The Holly Theatre was a cultural icon of Medford’s lively downtown for nearly 60 years. Designed by renowned architect Frank C. Clark in a Spanish Colonial Revival Style, the Holly was the first grand movie palace in Southern Oregon built for “talking pictures." Like many grand movie palaces of its day, the Holly was larger than life, replete with a highly decorated interior, a prominent neon blade sign and marquee, and lavish draperies and furnishings. The interior featured an exuberant color scheme inspired by the streets and canals of Venice using a unique interplay of hand-painted elements and multi-colored lighting systems.
The Holly closed its doors in 1986 at a time when changes in the movie industry forced many downtown, single-screen theaters to shutter. To prevent the theater from being torn down, the Art Alfinito family purchased the building in the mid-1990s. The Holly was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, but continued to remain empty and fall into disrepair, eventually being condemned due to a failed ceiling truss.
In 2011, the JPR Foundation, the non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Southern Oregon’s NPR affiliate, Jefferson Public Radio, purchased the Holly with the goal of saving this important local landmark and creating a new cultural venue for the region.
Since the project began, community volunteers led by the Holly Restoration Committee have raised nearly $13 million from over 3,300 donors to return the Holly to its original 1930 look and feel while adding state-of-the-art technical capabilities.
The project was completed in early 2025 thanks to the work of hundreds of construction workers and local specialty artisans, fulfilling a promise to bring the Holly back to life as a tribute to Medford’s past, a catalyst for economic development, and a place that provides new cultural and entertainment opportunities today and for future generations.
Close