7th Street Theatre

Hello,
I am commenting about the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam, I was really upset and hurt when adventuring this information. My great-great grandfather Olaf Taylor an architect, was the planner and helped built this magnificent piece of art. If you don't believe me look anywhere, I think you need to research more before saying anything, Olaf Taylor designed this building in the early 1900's and spent a great deal of money into it as well, please add this information to who this architect is , because it truly hurt me and my family to find that his name isn't even named as what he did, and for your information his name is in big print labeled as the architect inside the building and also in front of the building. If you have any questions please e-mail me back I'll be glad to answer any one might have. Thank you for your time

The 7th St was built for Ed Dolan of D&R Theaters Inc. Construction was in 1928. The theater is vertually intact with the only changes over the years being carpet and stage drapery. The original lobby furnishings are all gone except for 1 red spanish styled sofa. The lobby is beautifull with many wood beams and muraled cieling. The auditorium walls resemble spanish garden walls and the night sky above. The seating capacity is 1000. The house lights are hidden on the top of the garden walls. The original lighting system would re-create the setting sun with the lighting going from white thru yellow, orange, red then to soft blue to simulate night. There was originally a pipe organ to accompany the silent films and vaudeville was also presented on a regular basis. There is a large stage house and many dressing rooms. In speaking to one of the old projectionists I learned that, during the 1920's they would sometimes show the same film at both the D&R in Aberdeen and the 7th St. To accomplish this they would start the film at the D&R then as each reel of film would end they would give it to an employee to drive it to Hoquiam to the 7th St., as long as there were no traffic problems or any bridges going up for river boats the film would arrive just in time and the audience would be none the wiser. Scary! The theater is thankfully today being restored as there is a lot of damage from water. The roof has been replaced along with many of the buildings systems. Films are again being shown at the 7th St. along with live performances. Hoquiam has a fine piece of movie history.

I was forced to stay overnight at a ratty motel there in 1981.No cable in the flee-bitten hole,so I went to the theater.What a treat!This place was/is a real gem,especially considering the size of the town.I think it was Bear Island I saw.

Old & newer photos:
http://www.pstos.org/instruments/wa/hoquiam/7th-street.htm

The theater is now equipped with Dolby Digital sound for movies.

The restoration is coming along, all of the projection equipment has been replaced along with the stage lighting. The theater is working at getting the auditorium cieling re-plastered as there are many large holes due to prior roof leaks. Also they are looking at replacing the original seating and new carpet. The old seating is all wood except for 2 rows of loge seats and the water did a lot of damage. The old carpet is thread bare, in some places held togather with duct tape. It all takes time and money. When they are finished this will be a very nice and comfortable performance venue.

You mean they replaced all the projection equipment I installed for them two years ago? We put in Simplex XL projector, Simplex SH-1000 soundhead, Strong X60c (3000 watts) lamphouse & power supply, Simplex pedestal, SPECO platter and a Dolby CP50 sound system. This was all the equipment they purchased from the Liberty Theater in Puyallup, Washington. I know they traded in the CP-50 system for a brand new Dolby Digital setup. They had bought all that other projection equipment and had me install it for them. They have idiots running the projection booth so it wouldn't surprise me if they damaged/ruined something. I told them years ago they needed new seating ASAP. The seats they have now are literally falling apart and hard as rocks. Bad seating drives away many customers and they never tell you about it.

The "new" equipment I was referring to is the equipment you installed. Which is new compared to the Simplex e7, RCA photophone soundheads and Peerless Magna-Arc lamphouses I used when I was a projectionist there in the early 1980's. They now also have a real projectionist, Mark Richey, who is trying to teach the people who run the theater what showing a movie is all about. Mark ran the D&R booth for many years befor it closed. The 7th street staff saw no need for screen masking, or using the curtain. There is a contigent at the 7th street who feel the theater should be a live venue only and movies are treated as 2nd class.

The E-7's that were there are now in a private screening room in Wisconsin and they've been completely rebuilt & painted to brand new condition.

When I installed that "new" (to them) equipment at the 7th Street, it looked like it was one of those 'left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing' groups. Nobody knew what was going on and they carved a huge picture window in the projection booth front wall. Light gets out everywhere in the auditorium when running movies now. Nobody knew how to run a projector, let alone the platter. Perhaps they will see the 'light' and learn what real movies & showmanship is all about. Movies can be an important part of keeping the doors open. If people get a bad presentation they'll never come back. They'll certainly tell their friends of the bad experience too.

