Comments from Shakerboy

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Shakerboy
Shakerboy commented about Vogue Theatre on Jun 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm

I worked for Sylvia at the Vogue for about ten years. The theater opened in 1947 with the film Stallion Road starring Zachary Scott, Alexis Smith and Ronald Reagan. Photos from the opening hung in the office. The screen was replaced with a larger screen in the 1950’s forcing the removal of some seats reducing capacity to 1402. We saw several sell out crowds in the 1970’s for runs of Murder On The Orient Express and Young Frankenstein. The theater was heated by a massive coal burning furnace during it’s entire existence. We fed the furnace, pulled the ashes (and klinkers), kept the bulbs going and painted the massive marquee when it needed it. We hauled film up and downstairs when the dumbwaiter wasn’t working as projectionists were not allowed by union rules. Sylvia was a tough but always fair task master. She ran the place on a shoestring budget for RKO out of New York. Our sister Houses were The Colony at Shaker Square and The Great Northern in North Olmstead. Sylva’s husband, Irv was always a gentleman and taught me many useful skills as we worked to keep the theater in repair. I remember Sylvia and Irv fondly wishing them and their family well. TS