I remember working in the theatre back in early-April ‘82 in preparation for that 4-screen opening. I was home from college on Spring Break and my boss asked me and a group of guys to come in and help sweep up all the dust and wipe down all the seat backs, etc. What I remember most is being cornered by a couple of the Union workers while we were there. They tried to talk us out of being there. They felt we were putting them out of work by being there. I also remember giving them a puzzled look while I kept on with my $2.50/hr sweeping task. Times were tough, to be sure, for both the Unions and for the starving college students trying to make a few bucks whenever they could.
Yes – great photo there, Chris. Good to have. Funny story: you mentioned that it opened in ‘69, and while I was working there (in 1981) I had the pleasure of knowing the projectionists that worked there. One of them worked there the day it opened – 12 years earlier. Those guys -and they were all well over 60 years old – they had to walk ALL the way up those steps to get to the booth on the top level. Some were heavy smokers and so it was not unusual to see them sitting in an aisle seat – taking a rest – as they made their way up.
I worked at NWP from ‘79 to '84 and it really was a treasure of a place. In fact, my wife and I had our first date there in '78 (The Big Fix with Richard Dreyfuss). My brother-in-law was one of the last managers there, and with his help was able to salvage two seats from the balcony (along with a wide armrest table with a floor light). And with much restoration (and a lot of gum to remove from underneath) I have a nicely-restored pair of seats that I believe are the very two from our first date. Ah the memories.
I remember working in the theatre back in early-April ‘82 in preparation for that 4-screen opening. I was home from college on Spring Break and my boss asked me and a group of guys to come in and help sweep up all the dust and wipe down all the seat backs, etc. What I remember most is being cornered by a couple of the Union workers while we were there. They tried to talk us out of being there. They felt we were putting them out of work by being there. I also remember giving them a puzzled look while I kept on with my $2.50/hr sweeping task. Times were tough, to be sure, for both the Unions and for the starving college students trying to make a few bucks whenever they could.
Yes – great photo there, Chris. Good to have. Funny story: you mentioned that it opened in ‘69, and while I was working there (in 1981) I had the pleasure of knowing the projectionists that worked there. One of them worked there the day it opened – 12 years earlier. Those guys -and they were all well over 60 years old – they had to walk ALL the way up those steps to get to the booth on the top level. Some were heavy smokers and so it was not unusual to see them sitting in an aisle seat – taking a rest – as they made their way up.
I worked at NWP from ‘79 to '84 and it really was a treasure of a place. In fact, my wife and I had our first date there in '78 (The Big Fix with Richard Dreyfuss). My brother-in-law was one of the last managers there, and with his help was able to salvage two seats from the balcony (along with a wide armrest table with a floor light). And with much restoration (and a lot of gum to remove from underneath) I have a nicely-restored pair of seats that I believe are the very two from our first date. Ah the memories.