People in Hoquiam want this theater to succeed ... but mostly as a home for live shows. And that's too bad. As Ken says, I wish they could "see the light" about what a good movie theater can be. As the posts on the Cinema Treasures sites for the Aberdeen and the D & R point out, there's a huge void for movie lovers in the Grays Harbor area. (Well, there are a lot of voids in a lot of areas in the Grays Harbor region, but I won't get started on that ...) It would be a blessing if the 7th Street could be used for both live shows and movies, and it sounds like maybe there are some steps being taken to improve that balance. YAY!

I'm glad to hear that the E7's are being used while they were very old they were good machines. I have the original manuals for those proj. heads and all the equip used at the 7th st. D&R, Aberdeen and Harbor Drive-In. As for the 7th st. "seeing the light" there are those who are trying to improve things but it is an uphill battle. As Katie stated the people who run the theater have good intentions but they are not "Theater people" and that is the big chalange. But things are getting better although there have been some serious errors made in how things have been done at the 7th st. ie: the large hole in the booth wall.

Was at the 7th St last week for a screening of North by Northwest, great movie in a great theater. Things are getting better, but they have a long way to go. Although it is good to see people coming out for movies there again. They have a very good picture and sound, especially their SCOPE picture.

I was at the 7th st again and want to report that the old projection equipment that was removed is still at the 7th st. The Simplex E7 projectors, RCA Photophone soundheads and the Perlees Mac-n-Arc lamps have not been sold and are in storage in the theater. One complete projector is set up and on display in the lobby. It brings back a lot of fond memories as I enjoyed using that equipment and others like it in the other Harbor theaters. I have always felt that the old manual way of projecting a movie was preferable to the modern automation. The old way allowed for a little showmanship, automation generally doesn't. I've done both, and find platters and automation to be rather souless.

Just visited the 7th st again and took them about an hours worth of old previews most of which were for films dating from 1976 to 1990. They like to show older previews before the film and were having trouble finding material. Also included some old service announcements and daters, some of them dating from the 1950's thru the 1980's. Things are coming along nicely, the place is looking better all the time. I do feel that they should be showing more films when the theater is dark with no live shows booked, but these things take time. All in all just being open is good.

Ron:

I know for a fact that at least one of those E-7's went to Wisconsin as I helped load it into the car. We stripped some good parts off one of the carbon arc lamphouses and took those parts too. They had one complete E-7 setup in the lobby.

Yes I asked about the projectors and was told that 1 of the e-7's was gone. The person I spoke with did not know where it had gone to, just that it was no longer in the theater. I did not know that parts were taken off the other lamphouse that is in storage. I am curious why they let one of the projector heads go along with parts from the peerless mag-n-arc. Will have to inquire as to there motive.

That machine and the lamphouse parts were partial payment (along with some money) by the 7th St to me and my friend the late Paul Thompson in exchange for us installing their 'new' projection equipment in their theater. This was authorized by Matt Hershfelder at the theater.

Thanks, just curious. Was also wondering why the new projection and view windows were cut into the booth. I would have thought that the updated projection equipment could have been installed using the old ports and preserving the original look of the booth. I have seen many restored theaters that have installed newer equipment and not altered the outward appearance of the auditorium. Those working in the booth also wonder why the original console was removed. It housed the switches for the curtain and masking motors as well as the lighting controls. I know the dimmers did not work and needed restoring but I think that cleaning and some new brushes would have done the job. The picture is very nice and the sound is excellent when a modern film is shown, taking full advantage of the stereo and surround.

The stage show 'faction' of the group carved up the wall of the projection booth because they wanted to make it their "lighting and computer control" booth. Now with that huge picture window in that front wall all kinds of noise and extreneous light get out in the audience.

a-men to that, the only problem now is that they don't want to use the booth. They have their lighting board set-up in the middle of the auditorium and there are those who don't think they should have to move it. Some think that the paying audience should work around the crew not the other way. But there are a few people who are trying to get things set up correctly.

