Missing from this photo are the streetcar tracks and trolley wires of the 7th St./Georgia Ave. line, which have just been removed. Virtually all of the movie houses in and around Washington were built along streetcar lines. The fare when I was growing up was a dime, with a free transfer. During the day, you never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a car, and only a little longer at night or on holidays. Originally, the Georgia Avenue line ran from the 7th Street Wharves to Four Corners, MD, with spurs at Soldiers' Home and Takoma Park, DC. A lot of the trackage was abandoned in 1935 when the three existing transit companies merged into Capital Transit It was an exciting ride for a small boy, much better than a tour bus. I understand that they’re planning to build a new streetcar line on 7th St./Georgia Avenue. Maybe it’ll revive Brightwood and give the Sheridan a new purpose.
Admission during the first ten years was 15 cents for children, 20 cents for adults until 6 o'clock, and then a nickel more after that. The Sheridan usually got pictures after the Tivoli or Ambassador, which got them after their first run at the big F Street theatres. Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays were for the big picture of the week, usually an M-G-M, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the next biggest, Fridays for revivals or an occasional British feature, and Saturdays for the kids matinee, which included a serial, usually universal, and extra shorts. The most popular shorts were Bugs Bunny and the Three Stooges. With World War II came a playing of the National Anthem with a showing of a waving American flag at the beginning and ending of each day. Besides the previews, there was always a newsreel.
When the Sheridan first opened, people were surprised by the quality of sound. The Colony and and the Takoma, having been built before sound, still had their earliest equipment. The last time I visited the Colony, it still had its organ.
Among the nearby movie houses, I forgot to mention the Kennedy, which was in the same arte moderne style as the Sheridan. It was at Kennedy and Fifth, also about a mile away from the Sheridan. In the days before TV, it was not uncommon to visit more than one of these theaters during the week. Each theater had its own personality, exemplified by their managers. The Sheridan’s manager, Lawrence J. Snoots, was especially considerate to my brother, Jimmie, who had had polio and needed special seating arrangements. Snoots spent his entire working life at the Sheridan, from its opening in 1937 to his death in 1950 at the age of 36.
As a child, I remember playing on the construction site of the Sheridan, and I was an usher there just after World War II. At the height of its popularity, the Sheridan employed as many as 14 people for each show. It was not uncommon for the crowd waiting to get in to exceed the one already seated. The Sheridan was truly the center of the Brightwood community. The nearest movie theaters, the Colony and the Takoma, were at least a mile away. The government’s divesting the studios of their theaters and the arrival of television spelt the end of the Sheridan and virtually all other movie houses.
Missing from this photo are the streetcar tracks and trolley wires of the 7th St./Georgia Ave. line, which have just been removed. Virtually all of the movie houses in and around Washington were built along streetcar lines. The fare when I was growing up was a dime, with a free transfer. During the day, you never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a car, and only a little longer at night or on holidays. Originally, the Georgia Avenue line ran from the 7th Street Wharves to Four Corners, MD, with spurs at Soldiers' Home and Takoma Park, DC. A lot of the trackage was abandoned in 1935 when the three existing transit companies merged into Capital Transit It was an exciting ride for a small boy, much better than a tour bus. I understand that they’re planning to build a new streetcar line on 7th St./Georgia Avenue. Maybe it’ll revive Brightwood and give the Sheridan a new purpose.
Admission during the first ten years was 15 cents for children, 20 cents for adults until 6 o'clock, and then a nickel more after that. The Sheridan usually got pictures after the Tivoli or Ambassador, which got them after their first run at the big F Street theatres. Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays were for the big picture of the week, usually an M-G-M, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the next biggest, Fridays for revivals or an occasional British feature, and Saturdays for the kids matinee, which included a serial, usually universal, and extra shorts. The most popular shorts were Bugs Bunny and the Three Stooges. With World War II came a playing of the National Anthem with a showing of a waving American flag at the beginning and ending of each day. Besides the previews, there was always a newsreel.
When the Sheridan first opened, people were surprised by the quality of sound. The Colony and and the Takoma, having been built before sound, still had their earliest equipment. The last time I visited the Colony, it still had its organ.
Among the nearby movie houses, I forgot to mention the Kennedy, which was in the same arte moderne style as the Sheridan. It was at Kennedy and Fifth, also about a mile away from the Sheridan. In the days before TV, it was not uncommon to visit more than one of these theaters during the week. Each theater had its own personality, exemplified by their managers. The Sheridan’s manager, Lawrence J. Snoots, was especially considerate to my brother, Jimmie, who had had polio and needed special seating arrangements. Snoots spent his entire working life at the Sheridan, from its opening in 1937 to his death in 1950 at the age of 36.
I should say as many as 16 people worked for each show. I forgot the projectionists.
As a child, I remember playing on the construction site of the Sheridan, and I was an usher there just after World War II. At the height of its popularity, the Sheridan employed as many as 14 people for each show. It was not uncommon for the crowd waiting to get in to exceed the one already seated. The Sheridan was truly the center of the Brightwood community. The nearest movie theaters, the Colony and the Takoma, were at least a mile away. The government’s divesting the studios of their theaters and the arrival of television spelt the end of the Sheridan and virtually all other movie houses.