Powers Auditorium
260 Federal Plaza West,
Youngstown,
OH
44503
260 Federal Plaza West,
Youngstown,
OH
44503
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 77 comments
Oh, and by the way, the idea that the theater is “a shadow of the beauty it once had” certainly is not true since hunfreds of thousands of dollars were spent in preserving its original beauty, and experts in historic preservation were brought in to oversee the work.
Warners first theater was located in New Castle and is now a museum dedecated to the Warner Brothers.
As to the interior, the photos speak for themselves.
All of the furnishings are still there that were there when it was the Warner Theater including bronze statues that are extremely valuable and original oil paintings.
The only changes that were made was in the auditorium proper. Two rows of seats were removed to make it handicap accessable on the main floor (see seating charts).
The mirrors and chandeliers in the lobby are still there, and are well cared for.
In a word the theater that was the Warner has been well preserved in its original state, aside from the new portions that were alled when it became Powers, but the space taken up by the additions wer not part of the original theater. The new box office and offices while in the original building are remodled stores.
As to renaming this site to Warner Theater, since Powers still has all the equipment for showing movies in working condition and occassionally uses it, I see no reason for a name change.
As a teen I got to know the Warner pretty well. When the area had it’s civic day, lot’s of kids chose politicians, lawyers and so on, but I chose theater operator and go sent to spend the day with manager Frank Savage. He was very gracious and showed me everything from the dressing rooms backstage to the projection booth. At the time they had RCA projectors, Baush & Lomb CinemaScope lens and a four track stereo sound system. The projectionist pulled the scope lens and allowed me to give it thorough looking over.
Today the theater is a shadow of the beauty it once had. The auditorium had the largest crystal chandelier I have ever seen. Against the baroque gold leafed marble decor, it was stunning. As I recall the lobby had six crystal chandeliers, and with those huge mirrors each side, you were looking into an infinity of crystal and light. It was beautiful. The restroom had huge mahogany chairs and couches, and even the urinals had mosaics of forest scenes.
My Mother told me of the Warner’s nickleodeon nearby, perhaps near where the State is now located.
I really think this page should be renamed the Warner Theater. It’s current incarnation is fine, but it prevents search engines from properly finding it.
Froggy allow me to describe the stage area for you:
Orchestra Pit has a removeable floor so that a large orchestra could be placed there. This pit was built in such a way as to project the sound clearly throughout the auditorium.
Stage Level – Stage Managers office and loading dock as well as the lighting switchboard.
Stage Left and Right – Three floors of dressing rooms.
Below stage – Mechanics – Green Room – two dressing rooms and prop storage as well as restrooms, music library and a kitchenet.
Quite possably the organ could have been located on the lower level of the Orchestra pit but on stage left are a bank of ropes for backdrops etc. and the wall is solid save for doors on the second level.
Where the pipes etc were located is a mystery to me and I worked there for 2 years.
I could be absolutely wrong, but from my own research I believe the old Wurlitzer Organ was installed in the Circle Theater in Indianapolis a few years back. wolfgirl500, I don’t know where exactly it was located in the Warner but usually there were chambers on either side of the stage for the pipes. They might not have been accessible backstage, but from some other area and often got re-used for things like mechanical equipment or storage after the organ was gone. With all the renovation Powers has had, the old chambers might not even be there anymore.
Thank you Chuck for correcting the link.
I wish that someone who had better knowledge about the Warner than I could tell us where the organ sat when it was still there because as many times as I went to the Warner as a kid, I don’t recall ever seeing an organ where you would expect to see it, and where were the pipes, because I’m quite familiar with back stage, and didn’t see where they could have been located.
By the way, the large screen is still there and could be lowered to show movies according to Powers stage tec specs, so I wish that the powers that be would once in a while have film fests rather than to allow the theater to set empty so much of the time.
Each summer Youngstown sponsores a program of showing movies outdoors at the arena, and its well attended.