Seventh Street Theater ** (added 1987 - Building - #87001334)
313 Seventh St., Hoquiam
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Huntington & Torbitt, Griffin,Edwin St. John
Architectural Style: Renaissance, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture, Work In Progress
Current Sub-function: Theater

OK I've just been to the 7th st and took a look at thier $90,000.00 sound system, and their new light and sound booth. What a huge screw up! First I don't know what they were thinking putting the booth in the middle of the auditorium for everyone to see and second they got TOOK on the system! This is a Historic building and their has been NO restoration of any of the public area's. The new dressing rooms are very nice but that does not bring in an audience. The price of the sound system would have re-plastered the cieling. The carpet is in pieces being held together with duct tape and there isn't even Hot water in the restrooms! (No hot water heater) This is an atmospheric theater and now there are 7 large black JBL speakers hanging from the cieling (Sky). Not to mention they have totaly screwed the movie sound by running everything thru the new amps and having the movie sound come out of the cieling in an effort to eliminate the back stage speakers! Their movie's make them money and their live performances lose money, people complain that it's cold inside because the NEW heating system does not work properly and the list goes on and on. The Parks dept said not to alter the theater and so did a couple of architects, but the egoes in charge just don't want to listen! I have 20 years in theater operations and the direction that the 7th st is heading in is nothing short of criminal. Yes the roof was replaced and some of the main wiring but there is so much that needs to be done spending $90K on an unneeded 40 channel sound system was wrong. I've also been told that there is a good chance that this system is so large that it will prove to be worthless in this building. The 7th st has naturally occuring perfect accoustics, a person talking on stage can be heard in the last row with almost no amplification. Hoquiam has one of the few remaining intact atmospheric movie theatres. This is especially true because this theatre is located in a very small town yet it has never been remodeled and even has the original seats. The only changes have been projection equip. carpet and stage drapes. All the experts who have viewed the place say that it should be preserved as an example of a small town theatre dating from 1928. And any moderizations should be done in a way that the public spaces are not compromised. Unfortunatly this is not what's happening! At some point all these things can be undone but it always costs more to put things back, especially when the changes being made are unnessesary. If it ain't broke don't "fix" it.

Ron:

Did they move the projectors too? Or are they still in the original projection booth? Sounds to me like the 'faction' that wanted stage shows must have won out over the calmer heads that wanted movies done right. I've been squaking for several years that they need to fix the ceiling and do something about those "hard-as-a-rock" seats!

The acoustics there were already fine without a $90,000 sound system. Have you heard the rumbling from the new HVAC unit on the roof? When it's running it reverberates throughout the whole auditorium. Sounds just like somebody running a Coleman generator inside the building.

It's a pity that a nice place like this is being ruined by incompetence.

Also, the bathrooms are sorely neglected and really in need of major repairs.

Ken: Yes I've heard the HVAC on the roof, their was no problem when the theatre was heated with steam, and you are right that the people who want stage shows are calling the shots. One of the problems with the 7th st in reguards to stage shows is that the stage house is to small. Most old theaters that have been re-opened as performing art centers have enlarged their stage houses. If this is what they want to do they need to tear down the back wall of the stage and build out on the vacant property behind the theatre. (They already own the extra land). This would double the size of the stage and allow for modern stage productions. (The Paramount in Seattle did this). As the theatre now stands their audience is dwindling and the place will eventually close again with the asumption that Hoquiam can not sustain a historic arts center. I feel that this is NOT true but there needs to be a drastic change in attitudes at the 7th st. Upgrading the working end of the operation is important but customer comforts come first! And to answer your other question, no they did not move the projection equip.

I agree 100% Ron.

Ron, the next time you are at the 7th St Theatre, please talk to one of the board members to find out about all of the projects that in the works at the theatre. It's unfortunate that the majority of completed projects are ones the general public doesn't get to see (new roof, new dressing rooms), but we are presently securing grants and other funding to replace the stage rigging and flywalks, reupholster and refurbish almost 1,000 "rock hard" seats, replace the carpeting, fix the "atmospheric" ceiling (as well as getting all of the twinkling stars working again), and yes, we will soon have two insta heat water heaters in the restrooms. You are incorrect to say the attendance is dwindling. It has been increasing, and more and more people are coming to watch classic movies, eat popcorn with real butter, and feel like they are watching a movie outdoors. The theatre is a work in progress, with a lot of dedicated volunteers. All it takes is money. Not everyone is happy with the new sound system, but it will be a benefit to the live arts, and we are striving to have the best facility we can for both live arts and movies.

Lane Youmans:

Why are the movie speakers NOT behind the screen? Why was a huge picture window cut into the front wall of the projection booth?

