On Oct. 18, 1939, a new world of entertainment was made available to generations of Warren Countians with the grand opening of the Park Theater on West Main Street. Eighty-five years and one day later, there will be a celebration of the rich history of the theater originally opened by Cowan Oldham and Cumberland Amusement Company.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, there will be a free open house at the Park Theater beginning at 11 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. There will be tours, concessions, music and, at noon, a special free screening of a classic movie which also turns 85 this year and which showed at the Park within a month of its opening. If you have a heart, brains and the courage to go, the film is sure to take you somewhere over the rainbow. 

The Park's original opening 85 years ago caused quite the stir in McMinnville, drawing a crowd of over 5,000 throughout the day to  the movie palace which cost $50,000 to construct at the time.

A fire in 1947 proved disastrous but not fatal. Oldham rebuilt bigger and better, adding classic Park icons which define the look of the theater to this day, such as the illuminated medallions on the walls and the vertical marquee which has been a Main Street landmark since the theater's reopening in 1948.

Oldham died in 1969 and his family ran the theater until its closing in 1986. The last movie shown was "Transformers: The Movie," the 1986 animated film. The building sat vacant for years before being purchased and turned into offices, housing the Social Security office. 

Many years later, local activists formed the Park Theatre Group to restore the theater to its former glory and, after many years and much work, it was purchased by the City of McMinnville. After a $2 million renovation, it reopened in May 2015.

"The Park Theater has a long and storied history in McMinnville and Assistant Manager Ashley Wright and I are proud to be the current custodians of the theater and are excited about celebrating that history on Saturday," said Park Theater Manager Joe Harvey. "We look forward to welcoming in people who may want to relive their memories as well as those getting their first look at what the current theater has to offer."

The open house will come just hours after the theater holds a Celebration of Dottie West on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for that concert are available at the box office and mcminnvilleparktheater.com.