Over the last century, the Bagdad Theater has survived the end of vaudeville, the multiplex boom and the rise of streaming to remain one of Portland's most enduring local cinemas.

Why it matters: Now, the Hawthorne landmark is celebrating another milestone: 35 years since McMenamins bought and restored it in 1991.

The Bagdad's story mirrors Portland's own anti-establishment, preservation proclivities — embracing the old and fiercely maintaining the character of places that might otherwise disappear.

• I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater last week. Here's the lore I learned.

Flashback: The Bagdad opened in 1927 during the twilight of vaudeville performances, when Hollywood studios were racing to build movie palaces around the country to showcase their new talking pictures technology.

• The theater's aesthetic leaned hard into the era's fascination with the Middle East — thanks to Lawrence of Arabia and films like "Kismet."
• But it decided to drop the "h" from "Baghdad" to make the name more "Americanized," McMenamins historian Caitlin Popp told Axios.

By the 1970s, the Bagdad was carved into a multiplex, with the balcony and former backstage converted into screening rooms.

• The original owners decided to close the theater at the end of the decade. It sat empty until McMenamins took it over in 1991.
• Brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin restored the Bagdad into a single-screen, 500-seat auditorium — scrubbing decades-old cigarette smoke off of the walls while preserving much of the original hand-painted artwork, chandeliers and moldings.

The intrigue: The Bagdad is also the site of entertainment history. Sammy Davis Jr. performed there as a child in vaudeville acts, while "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "My Own Private Idaho" both premiered there.

• Much of this history is depicted in a two-story-tall mural inside the adjacent Back Stage Bar, where other Portland relics — like vintage neon signs and a giant, ornate bar from the since-shuttered Lotus Card Room, complete with a bullet hole — have also found second lives.

If you go: The Bagdad Theater & Pub (3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) will host an all-day block party Saturday to celebrate its 35th birthday.

Tell a cinephile

Portland had one of the sharpest drops in violent crime in early 2026, following a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.

By the numbers: Violent crime dropped in Portland across all major categories, according to quarterly reports collected by the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

• Homicides dropped more than 63%.
• Robberies fell by more than 16%.
• Rapes declined 12%.
• Aggravated assaults decreased 11%.

Between the lines: The new numbers complicate the political narrative around crime heading into the 2026 midterms. President Trump has repeatedly described major Democratic-led cities as gripped by violent crime.

• Data show many urban areas have become significantly safer over the last two years, with drops beginning in the second half of the Biden presidency and continuing under Trump.

Yes, but: The recovery remains uneven.

• Some cities — Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Virginia Beach, Va., among them — still reported increases in certain violent crime categories even as overall violence fell.

Go deeper

👜 Baggu, the popular bag and accessories maker, will open its first Oregon store on Kearney off Northwest 23rd on Friday. (KOIN)

👟 Prosper Portland is considering foreclosing on two buildings held by Made in Old Town — a team of executives who hoped to turn the neighborhood into a shoe and apparel manufacturing hub but defaulted on a $7 million loan earlier this year. (Portland Business Journal)

🏙️ Guardian Real Estate Services bought the 23-story residential Ladd Tower near the Park Blocks for $63.3 million — 20% less than its previous purchase price during the Great Recession. (The Oregonian)

🐝 An invasive yellow-legged hornet was found at the Port of Vancouver last month, prompting agriculture officials to call on residents to report sightings of the species, which is known to decimate honey bee populations. (OPB)

New polling suggests Gov. Kotek is struggling to shore up support in Oregon's biggest Democratic stronghold as she seeks reelection in less than six months.

Driving the news: 59% of respondents in the Portland metro area said they have a negative impression of Kotek, while only a third said they viewed her positively, per the Oregonian.

• The survey, conducted by DHM research, polled 600 registered voters in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties April 20-30.

What we're watching: State Sen. Christine Drazan remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, potentially teeing up a rematch of 2022.

• Yes, but: Two influential groups — the Oregon Education Association and the Working Families Party — declined to endorse a candidate for governor despite supporting Kotek last time around.
• ✏️ Kotek is also facing a long-shot, and mostly symbolic, write-in campaign by an anthropomorphic Pencil, aimed at highlighting Oregon's dismal education ranking.

Riding the MAX home from the Fire's first game Saturday night, I looked up from my book to see just the right amount of high clouds, lit up by the setting sun, with downtown sliding by as a backdrop.

• 10/10. No notes.