Those seats don't need reupholstering, they need to be replaced with new seats with cupholders. You would be surprised that people don't tell you about bad seats---they just never come back.

Ken, The sound system is new, and we're working on returning all three speakers behind the screen and resolving Dolby surround issues. The picture windows were cut into the booth for sound and light controls, but it was determined by sound experts to be a poor choice. The windows can (and most probably will) be filled in. The 7th St. is a historical theatre, and we are trying very hard to maintain that look and feel, so if you are looking for a cup holder, go to the mall cinema.

Ken, The sound system is new, and we're working on returning all three speakers behind the screen and resolving Dolby surround issues. The picture windows were cut into the booth for sound and light controls, but it was determined by sound experts to be a poor choice. The windows can (and most probably will) be filled in. The 7th St. is a historical theatre, and we are trying very hard to maintain that look and feel, so if you are looking for a cup holder, go to the mall cinema.

All your movie sound should be running through the CP-500 and QSC amplifiers you got from Scott Hicks. Movie sound should never be patched through a mixing board. With as few movie showings you do, they should have kept the original two projector setup and not gotten a platter.

We've been discussing the situation with A.C.E. to seperate the two systems. Live arts and movies can't run through the same exact system, and we hope to resolve the problem shortly. I realize some people dislike the platter system, but we have one, and are able to show classic movies and people keep coming back. It was mentioned in an earlier post about how small the seats are. There are actually three different sized seats in the 7th St. The largest are the loge seats at the top of the lower section. The Miss Grays Harbor/ Miss Pacific Coast pagent was held at the theatre last weekend, and every seat was filled.

Ken, What "major repairs" for the restrooms are you talking about? All of the fixtures work (with the exception of hot water, but that will be fixed soon). There are brand new paper towel and toilet paper dispensers, the paint is fine, no holes in the walls or floor, etc. Give me a list of complaints, and we'll fix what we can. There has been some discussion about installing some type of table for diaper changing, but that's the only change I know of. We also have a recently installed handicap accessible restroom down by the stage.

Lane Youmans.
I'm sorry if I sounded bitchy when I wrote about the new sound system but the fact remains that the speakers are hanging from the cieling where they don't belong. This is an atmospheric theater and the cieling is an illusion of the sky, go look outside, there arn't speakers hanging from the clouds. Also I know that the new light and sound booth was put where it is based on the people on the board and the company in Olympia that sold you the system. And the booth is in a place where the customers have to sit around it. The comfort of the techs who run the shows is of the last importance. The audience should come first. The booth should be located at the top of the balcony or directly in front of the projection booth! There by no one would have to sit behind it. Yes you need new rigging for the stage, and the newly cleaned up dressing rooms are nice, but that does not sell tickets. A clean comfortable evenly heated theater does. As far as the movie sound, why did the company from Olympia even mess with the movie sound in the first place? It is OK to have 2 separate systems, now you have to go back and try to fix what wasn't broke to begin with. I know that your movie audience is growing and this part of your programing is making money. Thats a good thing, but there needs to be a little more sensetivity with reguards to the alterations to the theater, so many little things have been done that are not in keeping with the historic fabric of the 7th st. I wish you all the best but so far I see a lot of good and a lot of bad. By the way their are several nationaly known companys who specialize in building restorations including theaters. Why not gather up all the grants and other monies that you can and hire one of these companys to come in and restore the theatre. This will also include updating the mechanical systemns, there by getting the job done all at once and correctly instead of doing it piecemeal.

Getting everything fixed at the same time, rather than piecemeal, would be perfect, but that's not how the grant money comes in (if you know of any million dollar grants, please let me know). The dressing rooms had to be redone first. They were in terrible shape, and what performer would want to use them? The roof was also a priority and had to be taken care of. The riggings are 80 years old, and it should have been changed 30 years ago, so it is a safety factor. After that is completed, our full focus will be on the auditorium, seats redone and new carpeting, then the ceiling will be replastered. I know that some people are unhappy about the ceiling mounted speakers and the location of the sound booth, but the experts said this was what we needed for the best live performance sound. It is done, and at some time in the future, it could be undone. As I said earlier, our concern is seperating the two sound systems, and the people at A.C.E. will help us do that so that we can deliver the best Dolby sound. As for the heat, it just has to be turned on early enough so the heat hits the lower section. It's a balancing act, as the heating bill can reach $2,000 during the winter months. We're working on a system that will channel the heat from the top of the balcony to the front row, using the exsisting heat ducts.

