Hometown Show

Hometown Show provides a historical sketch of movie theaters in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, from 1906-1919. The timespan covers a period that film historians define as the “nickelodeon era,” a time of rapid change and growth in filmmaking and moviegoing in the United States.

Nearly all of the theaters profiled in Hometown Show could have their own detailed histories, with a month-by-month chronicle of each movie and vaudeville act on the program. What Hometown Show may lack in depth, it makes up for in breadth, providing a little information about every theater: years of operation, location, ownership, programming, and promotional strategies. The introduction provides a broader context for the local theaters profiled here to demonstrate how they were part of larger trends in American film history during this period.