Story, Photos & Video by Don Backman
Star Wars. Rocky. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The original and best Doctor Doolittle. People in long lines on the sidewalk waiting to get in. Packed theater.
The Coliseum Theater in Tillamook continues to play an important role in Tillamook County history after 100 years. Those who grew up here and have more than a little gray hair — even if it is dyed — probably remember the Coliseum being the place for movies. It was a big deal to go to a movie. Popcorn, snacks, and soda. The theater was often packed. Star Wars was epic from up on the balcony.
On Saturday, September 30th, 2023, Sheila Zerngast, who with husband Matthew Zerngast owns and operates the Coliseum Theater, took some time from her busy day to discuss the theater and the role it plays in the community.
“The Coliseum Theater showed the first movie on September 25th, 1923. At that time, it wasn’t the only theater in town. There were two or three theaters then,” Zerngast explained. The theater came complete with an organ for the silent moves of the time. “Chairs were much smaller than today,” Zerngast explained, showing a narrow seat in the lobby. “We found this in the back. It’s from the first or second set of chairs that were in the theater. The theater started with 750 seats.” There was a basement fire next door in 1924 that caused smoke damage to the theater, requiring repairs.
The lobby was decorated with balloons and memorabilia. A table held free candy bars, popcorn bucket, and a soda cup. Along the back wall there was a big cake and numerous cupcakes from Sarasota’s. The cake was to be cut during the Rotary Comedy Night in the evening.
The Zerngasts’ took ownership of the theater on August 22, 2014. Sheila was overwhelmed by the amount of community support. “People just came by to help out,” she said. “Contractors just showed up. We had to replace the ceiling in the lobby. The whole place had to be cleaned up. We painted.”
“We invited all those who helped to a free showing of Princess Bride with free popcorn and snacks just for them,” she said. “The community was amazing, and we wanted to say thanks.”
After ten weeks of hard work on weekends and every spare moment, they were able to hold a grand opening on November 1st, 2014, with a noon ribbon cutting. They even featured the Rotary Comedy Night that evening, too.
The theater is decorated with movie memorabilia and historic items from in storage. “We found so much stuff stored away. We have the original lights. They were stored in wood shavings under the stage.” The theater even has the 1923 projector, and the mechanical reel parts can be used today. However, the projection equipment has been fully updated. Various projection lenses and reels are on display, along with the original guest book.
“First and foremost, we want this to be a community place,” Zerngast said repeatedly throughout the interview. “We want it to be safe place for kids to be out in public. We are so thankful for Tillamook. People always give us a chance. A lot of people come in to be supportive.”
The theater had to close during parts of the Covid Pandemic. “We were open as much as we could,” Zerngast said. “We have all the vents operational and open and have air filters installed. We wanted to offer people a safe place to go because people were isolated.” Movie attendance is improving, and nationally, attendance is back to more than 75% of pre-covid. “We always clean,” she added. It’s important to us to keep it clean so it is a good experience for everyone.”
People are welcome to stop by just to buy concessions. “We adjust our popcorn every day, she explained. “Humidity makes a difference. We taste test it and use more butter than most other theaters.” Businesses and organizations often purchase fresh popcorn for their events. “We donate popcorn to a lot of activities, too. And we have school showings, life skills showings (students with disabilities), have showings for immunologically compromised people, have closed captioning devices, and have donated over 500 tickets so far.”
Zerngast wants the community to know how grateful they are for the support. “We want this to be a full movie experience,” she emphasized. “For example, if you have young kids and must hire a babysitter so you can go out, we want it to be a positive experience for you. We always want to know if there are any issues so we know what they are and can fix them.”
The Tillamook Coliseum truly is the community’s movie theater.
Show times and movie information is available online at Tillamookcoliseum.com and on the theater’s Facebook page. Enjoy the next 100 years!