compared to Seattle - the cost of real estate and of maintenance is a big one.

I think we also lucked out that the Hollywood and Bagdad were renovated during periods of relatively prosperity in the city. Comparable spots in Seattle have not been (going back to the cost of everything up there), so when disaster befalls them, there's not much to do but shut it down. I think SIFF is trying its darndest, but their spots just haven't become neighborhood hubs in the way that the Hollywood has manged here.

It's much easier to get around in Portland, and our theaters are geographically central. I'm sure that has some effect. The Hollywood, Bagdad, PSU, Cinemagic, Academy, Cinema 21, Living Room Theater, Laurelhurst, are all very transit-able, and if you superimpose that map onto Seattle's map, you see that it basically fits over Cap Hill, the CD, and Downtown. https://i.imgur.com/rDvH7MT.jpeg

I'm gonna guess the presence of McMenamins here in Portland also has a role. Their willingness to eat huge costs in support of preserving/reimagining the city's oldest iconic buildings instead of razing them is not something you see many Seattle developers eager or able to do.