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The new Silverton Civic Center will not open until early next year, city officials reported at Aug. 7 City Council meeting. James Day

Delayed completion – Silverton Civic Center opening pushed into 2024

By James Day The new Silverton Civic Center likely will not be fully occupied until January 2024 after some unexpected complications hit the project. The $19.5 million facility, which will hold most city staff as well as the police department, originally was scheduled for completion in July 2023. Aug. 7 the Silverton City Council was told that substantial completion of […]

Palace Theatre

Palace update: Fall/winter reopening seen as likely

By James Day The new owners of the Palace Theatre say that they likely will not be able to reopen until this fall or winter because of the complicated nature of the remodeling they are doing. Thomas and Erika Baham, who also own the two-screen Rio complex in Sweet Home, took over the historic Silverton theater in May. “Remodeling is […]

Closing time – Silverton’s Palace Theatre shuts down (again)

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 […]

A conversation with Stu: Silverton’s cross-dressing theater owner wins a seat on the city council

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.