If anyone is interested in checking out photos of the salvage process, Larry Giles of the National Building Arts Center has uploaded them onto his new website here:
Just a wee point of contention here, I have a few clippings/documents that show Thomas James and uncle John James (future owners of the Comet/Douglass theaters) purchased the World in 1910/1911. I’ve uploaded his obit where this is mentioned.
For folks who are interested in seeing more images from the Ambassador’s exterior-Larry Giles, who salvaged much of the architectural facade has an updated website with photographs from every stage of the salvage operation:
http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/recovery-projects/ambassador-building/
Hi again. I wonder if there’s any way we can get the current main picture removed—it is most certainly not the correct Comet theater.
I think we should clarify our details here.
The Comet at 4110 Finney opened in 1940, not 1939. I’m fuzzy on when it closed however I would challenge the date of 1972 as I have a newspaper clipping from the Post-Dispatch in 1975 discussing a neighborhood children’s party thrown by theater ownership (see photos).
According to a document I have, the Motion Pictures Theater Owners annual bulletin, as a grand opening gesture James had 10,000 balloons filled with helium and inserted in every 5th balloon a free pass for the theater. The pamphlet says for days afterwards children were seen combing the neighborhood, climbing trees and roofs in order to get a hold of downed balloons in hopes of finding a pass. (see clipped excerpt)
In addition to hosting movie showings, as a previous comment pointed out, James also hosted musical acts at the comet including Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Cab Calloway and local acts like Chick Finney. James, a community patron as much as a business owner also rented his venue to community organizations such as the local YMCA branch, the NAACP and the Urban League.
Skipping ahead, after the closure (whenever that was) the theater did sit vacant for some time. In the early 1980s as Grand Center was seeing a comeback with the Fox and Symphony Hall projects, Municorp looked at the prospect of producing a similar redevelopment on Finney with the Comet (see clipping). Due to changes in the UDAG program the proposal did not get the funding it sought and collapsed—ultimately leading to the demolition of the structure which many community members (see clipping) had found to be a public nuisance.
Larry Giles, owner of the National Building Arts Center (across the river) salvaged the facade of the theater prior to demolition. He did not take the Marquee and according to his notes the signature comet neon signs were in such poor condition they were not salvageable. Some of my sources for this text were taken from documents, many water damaged but rescued by Giles, from inside the theater’s office.
This theater was one of the earliest (third behind the World’s Dream Theater and Brighton Theater) theaters owned and maintained by Thomas and John James. According to the St. Louis Argus the theater was a community favorite for its cheap shows, diverse offerings and comfortable confines. I’ve uploaded a few clippings to illustrate.
Also, in April of 1916 the theater was expanded to include an airdome at 2126 Market—see Argus clipping.
Hi again, I’ve worked quite extensively in this area and am excited to contribute a little of my knowledge to this entry. The New Comet according to the St. Louis Argus was owned by a Mr. Zimmerman until 1918 when it was sold to Thomas James, then owner of the New Movie Theater. I’ve uploaded a clipping from the Argus to source this claim as well as an excerpt from a transfer contract that mentions the ownership of the theater. (I only mention this because it appears the previous description was incorrect in stating that Zimmerman and Pohlman owned the theater till 1933.)
Hi guys, I’m a local archivist and I’ve done a lot of work in the Mill Creek neighborhood. I just uploaded an exterior drawing of the theater I found in one issue and made note that there exists a real-photo postcard of the theater at a local black history museum. In the future I’ll add more to this specific entry as I’ve written quite extensively (for my research) on this particular theater. If you check out the (plug) St. Louis Argus newspaper archive I put together on the Internet Archive (1915-1925) you can find in each issue (usually the last page) a theater/arts page. The Booker theater seems to hold a very high position in the minds of the paper editors as they usually dedicate an entire column to the current acts/shows being exhibited there—versus no more than a brief note for the other theaters.
