Melvin Theatre
2912 Chippewa Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
2912 Chippewa Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
1 person
favorited this theater
The Melvin Theatre opened in 1914 and seated 481. It opened as an indepedent theatre and remained that way until its closing in the 1980’s. It only had two owners. One of the more successful of the neighborhood theatres located in the Dutch Town area of south St. Louis. Just a block away from the Yale Theatre on Minnesota and within walking distance from the much larger Melba Theatre on South Grand. Even until its closing in 1979 the box office was in the inside lobby and the tickets were on large rolls hung above the cashier. The marquee had no current attraction lettering on it it just simply said Melvin Theatre on all three sides.
The auditorium had two aisles with the larger seating section running down the middle and about four seats on the side aisles. The rest rooms were located on the second floor above the lobby of the theatre.
Bill Miller bought the theatre in 1972 and it was gutted and remodeled, replacing the screen, the sound system, the seats and a new concession stand but kept that old box office with the rolls of tickets.
The Hope Community Workshop Center owns the building, and as well as use as a church, regular concerts of live Christian music are held. The building is in great shape, the facade is restored and still has the marquee, recently painted.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
My sister-in-law, Rhonda Graves, used to work at the Melvin in the ‘80s. I only went there once when I was a kid (in the late 80s). I still remember, it was a double feature of “The Seventh Sign” and “Friday The 13th Part VII”. It cost me a whopping FIFTY CENTS. :)
It appears the Melvin Theater is now operating not only as a church, but also as a Christian concert venue!! They’ve even got their own page on Facebook…which has pictures of the interior in the Photos section!!! Check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Melvin-Theater/172459656143187
I know the Melvin was independent, but I believe I read in Wehrenberg’s 100th Anniversary book that they ran the Melvin for a while. Is that true? Or did they make another mistake?
I hope everyone enjoys the recent photo of the Melvin that I have added to this page. As you can see the old place still carries it’s charm.
UPDATE: Not only is the Melvin operating as a concert venue, it appears they will start showing movies again in the fall. Keep in mind, my only source for this is a posting in one of the photo albums in the Melvin’s Facebook page, but it sounds legit. Here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=184056031650216&set=a.184056004983552.61090.172459656143187&type=1&theater
Kyle, I would be interested in touring the facility and would apprectiate if you would be willing to send contact info from the owner(s). My family reconditioned the theatre in the 70’s and I was the projectionist from 1972 – 1976. Best regards, Bill Miller
Bill,
Unfortunately, I don’t know the owners (I live in Southern California), so the only information I can give you is the Melvin Theater’s Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/themelvintheater
There’s a phone number and an email address on there. Give that a try an let me know how it goes…
By the way, how was the Melvin back when your family ran it? Was the neighborhood decent? What kind of turnout did you get? How were the crowds? What really brought them in?
Bill, you can also go to the Melvin Theater’s website (http://themelvintheater.com) and go to the Contact link. That might be the best way to get hold of them. Again, keep my posted.
Kyle, the neighborhood was safe in the 70’s and small businesses flourished. There was an ice cream parlor on one corner, a small barbershop, and a convenient store all within 1 block of the theater. I was 8 years old when my father appointed me as the projectionist. I worked 7 days of week alongside my family.
Jaws was our biggest turnout. I believe that was the only show we extended 1 or more weeks to satisfy our customers.
Thanks for the info — perhaps I contact them for a tour.
I recently watched the Disney remake of Mighty Joe Young. I saw the original at the Melvin Theater back in the 1950’s. Back then, the Melvin was showing double features of older movies. My great aunt used to take my sister and me there when she was “babysitting”. It’s a cherished memory.