ewas
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 24, 2007 at 2:36 am
angel4sam,
Thank you so much for posting that message in regard to the night my father died. I did not think he died in the booth of the SHiT (as my father called it) but I wasn’t sure because I was young and never asked questions about that night until now. It was interesting to see what happened at the theater that night.
My father really did put his heart and soul into that old theater and I would probably feel very sad if I toured it in its current condition. I remember as a kid, Old Man Baker, had a beautiful office on the second floor. I can remember studying his office as a kid. It was adorned in what I think was natural wood and the detailing was superb. Baker was a collector of elephants for some reason. I remember his office was full of different elephant statues and sculptures.
I also remember being there every Saturday and Dormont had some very good places to go. We used to walk down the street and go down to Jo Lynn’s Pizza on West Liberty and get pizza and spaghetti (I still to this day haven’t been able to find pizza that good). We would also play video games there. Or sometimes we would go to Isaly’s and get some fresh cheese and chipped ham and bring it back to the booth where my father had a TV. We would watch shows like the Bob Newhart show, Hee Haw and professional wrestling while eating our chipped ham sandwiches. We always had soda to drink because he or we would go to the concession stand to get it. We had a season pass to the Dormont pool and often when we would come back from swimming, we would go onto the roof top of the theater and catch some rays.
My father would show us how to properly splice film and how to load a reel into the projector. He never missed a reel change. I remember in the early hours before the first matinee showing, my father would always play albums like ELO and Kansas and pipe it through the theater. I can remember being back stage and seeing how amazing it was; all the cables and wiring, etc. The stage itself had an elevator in the middle to raise and lower equipment. Of course, we rode this elevator a few times.
My last good memory of this great old theater was sometime in the late 80’s, my parents (my mom and stepdad) took me to a “Cowboy Junkies” concert there. It was such a great and intimate venue.
If this theater could be brought back to life to do exactly what it did in the 70’s and 80’s, there would be no end to the revenue stream. Of course it would take some creative marketing to compete with the big multi-plexes of today and parking would be an issue but, I remember full-houses there weekend after weekend—that was never an issue.
Norelco, I did a bit of asking around about the death of my father, John Wasinski (SHT projectionist). I was only 12 years old when he did this. I was young and never really asked questions about this night. While it is true my father did in fact commit suicide, it was not in the booth of the South Hills Theater.
If you type in “South Hills Theater” you can see a comment to one of my postings in regard to what happened at the SHT the night my father committed this act and how it affected the theater itself. It was posted by a woman who worked at the concession stand at the theater from 82-86. Even though it was a sad night for me as a kid, it’s kind of interesting to see what happened. This also backs up the fact that he did not do it in the booth.
ewas
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 20, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I am the son of the projectionist who used to work at South Hills Theater up until 1983. The fact is, my father killed himself in January of 1983. I was 12 years old when this happened so I don’t know much about his death. But, I was reading on a blog under the “Hollywood Theater” that my father committed this act in the booth of the theater. It is ironic how much this theater was my father’s life and love and his life tragically ended there.
On a brighter note, I spent a great deal of time at this old theater and I have a lot of great memories. I can remember the grand stage with high arched openings on each side. The auditorium had a balcony that was similar to the stadium seating of today. I spent a good deal of time in the projectionist booth as well as it was easily accessible from the balcony. As kids, we would often watch movies from the spotlight house at the center of the balcony. I can also remember a packed-house for 70’s film classics like Star Wars, Jaws and Animal House, to name a few.
I have noticed the ol' theater is for sale. I would love to see this theater restored to its original glory. In fact, I believe the theater was featured on a Rick Sebak special, “Things that aren’t there anymore.” I’m not completely sure it was this exact special, but I can remember an interview in a Sebak special in which a person was interviewed in that theater before it was turned into the C4. This person was interviewed from the balcony and the original stage and auditorium can be seen in the background.
I would love to talk more about my memories if anyone cares to talk about it.
ewas
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 20, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I am the son of the projectionist who used to work at South Hills Theater up until 1983. The fact is, my father killed himself in January of 1983. I was 12 years old when this happened so I don’t know much about his death. But, I was reading on a blog under the “Hollywood Theater” that my father committed this act in the booth of the theater. It is ironic how much this theater was my father’s life and love and his life tragically ended there.
On a brighter note, I spent a great deal of time at this old theater and I have a lot of great memories. I can remember the grand stage with high arched openings on each side. The auditorium had a balcony that was similar to the stadium seating of today. I spent a good deal of time in the projectionist booth as well as it was easily accessible from the balcony. As kids, we would often watch movies from the spotlight house at the center of the balcony. I can also remember a packed-house for 70’s film classics like Star Wars, Jaws and Animal House, to name a few.
I have noticed the ol' theater is for sale. I would love to see this theater restored to its original glory. In fact, I believe the theater was featured on a Rick Sebak special, “Things that aren’t there anymore.” I’m not completely sure it was this exact special, but I can remember an interview in a Sebak special in which a person was interviewed in that theater before it was turned into the C4. This person was interviewed from the balcony and the original stage and auditorium can be seen in the background.
