentially in that state. But that makes it a 5 star for urban explorers.
For now this is a raw space to rent for groups and events who want to support the Foster neighborhood revival, or consider themselves on the front edge of the back edge of Portland culture.
You can keep track of their progress at
More historical information on the former use of the building: