Courtesy Traces of Texas Facebook page.
Description credit Atilana Salas.
“Oh man, Traces of Texas reader Atilana Salas sent in this beautiful photo and included a story so poignant it raised a lump in ‘Ol Traces’ throat.” Says Atilana:
“Today, nothing remains of Tacho Mercado’s ‘salón de baile.’ Only its concrete foundation spread under an open sky serves to recall this dancehall from a time Concepcion, Texas enjoyed livelier days and still livelier nights.
Built in the late 1940s, my grandfather, Anastacio Mercado, initially operated a grocery/meat market/gas station/movie house enterprise from that location. He did well and prospered for a time. This boom of social and economic activity occurred before my living memory… and I’m a senior citizen.
Eventually change came to “La Chona,” a ranching and farming community in a South Texas we would not recognize today. With a shrinking economy and customer base, the movie house regretfully flickered its last feature. The grocery end of the business faded and so his shrinking inventory of sundry goods on the shelves and counters was never restocked. Demand for cuts of meat from Tacho’s well-beaten butcher block was no more. The years of plenty were behind him, but my grandfather reinvented himself and his method of livelihood as well.
The movie screen came down. Rows of wooden theatre benches were rearranged against three of the movie house’s walls and a small elevated recessed stage of sorts took shape at the south wall. Mercado’s Salón de Baile was born.
Build it… and they will dance. Conjunto was king and dance they did, and often.
On many weekends my grandmother would laboriously sweep and mop that great smooth cement dance floor. Once dry, she sprinkled generous handfuls of oiled sawdust throughout the space. No sooner was she done that she then fired up the kitchen to prepare burgers, fries, sodas and other fixings for the crowd that evening. My grandparents worked long and hard.
Polkas, cumbias, and huapangos dominated the dance night. In the early 1960s even the gyrating Twist found its way onto the floor of “el salón.”
From what I have been told, “los bailes” were lively events. More often than not there was fun, romance, drama, brawls, hookups, elopements, breakups and infidelities. After-wedding-get-togethers were celebrated under its corrugated steel roof. During the daylight hours of the week grandfather operated a beer joint in the former lobby of the movie house.
No air-conditioning. Long slats of wooden vents ran the length of the dancehall’s eastern and western walls for air circulation. The dancing was hot. Ladies, single or otherwise, sat along the walls. The drinking was outside amongst the men, in the night air, standing between the long hoods and heavy chrome bumpers of parked cars and pickups.
Domingo Peña frequented “el salón” in the years before he made a name for himself on Sunday mornings on the fledgling KIII television station. He was a dance promoter back then.
I enjoyed the conjunto music. Late in the evening, lying on a soft bed in my grandparents' home only 60 or so paces from the source, the steady beat of poom-boom, poom-boom, poom-boom lulled me to sleep.
The last dance in el salón was hosted in 1975 with a conjunto headed up by a young Eloy de la Garza from Kingsville. He played drums. That was long ago… another time… another age."
Now THAT, dear readers, is how you write a caption for a photo! :) Thank you, Atilana. Wonderful memories!"
History researched and compiled by Bethany Sefchick.
Description courtesy the Old Photos of Central Pennsylvania & Beyond Facebook page.
“History of the I.O.O.F. Building – Philipsburg, PA
Historically referred to as the I.O.O.F (International Order of Odd Fellows) Building, the brick structure known today as Thieves Market was originally constructed at the turn of the Twentieth Century by the members of I.O.O.F.’s Magnolia Lodge, No. 602, to serve the people of the Philipsburg area. A fire partially destroyed the building on October 29, 1916, but the building was rebuilt by the Odd Fellows and remained in operation as the organization’s lodge until the early 1930s. In 1935, the building reopened as the Majestic Theater with an elaborate outdoor marquee and seating for 750 patrons, providing Philipsburg with a second theater on Front Street. The Majestic remained in operation through the 1950s, with the last documented movie being shown in 1955, though local knowledge places the theater’s closure at closer to 1959-1960.
