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Portland is home to several world-class, City-owned performing arts venues that serve as vital community spaces, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year from the region and beyond.
Portland'5 Centers for the Arts
Portland'5 Centers for the Arts (Portland'5) comprises five City-owned theaters in three separate buildings in the heart of downtown Portland. Those venues include the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Keller Auditorium, and Antoinette Hatfield Hall, which houses the Brunish, Newmark, and Winningstad theaters. City oversight of Portland'5 is provided by the Office of Arts & Culture, and the venues are operated by Metro under the oversight of the Metropolitan Recreation and Exposition Commission (MERC).
Project: Reimagining Downtown Performing Arts
The Reimagining Downtown Performing Arts project consists of two main bodies of work, the Future of Portland’5 and the Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts.
Future of Portland’5
Portland'5 plays a vital role in the cultural life and economy of downtown Portland, the city, and region. These performing arts venues bring ~800 performing arts events to downtown Portland every year, attracting 800,000 visitors and generating ~$77 million in total spending annually.
In October 2024, Portland City Council passed a resolution to establish a performing arts venues workgroup to explore opportunities and challenges to both immediate and long-term operations, maintenance, and planning of the City-owned Portland'5 venues. The resolution also directed the study of alternative operating models for the Portland'5 arts facilities.
This portion of the project is focused on the management, operations, and governance of Portland'5.
Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts
Built in 1917, the Keller Auditorium is one of the Portland'5 Centers for the Arts venues. It is the only large-scale Broadway-capable theater in the region and it draws 400,000 visitors annually to downtown Portland. Like many older buildings, the Keller Auditorium was not built to withstand a major earthquake, and it is in need of major renovations.
To avoid a prolonged closure of the Keller during construction, Portland City Council accepted the recommendation to pursue a strategy to develop two Broadway-capable venues—a renovated Keller Auditorium and a new facility at Portland State University (PSU). In October 2024, Portland City Council passed a resolution that directed or authorized studies, committees and strategies to inform a path forward.
This portion of the project explores the renovation of Keller Auditorium, building a new large-scale venue at Portland State University, or both.