You are right it was hard to watch the place be broken up bit by bit and it was hard to say goodbye but they kept saying that it was progress, I don’t think so it was money motivated all the way. when the malls and mega theaters arrived the old movie houses just couldn’t compete. and the Oriental was tired, the ATC owners didn’t put any money into upkeep and the place started to fall into disrepair. still it was a great place for kids to go and have fun. Try today letting 6 and 7 year olds out on their own for a Saturday afternoon visit to a movie theater. I used to walk for a half hour on Cummins Highway to get to the movie, can’t do that today. Oh I remember those Halloween contests. I think it was in 1958 a young boy won dressed as a robot. His costume was different sized cardboard boxes painted silver and held together with silver cloth at the joints, he was such a realistic robot. I remember no other costume had a chance and we clapped so loud and long for him that at the end he removed his robot head and he was crying and he thanked everybody for voting for him. It made you feel good to be a part of the fun.
I have 2 pieces of the theater, I have the green and orange neon clock that was over the exit door on the left side of the stage, and I have the poster from the movie Charade which is the last movie I saw there in 1964.
Hi Everybody
My name is Richard and I have 2 separate sets of memories of the Oriental Theater. First as a youngster in the summer my friend David and I would go to the Saturday matinee and see the cartoons the serial the main feature and the selected shorts and the air conditioning all for 20 cents. Then as a teen before being able to drive going either Friday night or Sunday afternoon and be with your friends. and I like many of you had my first kiss in the balcony. I remember many makeout sessions up in that balcony. The theater was a magic place for anybody who went there. From the red carpet the brass stanchions with the red velvet ropes on the front lobby to the stars and the moving clouds in the sky. It was setup to be like an outdoor Oriental Garden with statues and pagodas along the sides and it really felt like you were outside.
The other set of memories are of a different nature, after the theater closed I was one of the construction crew that demolished the interior. It was sad to see it go. After the auction and the interior decorations were salvaged most of the interior was destroyed with a few exceptions. The blue sky is still there and the openings for the stars. the floor was leveled, they broke up the chairs and used them for fill and still to level the floor 15 feet or so at the stage end of the auditorium they used almost 1500 cu yards of concrete, to put that in perspective the floor is now at the middle of the openings that used to be the exit doors on either side of the stage. The original stage is buried beneath 10 feet of concrete. The stage rigging and lighting is still there along with the original front wall and stairs (both sets) to the balcony, the swinging doors that are there now going from the lobby to the auditorium are in the original doorway. Except for a new level floor the balcony decor is pretty much the same as it was when the place was open, including some of the wall lights. The projection booths and the openings are still there. Also in the balcony are two of the three 4' ornate ceiling lights with all the glass still in place. Standing under those lights was like taking a time machine instantly back to a time when I were younger, I remember the orange glow from those lights, where I used to sit, who I was with, and did I watch the movie :–). The Oriental may be gone but the memories live on.
You are right it was hard to watch the place be broken up bit by bit and it was hard to say goodbye but they kept saying that it was progress, I don’t think so it was money motivated all the way. when the malls and mega theaters arrived the old movie houses just couldn’t compete. and the Oriental was tired, the ATC owners didn’t put any money into upkeep and the place started to fall into disrepair. still it was a great place for kids to go and have fun. Try today letting 6 and 7 year olds out on their own for a Saturday afternoon visit to a movie theater. I used to walk for a half hour on Cummins Highway to get to the movie, can’t do that today. Oh I remember those Halloween contests. I think it was in 1958 a young boy won dressed as a robot. His costume was different sized cardboard boxes painted silver and held together with silver cloth at the joints, he was such a realistic robot. I remember no other costume had a chance and we clapped so loud and long for him that at the end he removed his robot head and he was crying and he thanked everybody for voting for him. It made you feel good to be a part of the fun.
I have 2 pieces of the theater, I have the green and orange neon clock that was over the exit door on the left side of the stage, and I have the poster from the movie Charade which is the last movie I saw there in 1964.
Hi Everybody
My name is Richard and I have 2 separate sets of memories of the Oriental Theater. First as a youngster in the summer my friend David and I would go to the Saturday matinee and see the cartoons the serial the main feature and the selected shorts and the air conditioning all for 20 cents. Then as a teen before being able to drive going either Friday night or Sunday afternoon and be with your friends. and I like many of you had my first kiss in the balcony. I remember many makeout sessions up in that balcony. The theater was a magic place for anybody who went there. From the red carpet the brass stanchions with the red velvet ropes on the front lobby to the stars and the moving clouds in the sky. It was setup to be like an outdoor Oriental Garden with statues and pagodas along the sides and it really felt like you were outside.
The other set of memories are of a different nature, after the theater closed I was one of the construction crew that demolished the interior. It was sad to see it go. After the auction and the interior decorations were salvaged most of the interior was destroyed with a few exceptions. The blue sky is still there and the openings for the stars. the floor was leveled, they broke up the chairs and used them for fill and still to level the floor 15 feet or so at the stage end of the auditorium they used almost 1500 cu yards of concrete, to put that in perspective the floor is now at the middle of the openings that used to be the exit doors on either side of the stage. The original stage is buried beneath 10 feet of concrete. The stage rigging and lighting is still there along with the original front wall and stairs (both sets) to the balcony, the swinging doors that are there now going from the lobby to the auditorium are in the original doorway. Except for a new level floor the balcony decor is pretty much the same as it was when the place was open, including some of the wall lights. The projection booths and the openings are still there. Also in the balcony are two of the three 4' ornate ceiling lights with all the glass still in place. Standing under those lights was like taking a time machine instantly back to a time when I were younger, I remember the orange glow from those lights, where I used to sit, who I was with, and did I watch the movie :–). The Oriental may be gone but the memories live on.