Shortly after the closing of the Majestic, the building was converted into retail space for Sam’s Furniture. Sam’s was known beyond the central Pennsylvania region for keeping and utilizing the old theater marquee, replacing the old Majestic’s oversized marquee letters with ones that read “Sam’s,” and their quirky commercials that always ended with a mariachi band of marionettes. On November 29, 1982, a fire at the Ziff’s clothing stores across the street resulted in heat damage to the old Majestic marquee. When Sam’s closed in the early 1980s, the building was purchased by Mr. Charles Navasky and used as both a warehouse and shipping facility for the topcoats and tuxedos his company manufactured.
During the summer of 1999, the old I.O.O.F. building, along with 254 other structures, became part of the Philipsburg Historic District, and the District as a whole was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring its preservation. In 2007, National Furniture rented the building from Mr. Navasky, converting it back into a retail space once more. After sitting vacant for a time, the building was purchased by current owners Chris and Brandi McGarvey in 2011, and in January 2012, the McGarvey’s opened Thieves Market, a retail outlet for local crafters and artisans, antiques, and home furnishings."
Handwritten on the reverse with “By Carl R. Nicholas, Oct. 30, 1947.”
Group of people gathering along the Anaheim Halloween Festival parade route on West Center Street (now Lincoln Ave.); image shows a view of the south side of the 100 block of West Center Street (now Lincoln Ave.), with the Anaheim Theater and Victor G. Loly Jewelers store and clock in the background.
Per Richard Ferguson:
The building indeed was the Hustedt Undertakers and Furniture Makers before it became the theater.
Per Charlotte Sellers:
The Hustedt building on East Second Street, one of Seymour’s oldest and best known business blocks, has been sold to V.J. Allegro; property goes through to Third Street. The building, remodeled in recent years, was last occupied by S.F. Tower undertaking establishment. — Seymour Daily Tribune, 16 Mar 1929.
Seymour directory shows
1927: J.W. Hustedt undertaker, 109 E 2nd; C.E. Kysar, 315 N Walnut.
1931: G.C. Beatty pool & V.J. Allegro fruits, 109 E 2nd; Tower Funeral Home, 315 N Walnut
1940: Vondee at 109 E 2nd; Tower Funeral Home, 315 N Walnut
1930 and 1940 census schedules show Simon F. Tower, funeral home proprietor, at 315 N Walnut.
Richard Ferguson:
And the Victor Burkholder bought it from the Towers family. Thanks for all the info.
Per Charlotte Sellers on the If you grew up in Jackson County, Indiana you remember… Facebook page.
“Princess Theater was at 123 South Chestnut Street from about 1922 to 1932, based on listings in city directories and phone books.
It was operated as the Little Theater from about 1937 to 1944.
A 1943 update to Sanborn FIMs reported "movies not in operation.” The theater was torn down to make way for the “new” bank and drive-thru."
Hollywood Reporter piece.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-keep-new-yorks-paris-theater-open-1257882?fbclid=IwAR0VyWeaKoE9Hhyjw0YxUlkzPL3xd_9JwAryJ8JGGJscEf9rNYnq2Kd-iUY
1941 postcard added courtesy Darin Kuna.
1955 photo added courtesy Steve Betz.
Link for the show that opened circa September 1905, coincides with photo just added.
http://davecol8.tripod.com/id30.htm
Another piece with multiple photos.
https://innerstrength.zone/life/100-year-old-theater-is-turned-into-a-bookstore-and-now-we-need-to-visit/?utm_source=bwords&fbclid=IwAR1EQDbsamU83byw0of0OeOPNChk6NtqtzESCHIG8K_BbgRs2OCkCxsRzcE
Likely this one.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/309
Early `60s photo added via Mase Mason. Marquee still read Powell Theatre.
Circa 1920 postcard added courtesy Patrick Leon Asay.
5 year, 10 million dollar renovation announced.
https://thecoastal.com/culture/florida-theatre-announces-five-year-10-million-renovation-project/
Status should be Open. Live music venue, speaking engagements etc. Official Facebook page for Fischer Theatre below.
https://www.facebook.com/FischerTheatre/?tn-str=k*F
Here is the video from which the Overview photo/screen grab came from. Circle Drive-In at 3:34.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RgY2rdrauM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR035YM5MHCvjYwwy3Bjik5ZqXyHOocZmBpuSMWmbHKMtvmM7xdohty1q1w
Courtesy Traces of Texas Facebook page. Description credit Atilana Salas.
