The Movies
Yesterday, as a friend and I were doing one of our urban walks up Clinton Street in southeast Portland we came to Clinton Street Video with a note taped to the door saying they were closing. This is perhaps the last video in Portland. Movie Madness has moved to its non-profit status at the Hollywood Theater where its massive collection will remain intact for those of us who like to wander the shelves and look for films we had forgotten or never knew existed. This is particularly moving to me, since my wife and I and my wife's brother owned a wonderful video store in Portland. It is gone now, a victim of streaming, owner fatigue, and Portland's high rents. We owned Trilogy Video in Portland. Gone, but for me, never forgotten. The last day it was open, the day of the sale, the line of movie buffs was a block long. The current owner for whom I volunteered for free rentals, asked me to monitor the door and let in twenty-five people at a time. There wasn't much floor space bec...