If anyone is interested in checking out photos of the salvage process, Larry Giles of the National Building Arts Center has uploaded them onto his new website here:
http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/recovery-projects/granada-theatre/
Just a wee point of contention here, I have a few clippings/documents that show Thomas James and uncle John James (future owners of the Comet/Douglass theaters) purchased the World in 1910/1911. I’ve uploaded his obit where this is mentioned.
For folks who are interested in seeing more images from the Ambassador’s exterior-Larry Giles, who salvaged much of the architectural facade has an updated website with photographs from every stage of the salvage operation: http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/recovery-projects/ambassador-building/
The date of the article is November 11th, 1985
Hi again. I wonder if there’s any way we can get the current main picture removed—it is most certainly not the correct Comet theater.
I think we should clarify our details here.
The Comet at 4110 Finney opened in 1940, not 1939. I’m fuzzy on when it closed however I would challenge the date of 1972 as I have a newspaper clipping from the Post-Dispatch in 1975 discussing a neighborhood children’s party thrown by theater ownership (see photos).
According to a document I have, the Motion Pictures Theater Owners annual bulletin, as a grand opening gesture James had 10,000 balloons filled with helium and inserted in every 5th balloon a free pass for the theater. The pamphlet says for days afterwards children were seen combing the neighborhood, climbing trees and roofs in order to get a hold of downed balloons in hopes of finding a pass. (see clipped excerpt)
In addition to hosting movie showings, as a previous comment pointed out, James also hosted musical acts at the comet including Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Cab Calloway and local acts like Chick Finney. James, a community patron as much as a business owner also rented his venue to community organizations such as the local YMCA branch, the NAACP and the Urban League.
Skipping ahead, after the closure (whenever that was) the theater did sit vacant for some time. In the early 1980s as Grand Center was seeing a comeback with the Fox and Symphony Hall projects, Municorp looked at the prospect of producing a similar redevelopment on Finney with the Comet (see clipping). Due to changes in the UDAG program the proposal did not get the funding it sought and collapsed—ultimately leading to the demolition of the structure which many community members (see clipping) had found to be a public nuisance.
Larry Giles, owner of the National Building Arts Center (across the river) salvaged the facade of the theater prior to demolition. He did not take the Marquee and according to his notes the signature comet neon signs were in such poor condition they were not salvageable. Some of my sources for this text were taken from documents, many water damaged but rescued by Giles, from inside the theater’s office.
Hi again.
This theater was one of the earliest (third behind the World’s Dream Theater and Brighton Theater) theaters owned and maintained by Thomas and John James. According to the St. Louis Argus the theater was a community favorite for its cheap shows, diverse offerings and comfortable confines. I’ve uploaded a few clippings to illustrate.
Also, in April of 1916 the theater was expanded to include an airdome at 2126 Market—see Argus clipping.
Hi again, I’ve worked quite extensively in this area and am excited to contribute a little of my knowledge to this entry. The New Comet according to the St. Louis Argus was owned by a Mr. Zimmerman until 1918 when it was sold to Thomas James, then owner of the New Movie Theater. I’ve uploaded a clipping from the Argus to source this claim as well as an excerpt from a transfer contract that mentions the ownership of the theater. (I only mention this because it appears the previous description was incorrect in stating that Zimmerman and Pohlman owned the theater till 1933.)
Hi guys, I’m a local archivist and I’ve done a lot of work in the Mill Creek neighborhood. I just uploaded an exterior drawing of the theater I found in one issue and made note that there exists a real-photo postcard of the theater at a local black history museum. In the future I’ll add more to this specific entry as I’ve written quite extensively (for my research) on this particular theater. If you check out the (plug) St. Louis Argus newspaper archive I put together on the Internet Archive (1915-1925) you can find in each issue (usually the last page) a theater/arts page. The Booker theater seems to hold a very high position in the minds of the paper editors as they usually dedicate an entire column to the current acts/shows being exhibited there—versus no more than a brief note for the other theaters.