“Oh man, Traces of Texas reader Atilana Salas sent in this beautiful photo and included a story so poignant it raised a lump in ‘Ol Traces’ throat.” Says Atilana:
“Today, nothing remains of Tacho Mercado’s ‘salón de baile.’ Only its concrete foundation spread under an open sky serves to recall this dancehall from a time Concepcion, Texas enjoyed livelier days and still livelier nights.
Built in the late 1940s, my grandfather, Anastacio Mercado, initially operated a grocery/meat market/gas station/movie house enterprise from that location. He did well and prospered for a time. This boom of social and economic activity occurred before my living memory… and I’m a senior citizen.
Eventually change came to “La Chona,” a ranching and farming community in a South Texas we would not recognize today. With a shrinking economy and customer base, the movie house regretfully flickered its last feature. The grocery end of the business faded and so his shrinking inventory of sundry goods on the shelves and counters was never restocked. Demand for cuts of meat from Tacho’s well-beaten butcher block was no more. The years of plenty were behind him, but my grandfather reinvented himself and his method of livelihood as well.
The movie screen came down. Rows of wooden theatre benches were rearranged against three of the movie house’s walls and a small elevated recessed stage of sorts took shape at the south wall. Mercado’s Salón de Baile was born. Build it… and they will dance. Conjunto was king and dance they did, and often.
On many weekends my grandmother would laboriously sweep and mop that great smooth cement dance floor. Once dry, she sprinkled generous handfuls of oiled sawdust throughout the space. No sooner was she done that she then fired up the kitchen to prepare burgers, fries, sodas and other fixings for the crowd that evening. My grandparents worked long and hard. Polkas, cumbias, and huapangos dominated the dance night. In the early 1960s even the gyrating Twist found its way onto the floor of “el salón.”
From what I have been told, “los bailes” were lively events. More often than not there was fun, romance, drama, brawls, hookups, elopements, breakups and infidelities. After-wedding-get-togethers were celebrated under its corrugated steel roof. During the daylight hours of the week grandfather operated a beer joint in the former lobby of the movie house.
No air-conditioning. Long slats of wooden vents ran the length of the dancehall’s eastern and western walls for air circulation. The dancing was hot. Ladies, single or otherwise, sat along the walls. The drinking was outside amongst the men, in the night air, standing between the long hoods and heavy chrome bumpers of parked cars and pickups.
Domingo Peña frequented “el salón” in the years before he made a name for himself on Sunday mornings on the fledgling KIII television station. He was a dance promoter back then. I enjoyed the conjunto music. Late in the evening, lying on a soft bed in my grandparents' home only 60 or so paces from the source, the steady beat of poom-boom, poom-boom, poom-boom lulled me to sleep.
The last dance in el salón was hosted in 1975 with a conjunto headed up by a young Eloy de la Garza from Kingsville. He played drums. That was long ago… another time… another age."
Now THAT, dear readers, is how you write a caption for a photo! :) Thank you, Atilana. Wonderful memories!"
Refurbished sign reinstalled.
https://www.knopnews2.com/content/news/Refurbished-Fox-sign-installed-564935802.html?fbclid=IwAR0i9wbt963dW4r3a2XDDtMZ-zFaBtSbdJqj0rBy8gxbzvKgeixAmXuK0c0
1932 photo added credit Doris Clarke Patterson Collection. 1935 photo & description added credit Humboldt County Historical Society.
History researched and compiled by Bethany Sefchick. Description courtesy the Old Photos of Central Pennsylvania & Beyond Facebook page.
