Comments from Ryunkin

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Ryunkin
Ryunkin commented about U.S. Theatre on Dec 11, 2004 at 12:27 pm

Hey Moviekid;

Sorry for the delay, but do you remember Harry himself? A stocky, balding, middle-aged guy (in the late 40s, early 50s) who always wore a white tee shirt. He had hairy arms and packed meat paddies as he talked to the customers. I also remember a guy in a zoot suit who seemed to be playing the pinball machine every time I walked in the place. I also saw the first automobile that ever excited me outside his luncheonette. I believe in was a Metropolitan and seemed to be the right size for a four year old to drive. Been in love with small cars ever since.

Ryunkin
Ryunkin commented about U.S. Theatre on Sep 23, 2004 at 6:54 pm

When I was a kid there were 7 movie theatres in Paterson. The US, the Fabian, the Garden, the Rivoli, the Plaza, the Majestic, and the Regent.

Because I moved from the city when I was 6 years old, my recollections are those of a child. For example: I loved the Regent because it had colorful life-saver-shaped lights on the walls. The Rivoli had that magnificent fountain in the upstairs lobby. The Fabian was huge and classy. The Garden was my least favorite because I don’t remember anything outstanding about it. The Majestic was considered the black theater and whites never went in. The Plaza reminded me of a suburban theater. The US was a theater that I remember mostly because I saw She Wore a Yellow Ribbon in it, and they seemed to play a lot Fred Astaire and Randolph Scott pictures.

Since I am trying to find anything I can that shows how beautiful the business section of the city was in the late 40s, I am looking for photos of Paterson during it’s architectural heyday. Incidentally, a lot of the most visually pleasing buildings, such as Our Lady of Victories and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Smith Street, to name two, were built in the 40s. In particular, the theaters, Myer Brothers, Quakenbush’s, WT Grant’s, Woolworth’s, Kreske’s, Chas. W. Elbow’s, the Port Arthur’s, Lower Main Street, north of Barney’s, the Silk City Drug Store, MR. Peanut, Sears on Market, Harry’s lunchenette on W. Broadway, the Republican Club, and a little bar that used to be across from the Fabian theatre. Ryunkin at