The Portola's screen was equipped with a lighting system, able to enhance the otherwise black and white scenes with hints of color, and a theater organ to provide music for silent films.

[7] The theater also hosts the Mommy Matinee, held regularly as an opportunity for parents and guardians to bring in their young children to watch a movie, but without the stress or worry of disrupting fellow viewers.

The auditoriums are labeled by "pier", green seahorses accompany the exit signs, the employee's room is known as "the crew's quarters", and the two portholes once decorating the exterior of the Portola can now be viewed just above the Admiral's lobby.

Artwork brings the walls to life as well, entering the theater, you are greeted by a 1942 mural of George Vancouver behind the concession stand, spanning from floor to ceiling.

In 1997, the theater added another nautical twist by hiring muralist, Jeff Greene, to paint an underwater scene in one of the auditoriums.