The Oriental Theater was built and managed by my grandfather, Emil Winograd, his brother Mike, and relative Sam Oklin. As my late father, Leonard Winograd, told the story, it was built in a town of seven thousand people, during the Depression, when Sunday movies were against the law. The theater was done in a combined Chinese and Hindu motif. The sky was the model for the ceiling, with not only constellations of twinkling lights, but also a moon and moving clouds projected onto the blue sky-like ceiling. There were large Buddhas and palm trees everywhere. The architect designed special carpeting and seats. It was one of the first theaters designed with air conditioning in mind. The wall fixtures were black bronze imported from Spain, and the lounge furniture was imported Italian walnut. As my father put it, “in addition to the sky-blue ceiling with stars, moon, and clouds, there was a big mortgage over the entire building.”
The Oriental Theater was built and managed by my grandfather, Emil Winograd, his brother Mike, and relative Sam Oklin. As my late father, Leonard Winograd, told the story, it was built in a town of seven thousand people, during the Depression, when Sunday movies were against the law. The theater was done in a combined Chinese and Hindu motif. The sky was the model for the ceiling, with not only constellations of twinkling lights, but also a moon and moving clouds projected onto the blue sky-like ceiling. There were large Buddhas and palm trees everywhere. The architect designed special carpeting and seats. It was one of the first theaters designed with air conditioning in mind. The wall fixtures were black bronze imported from Spain, and the lounge furniture was imported Italian walnut. As my father put it, “in addition to the sky-blue ceiling with stars, moon, and clouds, there was a big mortgage over the entire building.”