Also – in the final years, I remember the theater having “bingo nights.” You’d get a paper bingo slip (I think they came with the purchase of your ticket), and theater manager would call the numbers on stage, prior to curtain time, or perhaps between double-features.
Thanks so much for posting the article, the photos, etc., everyone. I do indeed remember this theater. Remember going to see “The Great Escape” there, Frankie & Annette, Vincent Price, Peter Sellers, and finally “Mary Poppins.” I was only in grade school when it closed, but the memories are indeliable. I remember the concession stand was actually inside the theater itself. It was like a small open hut. Next to it was a soda machine, that dispensed the soda into a paper cup. You had to drink the soda, before you took your seat. Tickets were purchased outside at the ticket window. You then proceeded inside, up the carpeted hallway (it seemed long to me, but it probably wasn’t), gave the usher your ticket, then went straight ahead through the doors. There, directly in front of you, was the concession stand. To go to seats, you simply turned left and walked until you would make a right down one of the aisles. We always seemed to sit all the way to the farthest left aisle. Never got to use the balcony. The stairs for that were just off the entrance hallway.
Thanks again!
…from the Pittsburgh Press theater ads, it appears that the last feature, “Mary Poppins,” was on August 15, 1965.
Also – in the final years, I remember the theater having “bingo nights.” You’d get a paper bingo slip (I think they came with the purchase of your ticket), and theater manager would call the numbers on stage, prior to curtain time, or perhaps between double-features.
Thanks so much for posting the article, the photos, etc., everyone. I do indeed remember this theater. Remember going to see “The Great Escape” there, Frankie & Annette, Vincent Price, Peter Sellers, and finally “Mary Poppins.” I was only in grade school when it closed, but the memories are indeliable. I remember the concession stand was actually inside the theater itself. It was like a small open hut. Next to it was a soda machine, that dispensed the soda into a paper cup. You had to drink the soda, before you took your seat. Tickets were purchased outside at the ticket window. You then proceeded inside, up the carpeted hallway (it seemed long to me, but it probably wasn’t), gave the usher your ticket, then went straight ahead through the doors. There, directly in front of you, was the concession stand. To go to seats, you simply turned left and walked until you would make a right down one of the aisles. We always seemed to sit all the way to the farthest left aisle. Never got to use the balcony. The stairs for that were just off the entrance hallway. Thanks again!