Star Cinemas was a local movie theater that served the Hillsboro community from November 1993 to December 2024. Whether it was Friday night movie releases, free summer kid’s shows, or community outreach events for those with special needs, Star Cinemas was a central piece of the Hillsboro community for over 30 years (read its history HERE).

When Ever Forward learned that the theater building was set to be demolished to make way for a national grocery chain, we jumped into action.

Our first step was to organize a reunion for Star Cinemas employees. Over the course of an afternoon, employees gathered to reminisce, play movie-related games, celebrate a managing partner’s 80th birthday, and tour the building one last time. It was a special, meaningful time that afforded former employees the opportunity to say goodbye in person. A few weeks later the theater’s impending closure was announced, giving the public one last time to watch a movie in its walls and say goodbye.

But we didn’t stop there. Next we created Star Cinemas Memories, a Facebook group where former employees, owners, and the public alike could share memories and experiences from their time at the theater. The result was a flood of old pictures, stories about the creation of the theater, memorials for those who have passed, and opportunities to connect over shared communal space. Our goal was to create an online space where Star Cinemas could live on.

But we didn’t stop there. Before the building was demolished we captured video of the entire complex. Our goal was to capture every detail - the architecture, the carpet, the wall paper, the arcade, the concession stand - so the community could experience it again, something all the more meaningful now that the building is gone.

As chance would have it, we were the only group in Hillsboro to capture the demolition of the building on video. The video received over 700 responses on social media, giving the entire community an opportunity to say goodbye to the cherished building.

And in a final stroke of good fortune, we discovered that a Google Maps vehicle had gone through the parking lot of the theater a year before it was destroyed. This allowed us to explore the space in Virtual Reality (VR) and create a final exterior tour 5 months after the building had been demolished.

But we didn’t stop there. With permission from Star Cinemas’ ownership, we gained access to the theater’s Facebook page with over 6,600 followers where…in the near future…let’s just say some surprising, exciting things are on the way!

Star Cinemas Digital Museum (coming soon)

Ever Forward’s Star Cinemas Project reflects our core creative mission: to use modern technology to revive and reexperience the past in order to build a better future.