“History of the I.O.O.F. Building – Philipsburg, PA
Historically referred to as the I.O.O.F (International Order of Odd Fellows) Building, the brick structure known today as Thieves Market was originally constructed at the turn of the Twentieth Century by the members of I.O.O.F.’s Magnolia Lodge, No. 602, to serve the people of the Philipsburg area. A fire partially destroyed the building on October 29, 1916, but the building was rebuilt by the Odd Fellows and remained in operation as the organization’s lodge until the early 1930s. In 1935, the building reopened as the Majestic Theater with an elaborate outdoor marquee and seating for 750 patrons, providing Philipsburg with a second theater on Front Street. The Majestic remained in operation through the 1950s, with the last documented movie being shown in 1955, though local knowledge places the theater’s closure at closer to 1959-1960. Shortly after the closing of the Majestic, the building was converted into retail space for Sam’s Furniture. Sam’s was known beyond the central Pennsylvania region for keeping and utilizing the old theater marquee, replacing the old Majestic’s oversized marquee letters with ones that read “Sam’s,” and their quirky commercials that always ended with a mariachi band of marionettes. On November 29, 1982, a fire at the Ziff’s clothing stores across the street resulted in heat damage to the old Majestic marquee. When Sam’s closed in the early 1980s, the building was purchased by Mr. Charles Navasky and used as both a warehouse and shipping facility for the topcoats and tuxedos his company manufactured. During the summer of 1999, the old I.O.O.F. building, along with 254 other structures, became part of the Philipsburg Historic District, and the District as a whole was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring its preservation. In 2007, National Furniture rented the building from Mr. Navasky, converting it back into a retail space once more. After sitting vacant for a time, the building was purchased by current owners Chris and Brandi McGarvey in 2011, and in January 2012, the McGarvey’s opened Thieves Market, a retail outlet for local crafters and artisans, antiques, and home furnishings."
Link with a Fall 1981 photo credit Brad Adams.
https://www.in70mm.com/news/2009/zoot_suit/index.htm
I wonder if this was the same Hippodrome mentioned in Today in Beatles History.
http://www.macca-central.com/macca-calendar/today_beatle_history.php?nomenu
Demolished in 2013. Originally opened as Wick Theatre in 1913. Full chronological history below.
http://www.kittanningpaper.com/2013/02/26/former-theatre-part-of-demolished-rosebud-property/34259
Handwritten on the reverse with “By Carl R. Nicholas, Oct. 30, 1947.” Group of people gathering along the Anaheim Halloween Festival parade route on West Center Street (now Lincoln Ave.); image shows a view of the south side of the 100 block of West Center Street (now Lincoln Ave.), with the Anaheim Theater and Victor G. Loly Jewelers store and clock in the background.
Image – Anaheim Public Library
Additional history on the Hustedt Building.
Per Richard Ferguson: The building indeed was the Hustedt Undertakers and Furniture Makers before it became the theater. Per Charlotte Sellers: The Hustedt building on East Second Street, one of Seymour’s oldest and best known business blocks, has been sold to V.J. Allegro; property goes through to Third Street. The building, remodeled in recent years, was last occupied by S.F. Tower undertaking establishment. — Seymour Daily Tribune, 16 Mar 1929. Seymour directory shows 1927: J.W. Hustedt undertaker, 109 E 2nd; C.E. Kysar, 315 N Walnut. 1931: G.C. Beatty pool & V.J. Allegro fruits, 109 E 2nd; Tower Funeral Home, 315 N Walnut 1940: Vondee at 109 E 2nd; Tower Funeral Home, 315 N Walnut 1930 and 1940 census schedules show Simon F. Tower, funeral home proprietor, at 315 N Walnut. Richard Ferguson: And the Victor Burkholder bought it from the Towers family. Thanks for all the info.
American Classic Images link with a 2008 photo.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Search/IN283?txtSearch=Seymour+Indiana
Per Charlotte Sellers on the If you grew up in Jackson County, Indiana you remember… Facebook page.
“Princess Theater was at 123 South Chestnut Street from about 1922 to 1932, based on listings in city directories and phone books. It was operated as the Little Theater from about 1937 to 1944. A 1943 update to Sanborn FIMs reported "movies not in operation.” The theater was torn down to make way for the “new” bank and drive-thru."
Demolition of former Vondee Theatre building, photo added credit Dean Weasner.
Address is 11421 KY-805, zip is 41537. Confirmed demolished. Private home on the property today. Retail building to the left survives.