It continued to operate as the city's longest running pornographic cinema and remained owned by a member of the Maizels family until 13 February 2020, when it went into foreclosure.

[2] The brick exterior includes a glass-filled retail base, beltcourses, double-hung windows on the second story, ornamental brickwork on its parapet, and a flat roof.

[2] Upon its completion, the interior featured a $16,000 Wurlitzer pipe organ, ornate lighting fixtures attached to a high-domed ceiling, 750 high-backed chairs,[6] a vaudeville stage, and a screen which measured 16 by 20 feet (4.9 m × 6.1 m).

[2] While operating as an adult venue, the Oregon Theater was described as "less creepy than most of its kind" and "out of place" along the newly developed Southeast Division Street.

It was also called "the last holdout of an era", referring to both the prominence of adult film screenings in the city during the 1970s and its status as the last property owned by the Maizels family.

In 2004, the building was identified as an "Investment and Identity Site" and commended for having attributes valued by the community, such as quality architecture, local ownership, and orientation to the street.

The success of Deep Throat, which opened in 1972 and played for more than a year,[3] was a turning point, leading to an increase in the number of adult film screenings at more than a dozen cinemas in Portland.

[6][7] However, the rise of video cassettes and cable television led to a decline in cinema attendance, and by the 2000s, the Maizels family had sold all of their properties except for the Oregon Theatre.

[3] In 2005, The Portland Mercury said the theater showed heterosexual pornographic films daily except for Wednesdays and Saturdays, when it featured bisexual content.

DVC is invested in the "economy of locally-owned businesses, an attractive streetscape that invites neighbors to linger, and sustainable features that are ecologically sensitive".

[5] In its 2005 review of the theater, The Portland Mercury said the "glut of cozy sofas make an outing comfortable", but criticized the venue for having only one screen and for showing predominantly heterosexual films.