The Bingen Theater began life in 1949 as movie theater called the Canyon Theater, showing double-feature films during Hollywood’s Golden Age. In contrast to earlier vaudeville / silent film era theaters ( such as Portland’s Hollywood Theater), the Canyon Theater lacked the ornate gilded-age glamour and was not originally intended as a live performance venue – but was exclusively designed with the intention of showing films on the big screen. As times changed, so did the theater – closing for a time in the late 1960s and reopening later as another movie theater under the name the Gorge Theater.

This too closed its doors eventually and the building lay vacant for a number of years before being purchased by current owners Rod Krehbiel and Theresa North in 2008, who saw in the historic building a unique opportunity to create a valuable and much needed community asset. Since that time Rod and Teresa have worked to create a home for the rich local arts and music culture in the Columbia River Gorge. The building itself is in an ongoing process of restoration even as it becomes an increasingly utilized live performance venue and recording studio.