On New Years Day 2007 My brother and I were able to gain acces to this theater. The owner of the Ritz restaurant guided us to an old boarded up door in the kitchen. The door lead to the main auditorium of the theater. Once inside we were hit by this thick cold stale air. This air filled the place and gave you an uneasy feeling. The theatre was lit by some dim work lights wich had been placed about sporadicly. With awe and great sadness we found the theatre to be in a state of decay and total disrepair. Although many of the original seats were still present they were covered by layers upon layers of pigeon shit. The once grand and lavish box seats had been ripped from their moorings by some thoughtless developer. All that was left was bare mortar and brick walls. Gone too was the majestic stage and silver screen. Only the rotted garbage strewn footprint survived.
Being guided by our cheap eveready flashlights we ventured down some crumbling stairs that lead us to the dressing rooms. The rooms were half flooded with water and crumling plaster . The ancient porcelin sinks were still present. You could almost still here the actors and the showgirls getting ready for the stage.
Next my brother and I decide to explore the massive balcony that loomed over us. We worked our way up one of the original cast iron stair cases to the balcony. Upon entering the balcony we were greeted with the sound of an army of pigeons cooing. We worked are way up to the projection booth at the top of the balcony. climbing steep narrow stairs. Within twelve feet of the booth our advances were suddenly stop cold by hundreds of dive bombing pigeons. The pigeons had made the projection booth there new home and did not want us tresspassing. They were flying in and out of the theatre through a massive hole in the roof above the booth. With one last advance I was able to get a quick peak inside the booth and found that both carbon arc projectors were still in place. This advance greatly angered the pigeons so my brother and I decided to make a quick retreat out of the theater.
On New Years Day 2007 My brother and I were able to gain acces to this theater. The owner of the Ritz restaurant guided us to an old boarded up door in the kitchen. The door lead to the main auditorium of the theater. Once inside we were hit by this thick cold stale air. This air filled the place and gave you an uneasy feeling. The theatre was lit by some dim work lights wich had been placed about sporadicly. With awe and great sadness we found the theatre to be in a state of decay and total disrepair. Although many of the original seats were still present they were covered by layers upon layers of pigeon shit. The once grand and lavish box seats had been ripped from their moorings by some thoughtless developer. All that was left was bare mortar and brick walls. Gone too was the majestic stage and silver screen. Only the rotted garbage strewn footprint survived.
Being guided by our cheap eveready flashlights we ventured down some crumbling stairs that lead us to the dressing rooms. The rooms were half flooded with water and crumling plaster . The ancient porcelin sinks were still present. You could almost still here the actors and the showgirls getting ready for the stage.
Next my brother and I decide to explore the massive balcony that loomed over us. We worked our way up one of the original cast iron stair cases to the balcony. Upon entering the balcony we were greeted with the sound of an army of pigeons cooing. We worked are way up to the projection booth at the top of the balcony. climbing steep narrow stairs. Within twelve feet of the booth our advances were suddenly stop cold by hundreds of dive bombing pigeons. The pigeons had made the projection booth there new home and did not want us tresspassing. They were flying in and out of the theatre through a massive hole in the roof above the booth. With one last advance I was able to get a quick peak inside the booth and found that both carbon arc projectors were still in place. This advance greatly angered the pigeons so my brother and I decided to make a quick retreat out of the theater.