By James Day Ah, the Palace. You just can’t keep her down. Depression (remember, films were first shown at the site in 1909 and the theater was rebuilt in 1936 after being destroyed in 1935 by fire). Another fire in 2012. A pandemic. A closure in January. And now, it’s back. Property owner Marjorie Eng has announced the sale of […]
By James Day The iconic Palace Theatre (spelled “Theater” in recent years) in Silverton has shut down and its future is up in the air. Erik and Rachelle Gonterman, who have operated the theater since 2020, are engaged in an acrimonious dispute with the landlord, Marjorie Eng, and when their contractual obligation to show Avatar: The Way of Water ended […]
By James Day Silverton’s two mayoral candidates and six of the seven City Council hopefuls took part in a two-hour public forum on Oct. 18 at the Palace Theater. The event was hosted by the Silverton Discourse Project, with Our Town reporter Stephen Floyd serving as the moderator. Approximately 100 residents attended, some munching popcorn from the Palace concession stand. […]
By James Day There will be a distinct changing of the guard for the Silverton City Council come next term. That’s because there will be three and perhaps four new councilors when the session begins in January. Incumbent councilors Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal Neideigh all chose not to seek re-election to new four-year terms. In addition, Council President […]
By Silverton Mayor Kyle Palmer It is with sadness that I report that Mayor Stu Rasmussen passed away Wednesday [Nov. 17] around 11 a.m. after a number of weeks under home hospice care for metastatic prostate cancer. His longtime love Victoria noted that “he went bravely into the unknown on his own terms.” One of the few people around with […]
By Melissa Wagoner There’s never been a better time to go to the theater – at least according to Rachelle Gonterman – manager of the Silverton Palace Theater. “COVID has everybody tired of being cooped up at home,” she said. “But a lot of people don’t know we’re open.” Taking over the theater in October 2020, Rachelle and her husband, […]
When the Palace Theater opened in downtown Silverton in 1936, it was designed as a state of the art facility, offering the ultimate in entertainment quality.
Editor’s Note: This story on 2008 Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen ran in the January 2005 edition of Our Town Monthly.
In the November 2004 presidential election Silverton voters favored Republican incumbent George W. Bush over Democrat challenger John Kerry 1,987 to 1,797. They supported Measure 36, the initiative amending the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, 2,294 to 1,529. They also elected an openly cross-dressing man to the city council. He was the second highest vote-getter in the seven-way race, garnering 1,603.