I am with the Miss Grays Harbor/Miss Pacific Coast Scholarship Program. We recently held our annual pageant at the 7th Street Theatre and not only did we sell out every seat but we turned people away at the door. It was wonderful to see the theatre full again. We were pleased with the updated dressing rooms, the sound and lights and the overall attitude of the board members. I know they are working diligently to find grants for new stage rigging and updated seats and carpet are in the works as well. Rome was not built in a day and all good things take time.

I totally agree that the work done on the dressing rooms and roof and wiring were absolutly nessesary. I also agree that the stage rigging needs to be replaced, and the carpet and the seating needs to be restored. These are all GOOD things that have been done or are going to be done to help save the 7th st. As I have stated many times the things that I have problems with are when changes are being made to a significant historical structure with out first exploring how to make the changes invisible. Sometimes things can not be avoided, but more often than not updates can be made that maybe are a little more difficult to use by the staff but the benifit is that they are invisible to the general public. The behind the scenes should be 21st century but the public spaces should be 1928. The audience should NEVER see the inner workings of the theater. They should be transported back to 1928 as if in a time capsule. This is the basic premise of historic restoration. Looking at many historic buildings that have been restored, some done all at once and some done a little at a time, the best ones are those that have sucessfully hidden all the modern updates. The only exception is restrooms. People generally want modern clean restrooms. I see the 7th st is trying to do the best that they can with the funds that are available but there are some things that are just not in keeping with a 1928 movie theater. I have already stated what those are previously. Also any time any theater sells out a show of any kind this is a GREAT thing. I'm not trying to be negative but just want those in charge to stop and really take a look at what they are doing before they do it. And to always keep in mind the look and feel of the theater. Circa 1928.

Ron, Your opinion is duly noted. As I have said before, we are trying our best to maintain that circa 1928 look. Does your Lynwood theatre look like it did in 1936?

To answer your question about the Lynwood, yes and no. The second owners Glen and Lucille Nolta who owned the theater from 1950 untill 1982 made changes to the auditorium in 1953 to acomodate Cinema Scope. They tore out the entire stage area and rebuilt it so wide screen presentations could be shown. The Lynwood does have the original wall covering and lighting in the auditorium and the general layout is the same but that is about all. We are always adding 1930's elements to the theater to bring the feeling back. The 7th street is very lucky that basicly nothing was changed from the time of construction. You have a rare gem that was not cobbled up during it's life. The 1950's were especially bad for a lot of theaters with reguards to remodels.

I agree.

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/04/20/local_news/02news.txt

The Daily World (Aberdeen, Washington) Friday April 20, 2007 has reported that 7th Street theater board member Matt Hirschfelder has been arrested & charged with (allegedly) having sex with a minor girl. Seattle television station KING-TV5 also reported this story live at the top of their 5 o'clock afternoon news show from Hoquiam.

For those of you who read the above post and didn't bother to click on the link to the article that appeared in the Daily World, let me set the record straight. Matt Herschfelder, who was the choir director at Hoquiam High School, is alleged to have had sex with an 18 year old student at the high school, NOT AT THE THEATRE. Matt also happens to be a member of the 7th St Theatre board. Ken Layton's post suggests that a board member is having sex with minors at the theatre, and that is not true. I thought this web site was for people to discuss their experiences at theatres, but Ken wants to turn it into a gossip column. Shame on you ken.

He has posted the above article on bigscreenbiz and Cinematour sites too. He has not posted it to FilmTech yet.

William, Thank you! I had never heard of those sites. I see that I'll have to register and keep an eye on those sites as well. There are so many volunteers working hard to make the 7th St. a success, a place where you can have a movie experience, rather than just going to the mall cinema and watching a movie. It's a shame that some people use these public sites as their personal bitch box.

I agree, Ken was way out of line to bring up the above item as it has nothing to do with the 7th St. or theaters in general.

