Visitors were greeted by a 65-foot (20 m) high "Portland" sign above the Broadway Marquee, which contained approximately 6,000 theatrical lights.

The main entrance to the auditorium boasted huge French-paned windows facing east and south, covered with velvet drapes.

The walls of the auditorium were elaborately decorated with murals and near the front of the stage, small balconies were hung with drapes which hid the pipes from the $46,500 Wurlitzer organ.

The ceiling panels were suspended from the roof of the building and jutted out toward the sides of the auditorium, leaving a small cove next to the wall.

Nolan, who had lived in Southern California for a time, had appeared as an extra in a movie titled Wheel of Chance (1928).

Nolan had moved back to Oregon and when he saw that the movie was showing at the Portland Theatre, he decided to go see himself on the "silver screen."

[citation needed] By 1936, the theater had been sold to the Evergreen chain, in conjunction with John Hamrick, and between them, they owned eight movie theatres in Portland.

Both the exterior and interior of the building had deteriorated through the years and in September 1965, part of the cast iron balcony facing Park Avenue (a 150 lb (68 kg) piece of gingerbread), gave way and fell to the pavement below.

Heart played there as part of the "Catch a Rising Star" series (which included Tom Petty and Elvis Costello, among others), for the admission price of 92 cents (promoted by local radio station KGON, 92.3 FM).

[10] In December 1972, Haviland proposed a state-run gambling casino on the property, claiming he was losing more than he could afford on the Paramount.

[11] On December 1, 1972, Black Oak Arkansas recorded a concert here that provided three of the seven songs on the band's 1973 album, "Raunch 'N' Roll Live."

In March 1975, Haviland conducted an auction during which he sold off all the theatres' statuary, pipe organ, antique furniture, 16th century suit of armor, mirrors, china, oriental rugs, original oil paintings, lighted gold-leaf music stands and 3 grand pianos; basically everything that was not attached to the walls or floors.

[18] In 1972, the Portland City Council voted to give the building Landmark Status, over the objections of John Haviland, the owner.

[21] A major renovation began in September 1983 to the designs of Boora Architects,[5] restoring the building to much of its original opulence.

The one-year, $10 million renovation involved repairing, recasting or replacing much of the theatre's ornate interior as well as making it comfortable and safe for today's audiences and performers.

The concert hall now plays host to a variety of presentations including classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk and gospel music, dance, theatre, travel films, conferences, and weddings.

When the performing arts center was opened in 1984, it was decided to name the Portland Theatre building after Arlene Schnitzer.

During the auction, there was a general outcry from the audience to keep a particular marble statue, called "Surprise" (a nude girl with her hands thrown across her face) in the theater.

[23] Partial list of notable personal appearances made on the stage of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall: