Garden Theater

To get an idea of what the Garden looked like, go to the Rylander Theater Americus, Georgia. C.K.Howell also designed the Rylander which opened a couple of years after the Garden. He used many of the same decorative elements in both theaters, The plaster work around the stage, the organ chambers and the grills in the ceilings. In the Garden, he has the dancing maidens above the organ grills, At the Rylander they are above the stage opening. Fortunately the Rylander has been restored(1999) and is in operation.

Urban Outfitters did a nice job in restoring most interesting architectural decorative elements of the Garden, and they have the money to control the periodic flooding in the basement.
I went to several (theater) performances at the Garden, the seating was abysmal. There wasn’t enough slope so you couldn’t see the stage properly, and the seats were all cramped together. The building was starting to look pretty shabby as well.
The Garden hadn’t shown movies in years and yes, it’s sad there’s no more movie theaters in downtown Charleston but the seating would’ve made this a lousy one.

JOHN , WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE AMERICAN THEATER ON KING

Hi Long Islander – I just wanted to make an observation. The marquee you saw on King Street was not the Garden Theatre marquee but was the marquee for the Gloria Theatre. The Gloria Theatre was in the same block as the Garden Theatre which lost its marquee many years ago. part of Barton’s Candy Store occupies what was once the King Street entrance to the theatre. The Gloria Theatre still exists as the Sottile Theatre with a new entrance on George Street.

Lost Memory: I just read your organ data for the former Garden Theatre. Does anyone know where it is now or if it still exists? John: Weight in if you have any additional information. Since you didn’t mention seeing an organ while at Urban Outfitters I assume there wasn’t one being played while shoppers were browsing like in Philadelphia at the former Wannamaker store. BTW, have you or anyone been to that location to hear the organ that is played? I met a young man 2 summers ago who has played that organ and he was so very proud of that fact and should be. He works for the Riviera Theatre in N. Tonawanda NY which was the hometown of Wurlitzer for many years. In the Riviera is the orginally restored Wurlitzer organ that was used as a demo to customers interested in purchasing one of the world’s finest organs! If I could I’d love to travel back in time and see all of the grand theatres of Lamb and Eberson and Rapp and Rapp of the 20’s in their prime and grand opening nights!

Basically, they saved the ornamental plaster work and used it to frame store displays. They removed the upper office spaces and left the rough exposed floor beams for a “bombed-out” look. Their “goal” is available on their web site. In part, it says, “Our goal at Urban Outfitters is to be the brand of choice for well-educated, urban-minded young adults. We accomplish our objective by creating a differential shopping experience, which creates an emotional bond with the 18 to 30 year old target customer we serve. Our stores offer a unique and eclectic mix of fashion merchandise in a lifestyle sensitive store environment.” I did have one emotional experience but I wouldn’t call it “bonding.” In the balcony, where I once enjoyed an excellent performance of “Mikado” I found a box labeled “F*CK THIS.” I think it was a box of shoes but I didn’t examine it closely. As you might guess, I’m way over 30.

Patsy: We went into what was once the Garden Theatre shortly after Thanksgiving. It is a tragedy. Urban Outfitters is not to blame. They never claimed to be sensitive to local history. They used the existing architectural elements to promote their products and make their customers feel like they are in a unique retail space. The local citizens and preservationists in Charleston should feel very sad and guilty for losing this wonderful old theatre. Good to hear from you. Hope you have a great 2006.

Dear lostmemory, I’d love to know more about the Moller at the Garden Theater. I did know there was an organ installed at the Wonderland Theatre in Charleston, SC in 1909 but don’t know anything more about it.

I have seen the Charleston Christmas Show, they do an excellent job! Brad and his wife are both really talented. They actually came down to see our previous show “Lost in the 50’s” here in Savannah. The owner of the Charleston Music Hall just does'nt seem very interseted in talking with us. I know that a Calvin Gilmore show ran for a couple of years there in that theatre, and I think that the owner of the building is still in court with them trying to get the money that the show defaulted on. So I understand why they are hesitant to let some other ongoing production come in. The frustrating thing is that the theatre sits empty for almost 11 months out of the year. I am at least glad that Brad does the Christmas show in there in December. I will look into the American Theatre. Mr. Coles, I know that you have been in a lot of theatres, but you are welcome anytime here at the Savannah Theatre, if you ever happen to be in the Savannah Area, I would love to invite you to see our production and tour the theatre. Thanks for your help, you seem to be quite the expert on vintage theatres.
Matt

Well….I don’t really know what to say my friend so I shall just say thank you and……WOW! We look forward to meeting you and seeing Jukebox Journey at your special Savannah Theatre! WOW!

Wow John!
You really do have a lot of information! I love your website. Are there any venues that are open and available in Charleston? Other than the Charleston Music Hall(Who won’t deal with us!). I really feel like an ongoing musical production could work in Charleston and be very neat for the City, if it covered the right kind of material(other than what has already been tried in the past in Charleston) I love the city, and a little bit of culture in the downtown sprinkled in with the National chain department stores might do the city some good. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, because I know how locals feel about outsiders coming in and taking over something. But if they dont want something that actually has some culture that would look for local talent and showcase the city and their people, the alternative is losing the theatres to more department stores! Are there any other Venues left?
matt

John:
Thanks for your excellent post. I wish we could clone you and put you in all 50 states! Wow 207 theaters, and we only have 25 posted here. Keep us all up to date on your book release.

John: Also tried sending you an email and I rec’d a failed notification. I used