Lane, you need to be careful with the theatre's acoustics. When it was built, it had the natural amplification built into it's construction and changing any of the design, material, or dimensions could also alter the acoustics. Remember the Merilee Rush & Three Dog Night concerts there? I was standing outside directly across the street and the first song came on. It was LOUD! People were rushing outside holding their hands over their ears. Inside, the band on stage complained their monitors were not loud enough. That was caused by the buildings acoustics amplifying the sound and projecting it to the audience. You need an acoustics expert, someone who deals in engineering live sound to properly fit a system for it. I agree that the movie sound and live sound should be two seperate systems. They are like comparing apples/oranges. For live concert/musical productions I would strongly recommend the following:
1. In-The-Ear monitors. Musicians and singers all have a different preference for monitor loudness during live performances. You can tailor them for each performer. You also do not run into the problem of the monitor sound mixing with the live sound and being bounced back out to the audience. I'm not talking about feed-back, but the differences of the same sound from two different sources traveling at different times causing a phase problem which can result in "dead spots" and different tonal preception. Plus, you don't have those ugly floor monitors cluttering up your stage floor.
2. Your sound board & engineer need to be located in the theatre, probably directly in front of the projection room if that is possible. He needs some sort of partition, but not a "booth" because he needs to hear the sound, as it is in the theatre, not inside an accoustic booth over JBL Studio monitors, as that does not match the sound that is going on in the theatre! He can however, use headphones to reference and process input sound that is being used to record the performance, as well as cue up any sound effects that are being used in a play or program production.
3. Make sure your sound board is big enough to handle any programs you intend to do. At The Church of Living Water in Olympia, I thought a 56 channel Soundcraft board was a huge dinosaur. It was overwhelming at first, until we used almost every channel during our Christmas production with plays, and singers and a band.
4. Consult an audio engineer for your speaker placement. Perhaps you could get them off of the ceiling and off to the side, maybe hide them behind some planters, flowers, incorporate them better. A competent audio engineer who knows his live acoustics could make a spectrogram analysis of the theatre's acoustics and target speaker placement.

Remember, keep long term goals in mind. I'd love to help you, but I moved to Chicago 3 years ago. There were some experts working the sound system at The Church of Living Water, you might ask Val Gonzales to locate any of them.

Oh, I almost forgot. Dehumidifiers for the stage/backstage area would help. I remember the place smelling musty and some of the singers complained. It might help if the heat isn't on all of the time.

Cruiser--The sound booth is actually located above the horizontal aisle at the center bottom of the balcony. It fits in very well with the interior and many people don't even notice it. We have a 40-channel Allen & Heath mixing console. Pictures are available on our website, newsletter, or if you use the email link on our website and ask for pictures, I can email you some. We had a professional sound engineer install the system and we are extremely pleased with it as it works extremely well with the natural acoustics. Regarding musty smells -- we keep the heat at a constant 55 degrees and it's not a problem any longer. The theatre has had a new roof in 2003 and exterior sealing is ongoing, which helps reduce the moisture. Thanks for your input.

There are great photo's of this theater in all it's incarnations at www.jonesphotocollection.com be shur to search using different spellings for "theater" and "theatre" as there are many different photo's and they do not all pull up at once.

Thanks for the update. I remembered that in the 1980's I came across several people who would swear the theater was haunted. Bob Brawley and others who were in the building restoring the 7th Street Sweet Shop, would tell me that they thought either someone was living inside the theatre, or there was a mischievous ghost. When they would come to work in the morning, they would find their ladders, paint, brushes, and tools either missing or scattered away from where they left them. Sometimes Items would go missing for some time, only to turn up somewhere else (the dressing rooms were mentioned) or back where they belonged. I remember there being all kinds of trap doors (one really creepy one in the midst of seats ahead of the projection room) and crawl spaces all over in there. It was a nightmare to search, and when I worked at the Police Dept as a Reserve, I found my share of open doors there. Almost every time we searched it, we would swear that someone was near the stage area. We were extra careful as I believe the coin shop next door was burglarized one time by the suspect breaking into the ticket booth and gaining entry thru a crawl space into the coin shop. During our searches, we never found anyone, but like our Sergeant always told us, it was impossible to completely clear. The only tragic thing that I could remember occuring there, a young male teenager lost his life in the narrow alley between the theater and the old Veteran's Building next door. A crowd was waiting for a movie there and the kid climbed up the fire escape. I don't remember if he fell or if the fire escape broke as this was the 1960's, but the movie was cancelled and my firends and I ended up walking home in the rain.

Cruiser95fm: I have heard noises in the theatre when I'm there alone, but I've always thought it was just the usual creeks and groans from an old building. I've never noticed anything missing or moved before, but I'll have to pay closer attention. In 1969, 16 year old Paul Miller was climbing on the fire escape of the VFW building, which is across the alley from the theatre, when a portion of the ladder collapsed and Paul was killed. Paul was a friend of mine, and perhaps he is letting people know that he is still around.

As an outsider to The 7th Street Theatre, I recently had chance to see the place. My initial response of seeing the grandeur of this treasure was, "My word, what an exqui- . . . WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE DOING THERE?" Who in heaven's name would mount huge JBL speakers in the sky? It certainly destroys the illusion of an atmospheric theater!

As future improvements come down the pike for this exquisite theater, my hope is that the powers-that-be keep in check those neanderthals who only see what task they have at hand with absolutely no regard to the asthetics of this historic gem. Get a second opinion from another set of "experts" before allowing a goon squad to destroy your atmospheric qualities. There will always be SOMEBODY who can appreciate your unique theatre while providing your needed services.

Best of luck with your ceiling repairs and repainting. This will enhance the 7th Street even more. Once completed, the effect will stun everyone who comes thru your front doors.

A note about your seats: The seats themselves have lost their spring and comfort capabilties. They need replaced - also because today's posterior is larger than those fannies from the 1920's. If you were to contact the original manufacturer [and several are still in business, like Irwin Seating Company], they would send someone out to see your theatre and propose overhauling your seats - in the same style & using those wonderful iron end plates - into something more plush and comfortable . . . all the while using your original seat design. You would lose some seating capability with the wider seat cushions, but would that affect your overall box office draw going from 1,000 seats to 850?

My last suggestion would be to replace the dingy fabric on the back walls and on front of the projector booth with a lovely new wall fabric available to theaters today. This fabric is almost carpet-like in its appearance and comes in a LOT of colors. You could find one that most fits the decor of the 7th Street, and best of all, it's fairly affordable. It goes up with glue, has a textured appearance, is virtually undamagable by human hands, and provides the sound dampening effect you need back there. And it looks great. If you'd like to know what fabric I'm talking about, let me know and I'll research it for you.

You guys have a real jewel in the 7th Street Theatre, and you should be commended for the hard work and dedication you put into the place. To my mind, the 7th Street Theatre rivals Seattle's Paramount and 5th Avenue Theaters. I hope one day to see it in all its original splendour.

I did'nt write this, the above comment was writen by TJ Faddis who just happened to be using my computer and the site was signed on in my name. She didn't see my sign on when she wrote the above comment.

The long comment posted on Aug 29, 2007 was written by me. This is what happens when a Mac person tries to use a PC.

Was in the 7th st. on 10/30 for the "In the Mood" 1940's big Band show and what a treat! There was a very large audience, almost capacity, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was nice to see an historic theatre with a house full of people!

The 7th Street has its original Wurlitzer organ back after many decades! The organ is in the theatre but won't be completely installed until other restoration work on the theatre can be completed.

>^..^<

I am a student at Hoquiam HIgh School and have been involved with the 7th street theatrea (including 7th street kids) for many years. I TOTALLY agree with everyone about the huge speakers. they are so worried about remodeling the place, yet they spend so much money on an unneeded sound system.I have to say that im not to fond of many of the people in charge, and that we need to get new people who actually know what they are doing on the board. I may only be a highscooler, BUT i do know ALOT about theatre and how things should be run. As for the lighting and sound booth... i see why they put it where they did. THe boothe up top is a projection booth. Not a lighting/sound booth. There didnt used to be a sound system, and the lighting used to be done backstage. The windows in the booth up top are one way mirrors and reflect very bad and you're in a confined are, MEANING that if the lighting board was up there, the lighting designer could not see and if the sound board was up there, the sound designer would not be able to hear. As for that, that is just a fact that we will have to deal with. I do think once everything gets done that needs to be done, they need to extend the stage back to allow for more space backstage to do ACTUAL "Broadway Style" shows. We need more musical theatre shows in there besides 7th street kids because that is what attracts the HUGE Audiences. As of now, they plan on replacing the stage rigging after the 7th street kids show this summer (Seussical) since it hasn't been replaced since the theatres opening and needs it badly. I KNOW! I hope to one day be like a John Yonich to the D&R theatre and come back and buy the theatre and restore its to it's ORIGINAL beauty!