I would love to talk more about my memories if anyone cares to talk about it.
angel4sam,
Thank you so much for posting that message in regard to the night my father died. I did not think he died in the booth of the SHiT (as my father called it) but I wasn’t sure because I was young and never asked questions about that night until now. It was interesting to see what happened at the theater that night.
My father really did put his heart and soul into that old theater and I would probably feel very sad if I toured it in its current condition. I remember as a kid, Old Man Baker, had a beautiful office on the second floor. I can remember studying his office as a kid. It was adorned in what I think was natural wood and the detailing was superb. Baker was a collector of elephants for some reason. I remember his office was full of different elephant statues and sculptures.
I also remember being there every Saturday and Dormont had some very good places to go. We used to walk down the street and go down to Jo Lynn’s Pizza on West Liberty and get pizza and spaghetti (I still to this day haven’t been able to find pizza that good). We would also play video games there. Or sometimes we would go to Isaly’s and get some fresh cheese and chipped ham and bring it back to the booth where my father had a TV. We would watch shows like the Bob Newhart show, Hee Haw and professional wrestling while eating our chipped ham sandwiches. We always had soda to drink because he or we would go to the concession stand to get it. We had a season pass to the Dormont pool and often when we would come back from swimming, we would go onto the roof top of the theater and catch some rays.
My father would show us how to properly splice film and how to load a reel into the projector. He never missed a reel change. I remember in the early hours before the first matinee showing, my father would always play albums like ELO and Kansas and pipe it through the theater. I can remember being back stage and seeing how amazing it was; all the cables and wiring, etc. The stage itself had an elevator in the middle to raise and lower equipment. Of course, we rode this elevator a few times.
My last good memory of this great old theater was sometime in the late 80’s, my parents (my mom and stepdad) took me to a “Cowboy Junkies” concert there. It was such a great and intimate venue.
If this theater could be brought back to life to do exactly what it did in the 70’s and 80’s, there would be no end to the revenue stream. Of course it would take some creative marketing to compete with the big multi-plexes of today and parking would be an issue but, I remember full-houses there weekend after weekend—that was never an issue.
Norelco, I did a bit of asking around about the death of my father, John Wasinski (SHT projectionist). I was only 12 years old when he did this. I was young and never really asked questions about this night. While it is true my father did in fact commit suicide, it was not in the booth of the South Hills Theater.
If you type in “South Hills Theater” you can see a comment to one of my postings in regard to what happened at the SHT the night my father committed this act and how it affected the theater itself. It was posted by a woman who worked at the concession stand at the theater from 82-86. Even though it was a sad night for me as a kid, it’s kind of interesting to see what happened. This also backs up the fact that he did not do it in the booth.
I am the son of the projectionist who used to work at South Hills Theater up until 1983. The fact is, my father killed himself in January of 1983. I was 12 years old when this happened so I don’t know much about his death. But, I was reading on a blog under the “Hollywood Theater” that my father committed this act in the booth of the theater. It is ironic how much this theater was my father’s life and love and his life tragically ended there.
On a brighter note, I spent a great deal of time at this old theater and I have a lot of great memories. I can remember the grand stage with high arched openings on each side. The auditorium had a balcony that was similar to the stadium seating of today. I spent a good deal of time in the projectionist booth as well as it was easily accessible from the balcony. As kids, we would often watch movies from the spotlight house at the center of the balcony. I can also remember a packed-house for 70’s film classics like Star Wars, Jaws and Animal House, to name a few.
I have noticed the ol' theater is for sale. I would love to see this theater restored to its original glory. In fact, I believe the theater was featured on a Rick Sebak special, “Things that aren’t there anymore.” I’m not completely sure it was this exact special, but I can remember an interview in a Sebak special in which a person was interviewed in that theater before it was turned into the C4. This person was interviewed from the balcony and the original stage and auditorium can be seen in the background.
I would love to talk more about my memories if anyone cares to talk about it.
I am the son of the projectionist who used to work at South Hills Theater up until 1983. The fact is, my father killed himself in January of 1983. I was 12 years old when this happened so I don’t know much about his death. But, I was reading on a blog under the “Hollywood Theater” that my father committed this act in the booth of the theater. It is ironic how much this theater was my father’s life and love and his life tragically ended there.
On a brighter note, I spent a great deal of time at this old theater and I have a lot of great memories. I can remember the grand stage with high arched openings on each side. The auditorium had a balcony that was similar to the stadium seating of today. I spent a good deal of time in the projectionist booth as well as it was easily accessible from the balcony. As kids, we would often watch movies from the spotlight house at the center of the balcony. I can also remember a packed-house for 70’s film classics like Star Wars, Jaws and Animal House, to name a few.
I have noticed the ol' theater is for sale. I would love to see this theater restored to its original glory. In fact, I believe the theater was featured on a Rick Sebak special, “Things that aren’t there anymore.” I’m not completely sure it was this exact special, but I can remember an interview in a Sebak special in which a person was interviewed in that theater before it was turned into the C4. This person was interviewed from the balcony and the original stage and auditorium can be seen in the background.
I would love to talk more about my memories if anyone cares to talk about it.
Norelco,
Your memory serves you well. The projectionist’s name was John Wasinski. I am his youngest son, Eric Wasinski.
I have many great memories of the ol' South Hills Theater and I would love to share them with you all.
Let me know.