celebrating 100 years of entertainment
PORTLAND, OREGON
Aladdin Sound Wall
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the legendary Aladdin Theater, PSAA, True West, Classic Pianos, and the City of Portland partnered to create a piece of public art that serves as a gateway to the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Muralist Blaine Fontana’s Aladdin Sound Wall gives this busy stretch of Southeast Portland along SE Milwaukie Avenue a new landmark, pairing bold contemporary design with nods to the neighborhood's history. Fontana and PSAA worked closely with True West and Classic Pianos to craft a narrative that weaves together the historic theater’s past, present, and future.
Artist Blaine Fontana in front of his recently completed mural
““It was a profound honor to have been selected to paint the new exterior wall on the legendary and historic Aladdin Theater in Portland. Truly a collaborative and community production investment, this new mural is by far the most complicated, detailed, and ambitious mural I’ve done in my backyard.””
Aladdin Sound Wall blends seamlessly with the theater’s historic marquee and features acoustic and electric guitars, keys, and a drum kit, along with more orchestral instruments including a trumpet, violin, and flute.
The mural is also filled with local references, including the red curtains of the Aladdin stage, piano keys as a nod to Classic Pianos, a film strip symbolizing the venue’s history as a movie house, and a portrait of Maurice “Moe” Unis, a beloved community member and the original owner of Classic Pianos. Local businesses and passersby are thrilled with the results: “We love it,” said Travis Labbe of True West.
Originally named Geller’s Theatre, the Aladdin has gone through many iterations in its nearly 100 years as an entertainment venue. The theater opened in 1927 as the dream project of Russian-American Ike Geller, who set out to build a vaudeville house with a Golden ‘20s aesthetic in Portland’s Eastside.
In the 1930s, the venue shifted to showing movies, and in 1934 it was renamed the Aladdin Theater. Today, the Aladdin is a live performance venue hosting an array of entertainment events from music to stand-up comedy. “This is such a showpiece for the neighborhood!” raved Dave Simmons of Classic Pianos.
“PSAA is proud to partner with local institutions and the City of Portland to create a more livable, vibrant city. Community-informed murals like this serve as visual touchstones and help each Portland neighborhood feel unique." – Tiffany Conklin, PSAA Executive Director
“We are excited to support the Aladdin Theater, Classic Pianos, and The Lamp – the prominent cultural hub in Southeast Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood.” – Anne Hill, Director of the Public Environment Management Office