Additional history credit Mill Valley Historical Society.
“USHERETTES at THE SEQUOIA”
On February 21, 1929, the art-deco style Sequoia Theater on Throckmorton Avenue opened with “talkies,” with a capacity crowd filling the theater’s 1,200 seats for both the 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm shows at a time when Mill Valley’s entire population was barely 4,000.
Elise Smith grew up on Walnut Avenue in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and remembers,
“Before the war, the Sequoia Theater hired only boys to work as ushers. During the war they hired usherettes, and a lot of girls applied. You had to be able to work weekends, matinees and evenings, and ‘close up’ every third night… that meant that you worked until the theater closed for the night. You took turns working the matinees and you got to leave school early to work on Tuesdays. They hired three girls, and I was thrilled when they picked me as one of the three. I worked there during my Junior and Senior years at Tamalpais High School. My paycheck for the last week that I worked there was dated January 18, 1944. I had worked a total of 26-½ hours. I took home the grand total of $14.18 for the week. The teenage boys who worked there as marquee letter-changers and ticket takers were part of a group of friends which we socialized with. In a way it seemed like a small family group. Although we all came from different family situations and backgrounds, we all were brought closer together by our association at the Sequoia Theater.”
Two photos added as Hub Theatre and Oddfellows Temple.
Updated history credit Mill Valley Historical Society.
"Built in 1915, this building was originally the Hub Theater, a venue for live vaudeville acts, silent films and even a live performance by Charlie Chaplin. Musical accompaniment was in the capable hands of Hattie Thompson, at an electric organ. Admission to the Saturday Matinee cost five cents, and included a Wild West serial in addition to the main feature. The Hub Theater closed in 1929, when the Sequoia Theater up the street opened and showed “Talkies.”
During the years that followed the building saw a variety of uses, including as a bowling alley and as a skating rink. In 1952 it was purchased by the Odd Fellows Temple, IOOF Lodge #399, and in 1976 the precursor to the Mill Valley Film Festival, “Saturday Nite Movies,” featured foreign films in the auditorium. Over time however the building saw decreasing use and fell into disrepair.
Eventually purchased and officially opened in 2004 by Lucy Mercer, 142 Throckmorton is recognized as a multi-genre performing arts center with eclectic, high quality programming which attracts over 50,000 people to the nonprofit theatre each year. It has become a favorite venue among performers of all stripes for artistic experimentation and collaboration.
The lobby of the theatre is often open in the afternoon, allowing visitors to explore the rotating exhibitions of original works of art featured in the gallery space. Steve Coleman, the theatre's set and scenic designer, restored a very famous scene of Mount Tamalpais, painted by Jules Mersfelder in 1917. This painting can now be viewed from the landing on the stairway up to the balcony, after having hung for many years at City Hall."
Description credit I Grew Up in Mortdale 2223 Facebook page.
“15 January 1947, the Herne Bay (Riverwood) Melody Picture Theatre opened on Belmore Road back in the days when all proceeds were donated to Legacy.
The Melody Theatre (right of pic in gallery) was built by Tom Virgona in a paddock on Belmore Road. The suburb was not served by local buses in the early days due to poor roads and there were very few trains which kept people away in wet weather. However, it was very popular because the manager was a passionate movie lover who was very tolerant of children. His theatre was his hobby. At Saturday matinees he encouraged children ‘to come on stage and sing, recite, play or generally raise cain to their own and the audience’s delight’. The picture theatre closed less than 20 years later on 30th January 1965 with the screening of “McHale’s Navy” and “Bullet for a Badman”. The building subsequently demolished and replaced with a supermarket."
Delta Gateway Museum got back and they said they believe it was on Ash Street between 4th & 5th Streets.
They are going to check their Sanborn maps.
I am removing the recreation center comment.
I have reached out to the Delta Gateway Museum in Blytheville to get an exact address for the Princess Theatre. My message to the Blytheville Recreation Center has not netted anything yet.
A.G. Shibley was a wholesale grocer at one time in Blytheville, with a house brand of flour.
Below is a vintage matchbook on eBay.
There are other references as well as obituaries within Google.
When I have time I will try and track down some store addresses.
But a street view search starting on Ash Street and roaming around did not have any buildings match up.
