Historic Theatre Seats Removed for Restoration!
Over the past weekend (Feb 28-Mar 1), volunteers removed the balcony seats from the Gem.
These seats had not been outside in 96 years, having been installed in 1919 by Colonel Boyd—proprietor of what was then called the “Standard Theatre.”
The seats were old then! They were originally installed in the Cosy Theatre on Main Street in Pendleton—the first “moving picture” house in Umatilla County, having opened in 1906.
These historic seats, although not very comfortable, will be restored and re-installed in the balcony of the new Gem.
When the theatre was remodeled again in 1938, most of these seats were lost. The sixty in the balcony remain of the original 300.