The Armory looks like a castle that wandered into the Pearl District — an 1891 National Guard fortress of stone turrets that Portland Center Stage transformed into Oregon’s most beautiful playhouse. Inside, the LEED-Platinum building hides two theatres: the 590-seat U.S. Bank Main Stage and the intimate Ellyn Bye Studio.
PCS, the state’s largest theatre company, fills them with a season that swings from Shakespeare and Sondheim to world premieres developed in its JAW New Play Festival each summer. The soaring mezzanine lobby — all exposed brick and timber — doubles as the neighborhood’s favorite pre-show gathering place.
It’s a landmark of two kinds: a preserved piece of 19th-century Portland and a living factory of 21st-century theatre. Arrive early just to wander the building.