Musicalman: I'm on the board of the 7th Street Theatre Association, the nonprofit organization who owns and manages the 7th Street. I would very much enjoy meeting you sometime and discussing your thoughts. I love that many of the children from are community are literally raised in the 7th Street and continue to value it as they get older. These people are the leaders who will manage it in the future. There is no time like the present to get involved, and I encourage you to contact me via our website or email me directly at mickeyt@7thstreettheatre.com I appreciate your input regarding the placement of the sound/lighting booth. You hit the nail on the head regarding its placement. Regarding the sound system installation, I would love to get your input and discuss that with you also. The theatre has more to offer all users of the theatre with an in-house sound system, and I am very pleased with its quality. Users such as the 7th Street Kids, Miss Grays Harbor, and many other performers have been extremely pleased with it, also, along with the fact that they don't need to haul in their own equipment. It is difficult to get the true picture without knowing all of the facts, and I encourage you to talk to me or one of the other board members.

This is a photo of the 7th Street Theater.

Here is a June 2008 photo.

The 7th st has had it's marquee restored and reinstalled. It looks very nice.

If your in the neighborhood, you can see Back to the Future this August (2008) at the 7th Street Theater.

The theater staff recently pulled down the old sound baffle fabric on the back wall of the auditorium and uncovered some very nice original murals that have been covered probably since the addition of sound to movies. They can be viewed on the theaters official web site.

So with no sound control fabric there anymore, how much of an echo is there to garble movie dialog?

The last I heard it was not determined yet how the removal would effect the movie sound. The murals are significant, and I'm sure that if a major problem develops a solution can be achieved that will allow the murals to stay uncovered. Sound dampening technology has come a long way since those padded wall hanging were added. I personally know of a sound fabric that can be put up like wallpaper and it comes in a variety of colors. So maybe some can be added to the wall space above the murals in the "Sky" area and ordered in a blue that is going to match the restored ceiling color thereby dampening the sound bounce but being almost invisible to the viewer. There are always solutions.

The restored seats in the photo's on the theaters web page look great!

Here is a 2009 interior photo.

This is a 2009 close-up shot.

I wonder if "Some Like It Hot" is a film or video presentation? Their advertising does not state this.

The 450 people who attended the movie Some Like it Hot this weekend had the privilege of seeing a digital slide show recapping all of the 7th Street Theatre's accomplishments in 2008 including the restored marquee, rediscovered original murals, the 997 restored seats, rigging project, photos of events and volunteers, and included a photo of our new digital projector, which we are very proud of. It was a fantastic weekend. This was our first film after being closed for four months for renovation, and everyone who attended walked out smiling. Regarding the type of media, I've never seen any other theatres list that in their advertising, and no one asked. However, we are very excited that we will be able to present many more classic films to our patrons, since many are not available on 35MM.

Here are two 1987 photos:

Photo1

Photo2

i just read up about the HIDEOUS organ...
MICKEY! You and the board CAN NOT allow that organ to be put back into the theatre. It needs to be put into a museum or something, HECK!, make a 7th street museum! spending $12,000 on something that will never be used is RIDICULOUS! The only thing that organ is good for, is being in the way and a HUGE eyesore! I've heard all the mumbo jumbo about how it will be used for silent movies, movies that NOBODY will go to. Barely anybody comes to the things that are playing nowadays anyway. This theatre and it's board need to enter the 21st century and start bringing some entertainment that the WHOLE community will love, not just board...

Musicalman, what are you ranting about! This organ should absolutly be restored and re-installed in the theater. The 7th street should present both up to date entertainment but also should embrace the past. I personaly know that a working pipe organ can be a big draw for an historic theater. This instrament can be played before any film as well as for concerts and along with any type of live entertainment that is planned. Also Silent films have a very large audience. This may not seem very apearent but it can be built. There are theaters all over the US and the world that are doing silent film screenings to great success. So my opinion is RESTORE AND INSTALL the organ. It will only be a huge benefit for the theater.

Auditorium ceiling restoration project is underway! Information can be found on the theatre's news & blog page: http://www.7thstreettheatre.com/blog/, and pictures posted on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/7thstreettheatre/

Repost of blog page: http://www.7thstreettheatre.com/blog/

Glad to see that the cieling is getting restores. This has been the most visible problem area for the theatre. When finished the theatre should look GREAT!

It's also nice to see a new sidewalk being installed along the whole block.

Another 2009 photo can be seen here.