This Richmond County Historical Society publication has a completely different history and timeline.
Halfway down in the link.
Also I added an early `60s photo that has both Friendly Theatre and Strand on the building.
“On July 5, 1934, Joe Caudell announced plans for a new theatre to be located in the then Bob’s Cleaners building on Washington Square. The building was next to the Rockingham-Post Dispatch building, later Hough Hardware, now Kitchin, Neal, Webb, Webb and Futrell law offices.
The new theatre was to be air-conditioned. The only other air-conditioned building in downtown Rockingham at the time was the Richmond Theatre. Opened in August 1934, the new theatre was named Little Joe’s Theatre on the Square.
On Aug. 24, 1939, that theatre was sold to H. B. Meiselman and renamed the Strand Theatre. He later donated the building to the City of Rockingham which is now the Richmond Community Theatre operated by a volunteer board of directors which produces plays and other events in the building."
Do you have a story about the Fine Arts Building? We want to hear it.
We are collecting memories and personal histories from the visitors, artists, staff and Fine Arts Building aficionados that have made this space shine for more than 100 years. Follow the link to share your memories of the Fine Arts Building, the Studebaker Theater and the last 100 years of this magnificent artistic haven.
1949 photo credit Julius Shulman.
Additional history credit Mill Valley Historical Society.
“USHERETTES at THE SEQUOIA”
On February 21, 1929, the art-deco style Sequoia Theater on Throckmorton Avenue opened with “talkies,” with a capacity crowd filling the theater’s 1,200 seats for both the 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm shows at a time when Mill Valley’s entire population was barely 4,000.
Elise Smith grew up on Walnut Avenue in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and remembers,
“Before the war, the Sequoia Theater hired only boys to work as ushers. During the war they hired usherettes, and a lot of girls applied. You had to be able to work weekends, matinees and evenings, and ‘close up’ every third night… that meant that you worked until the theater closed for the night. You took turns working the matinees and you got to leave school early to work on Tuesdays. They hired three girls, and I was thrilled when they picked me as one of the three. I worked there during my Junior and Senior years at Tamalpais High School. My paycheck for the last week that I worked there was dated January 18, 1944. I had worked a total of 26-½ hours. I took home the grand total of $14.18 for the week. The teenage boys who worked there as marquee letter-changers and ticket takers were part of a group of friends which we socialized with. In a way it seemed like a small family group. Although we all came from different family situations and backgrounds, we all were brought closer together by our association at the Sequoia Theater.”
Two photos added as Hub Theatre and Oddfellows Temple. Updated history credit Mill Valley Historical Society.
Here is a Shorpy link with the above posted Library of Congress 1907 photo. Click “view full size” for greater detail.
https://www.shorpy.com/node/11486?fbclid=IwAR1rCU6MJqCs6gfEpLkUv0rnEvc9_T7auvoMtIIRHungFhECOApqZCDiPdY
Posting because Wilson Avenue Theatre building is pictured next door.
https://chicagoyimby.com/2022/01/second-floor-takes-shape-at-4600-n-kenmore-avenue-in-uptown.html?fbclid=IwAR3z4A_sEeGGzu6CiK-SC_f_6R2_hrrGdmL4HvGDVXvYVwTuSh9I7qRkuzw
Update: Postcard image credit Frashers Fotos.
Description credit I Grew Up in Mortdale 2223 Facebook page.
“15 January 1947, the Herne Bay (Riverwood) Melody Picture Theatre opened on Belmore Road back in the days when all proceeds were donated to Legacy.
The Melody Theatre (right of pic in gallery) was built by Tom Virgona in a paddock on Belmore Road. The suburb was not served by local buses in the early days due to poor roads and there were very few trains which kept people away in wet weather. However, it was very popular because the manager was a passionate movie lover who was very tolerant of children. His theatre was his hobby. At Saturday matinees he encouraged children ‘to come on stage and sing, recite, play or generally raise cain to their own and the audience’s delight’. The picture theatre closed less than 20 years later on 30th January 1965 with the screening of “McHale’s Navy” and “Bullet for a Badman”. The building subsequently demolished and replaced with a supermarket."
