Sorry I have been absent for so long, live get in the way. I knew Gus Nestle well, and I have a number of pictures he had given me back in the 80’s. (He and my mother worked together for years at the consistory) Give me a shout, I will start going through boxes and find them. There is a great one of him and Lucy that was taken at the Palace that I remember off hand.
If I can ask what kind of project is in the works? Is there someone actually willing to put someting back into the Winter Garden? (waves is resume of 20 some years of theatre marketing and management —– blantent plug!)
Pasty and anyone else.. just posted a bunch about the Wintergarden on the palace site( You all were talking about it over there… if you have any pic you could e-mail I would be grateful!
As a teen I worked at the Wintergarden, Palace, Lakewood Drive In , Pic-17 Drive In, and the dreaded shoebox Cinema I & II at the mall. Now some thirty years later, and spending most of my life working for theatres (National Theatres, Owned my own for a while, and AMC) I am working on putting some sort of history of my “hometown” theatres up on my website, any help you could give would be great!
The Wintergarden at one point was the jewel of the theatres in Jamestown. We had a total of seven theatres in downtown Jamestown. The Wintergarden was (is) located on North Main Street between Third and Fourth Streets. As a theatre geek, I worked there in the early 80’s and yes it was in bad shape then.
In the early 60’s there was a fire that gutted the Wintergaden pretty badly. When the theatre was restored, half the balconcy was removed, and the house was simply painted, none of the ornate features were restored. The stage and pit were also removed at this time.
There is a small space under the screen where these is some storage space for the marquee letters. Now here is a trivia fact the marquee for the Wintergarden was large enough to accomidate seven rows of letters. It was a real scary thing climbing a latter and changing them, especially on the downward (the side facing Third street) as it was on a hill. In the winter it was not uncommon to see only two lines on that side of the marquee.
It is true that in its last few years of life it was in bad shape. The original red neon block two level Winter Garden sign was half out, the neon inside the marquee was dead, they even went so far as to install for spots lights to shine on the marquee. The underside of the marquee had neon that had also been removed, and the original box-office covered.
The WinterGarden died a most horrible death for a grand old lady, and today sits empty.
BTW- the seven theatres downtown? The Roosevelt, Strand, Royal, & majstic – all were in Brooklyn Square, distroyed in the early 70’s – I have no memory of them. The Palace (now the Reg Civic Center, The Allen Opera House (then Sheas Theatre and now the home of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre)
I am looking for old photos of any and all of the old theatres of my hometown, or just great old stories for my personal website (Remember I am a theatre geek) If you have them, contact me at , or post them to me via my website www.samanthakitty.com I have opened 12 “New Grand Mega-plexes” for my employer over the years, but there is “Nothing like a dame” ..
Sorry I have been absent for so long, live get in the way. I knew Gus Nestle well, and I have a number of pictures he had given me back in the 80’s. (He and my mother worked together for years at the consistory) Give me a shout, I will start going through boxes and find them. There is a great one of him and Lucy that was taken at the Palace that I remember off hand.
If I can ask what kind of project is in the works? Is there someone actually willing to put someting back into the Winter Garden? (waves is resume of 20 some years of theatre marketing and management —– blantent plug!)
Hey Patsy!!!! Hope all is well with you as well!
Bob
Pasty and anyone else.. just posted a bunch about the Wintergarden on the palace site( You all were talking about it over there… if you have any pic you could e-mail I would be grateful!
As a teen I worked at the Wintergarden, Palace, Lakewood Drive In , Pic-17 Drive In, and the dreaded shoebox Cinema I & II at the mall. Now some thirty years later, and spending most of my life working for theatres (National Theatres, Owned my own for a while, and AMC) I am working on putting some sort of history of my “hometown” theatres up on my website, any help you could give would be great!
Thanks!
Bob
www.samanthakitty.com
The Wintergarden at one point was the jewel of the theatres in Jamestown. We had a total of seven theatres in downtown Jamestown. The Wintergarden was (is) located on North Main Street between Third and Fourth Streets. As a theatre geek, I worked there in the early 80’s and yes it was in bad shape then.
In the early 60’s there was a fire that gutted the Wintergaden pretty badly. When the theatre was restored, half the balconcy was removed, and the house was simply painted, none of the ornate features were restored. The stage and pit were also removed at this time.
There is a small space under the screen where these is some storage space for the marquee letters. Now here is a trivia fact the marquee for the Wintergarden was large enough to accomidate seven rows of letters. It was a real scary thing climbing a latter and changing them, especially on the downward (the side facing Third street) as it was on a hill. In the winter it was not uncommon to see only two lines on that side of the marquee.
It is true that in its last few years of life it was in bad shape. The original red neon block two level Winter Garden sign was half out, the neon inside the marquee was dead, they even went so far as to install for spots lights to shine on the marquee. The underside of the marquee had neon that had also been removed, and the original box-office covered.
The WinterGarden died a most horrible death for a grand old lady, and today sits empty.
BTW- the seven theatres downtown? The Roosevelt, Strand, Royal, & majstic – all were in Brooklyn Square, distroyed in the early 70’s – I have no memory of them. The Palace (now the Reg Civic Center, The Allen Opera House (then Sheas Theatre and now the home of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre)
I am looking for old photos of any and all of the old theatres of my hometown, or just great old stories for my personal website (Remember I am a theatre geek) If you have them, contact me at , or post them to me via my website www.samanthakitty.com I have opened 12 “New Grand Mega-plexes” for my employer over the years, but there is “Nothing like a dame” ..