Fred Childress on the closing of the Warner Theater
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WeBRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZoQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=785%2C4266950
The official closing was February 28, 1968
The article also talks about the Warner Pipe Organ which seems to have still been there when the theater closed.
That last comment should have read: During most of its life as the Warner Theater, Frank Savage was the manager, and upon his death, his assistant, Miss Marie Wollitz who had held a number of positions over the years was named manager. She held that position until the theater closed.
When the Warner became Powers Auditorium, Mr. Jack Hines former manager of the Paramount Theater was named General Manager.
It would have been grand to have BOTH the Warner and Palace saved. I guess we should be thankful that at least one was saved. Many cities lost all of their movie palaces. Fear of TV and lack of foresight caused many urban developers to rush to tear down theatre buildings. Many times the best ones were the first to go.
When looking at the lobby of the Warner, I am often reminded of the New Yorker cartoon of a wide-eyed little boy who is standing in the lobby of the NYC Roxy, asking his father: “Does God live here?”
It was recently announced that Barry Manilow will be making a four city tour with members of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra who call Powers home base. Two of the cities are in the U.S. and two are in Canada.
What is so sad is the fact that this could have been the Palace Theatre’s rebirth had the folks in Youngstown had the vision that saved the Warner.
More:
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A few historical articles with pictures:
Warner Theater
Nov. 24, 1968
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Sept. 21, 1969
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Nov. 22, 2002
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Sorry Mike I posted before I saw your link to the same paper.
Here is the link to the opening of the Warner Theater and be sure to start at page 1 because the entire front page was devoted to the Warner.
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Unloved? Are you kidding? No offense but it is anything but that. Certainly it doesn’t have a year around program, but you must remember that the economy of the area prevents it from hosting more events, but when it does they are big name personalities. They also host private events there.
I have vivid, indelible memories of the Warner Theater from my youth. Two of my favorites are seeing Blake Edwards' “The Great Race” at a packed Sunday matinee in 1965 (boy, did that wide screen beauty look great on their huge screen!); another was the dementedly awful (but no less lovable) Mexican kidflick “Santa Claus” at a 1963 Thanksgiving weekend matinee when I was 5 years old.
How sad that Powers Auditorium is only open a handful of evenings per year, and sits empty and unloved the rest of the time. But it at least it didn’t meet the same fate as the Palace, State or Paramount…..i.e., “Wrecking Ball (or Worse) Central.”
May 14th, 1931 special edition of the Vindicator (at least 12 pages)
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establish/renew link
In regards to the other auditorium in Youngstown Ohio I have recently received the following remarks from a Youngstown resident:
They are having it restored and will be moving it to the orchestra pit stage center. It got water damaged and was playing at only 25% of its full capacity,
The organ has over 3000 pipes.
The beauty of it is that it hasn’t undergone remodeling over the years but has kept true to the day it opened.
Over the years it hosted some of the great orchestras, actors and actresses, and singers and still books top name shows.
Before the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra took possession of the old Warner Theater, they held their concerts at the Stambaugh Auditorium.
When the organ is played at 100% capacity the audience will actually feel the music.
It will cost almost $200,000.00 to restore and replace at it’s new location.
8 of the last 10 recent comments are “Renewing Link.” This is getting really, really old……
Renewing link.
More info on the organ:
The instrument, which was built and installed by the E.M. Skinner Co. in 1926, the year the auditorium opened.
The Stambaugh pipe organ has close to 4,000 pipes, which range from pencil-sized to 30 inches in diameter and 30 feet long. The pipes are arranged in wooden enclosures on either side of the stage. A giant blower in the basement â€" which is being refurbished by Lemsco Inc. of Toledo â€" sends air into the pipes. A system of vents and stops that are operated by a keyboard create the tones.
The original 1926 keyboard, which looks like a large wooden organ, will be renovated and placed at center stage, at orchestra pit level, when the job is complete.