Well, crisper before it posted…
Update: 1925
Facebook post with 29 photos credit Richard DuVal. Scroll through to the right.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223291322565544&set=pcb.5131540600204019
Marcy Starnes, below is the Zeigfeld Theatre you worked and saw those films at. It was located at 141 W. 54th Street and opened in 1969.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/12
Update: 1956 photo credit Mildred LaDue Mead, U of C Photographic Archive.
Update: 1956 photo credit Mildred LaDue Mead, U of C Photographic Archive.
Here is the chronology that led to the Officer Kerr/Richard Carpenter shooting.
http://homebrewedmojo.blogspot.com/2020/05/cop-killer-caught-1219-richard-carpenter.html
Relda marquee right of center in background.
Delta Gateway Museum got back and they said they believe it was on Ash Street between 4th & 5th Streets. They are going to check their Sanborn maps. I am removing the recreation center comment.
I have reached out to the Delta Gateway Museum in Blytheville to get an exact address for the Princess Theatre.
My message to the Blytheville Recreation Center has not netted anything yet.
Added the matchbook images for reference, for when the link goes dead.
A.G. Shibley was a wholesale grocer at one time in Blytheville, with a house brand of flour. Below is a vintage matchbook on eBay. There are other references as well as obituaries within Google. When I have time I will try and track down some store addresses. But a street view search starting on Ash Street and roaming around did not have any buildings match up.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/233738418835
AKA Pine Tree Drive-In Theatre. Circa 1984 photos in below Itasca County Historical Society Facebook link. Scroll right.
https://www.facebook.com/ItascaHistorical/photos/pcb.10158281802422980/10158281785362980/
This Richmond County Historical Society publication has a completely different history and timeline. Halfway down in the link. Also I added an early `60s photo that has both Friendly Theatre and Strand on the building.
“On July 5, 1934, Joe Caudell announced plans for a new theatre to be located in the then Bob’s Cleaners building on Washington Square. The building was next to the Rockingham-Post Dispatch building, later Hough Hardware, now Kitchin, Neal, Webb, Webb and Futrell law offices.
The new theatre was to be air-conditioned. The only other air-conditioned building in downtown Rockingham at the time was the Richmond Theatre. Opened in August 1934, the new theatre was named Little Joe’s Theatre on the Square.
On Aug. 24, 1939, that theatre was sold to H. B. Meiselman and renamed the Strand Theatre. He later donated the building to the City of Rockingham which is now the Richmond Community Theatre operated by a volunteer board of directors which produces plays and other events in the building."
http://rchs-nc.net/2014/08/08/the-big-screen-in-rockingham/?fbclid=IwAR07vRNfrmXGA0l6Tje9cKeR5gBzvPAoqvyHAUDXoQj5g4L-cLkm__TsXc4
From the Fine Arts Building Facebook page.
Do you have a story about the Fine Arts Building? We want to hear it.
We are collecting memories and personal histories from the visitors, artists, staff and Fine Arts Building aficionados that have made this space shine for more than 100 years. Follow the link to share your memories of the Fine Arts Building, the Studebaker Theater and the last 100 years of this magnificent artistic haven.
https://www.facebook.com/chicagofineartsbuilding/photos/a.108102601704549/119859900528819/
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Hw98R-bpY7j1lL5bmWQ9m1JDy6pdjrytm782xRoZ3cY/viewform?edit_requested=true&fbclid=IwAR3RE3lRX4g4WYS61-fdS-UHHJWUVtz7C5kiSKfyS8f-zwBWEZCmYoprbMY
Great Schiller/Garrick Theatre Visualization Vimeo link below.
https://vimeo.com/658973818?fbclid=IwAR2dp1s3jG574Bd9YNnWz6J-Y0DvtY3w6UEuvek0Ac8RfVKLjSBYqne4AAw
News piece with the “End Credits” photo by Shawn Triplett.
https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/45462629/end-credits-mayfield-ky-man-takes-poignant-photo-of-tornado-damage-sets-up-gofundme-to-buy-toys-for-affected-children?fbclid=IwAR3OaC2rQaSWXKb2HCerK_WepuYB6JpJZ4oNKyE96OnM_V9Z5gnJCBOSLIA
Possibly originally built as Joplin Theatre, but the timeline does not fit the print ads from Masonic to Ritz. It became Houchens Market in 1951.