A little more information about this theater: As it was built as a Vaudville Theater, it was necessitated that it accommodate the many actors of the shows. Below the stage was a long corridor with dressing rooms running along each side. In 1972 these rooms were relegated to storage. One of the rooms contained numerous cardboard barrels, each marked as “Civil Defense” supplies (relics of the peak of the Cold War). Inside these abandoned and very outdated containers were a “prepper’s” dream. Food, medical supplies and more. I wonder what ever came of these?
In the rafters above the stage (yes, I climbed up there) were elements of the massive pipe organ. This organ could play much more than just a typical organ. It could play the snare and bass drums, horns of numerous types and even bird calls/chirping. There were also stringed instruments that could be played via the keyboard. During the time I worked at this theater, there was an organist that came in every Sunday morning and “exercised” it just to keep it from falling into disrepair from lack of use. My favorite piece he would play was J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. While exercising the organ, he always included playing each of the “rafter” instruments. Most of which were out of tune but still functional. The bird chirps sounded so real.
It really is a crime and shame that all of this is lost from the world. The Lowes Crown Theater (as I knew it) was a most incredible and precious piece of Americana. It should have been declared a National Treasure!
While in High School, in 1972, I worked at this theater as an Usher, then Doorman and then getting promoted to Assistant Manager. At that time it was a part of the Lowes chain of movie theaters. This is a fact that has been omitted from the above narrative. While working there, I met a girl. She worked behind the candy counter and I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen (in all of my many seventeen years). I married that girl later that year, exactly one week after my eighteenth birthday. By then, I was a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps with prospects of shipping out to Vietnam. It saddens me to know that this theater has been reduced to a ruin. Here in 2016, 44 years later, I still think that “Candy Girl” is the most beautiful girl/woman I have ever seen. She sits next to me as I write this.
A little more information about this theater: As it was built as a Vaudville Theater, it was necessitated that it accommodate the many actors of the shows. Below the stage was a long corridor with dressing rooms running along each side. In 1972 these rooms were relegated to storage. One of the rooms contained numerous cardboard barrels, each marked as “Civil Defense” supplies (relics of the peak of the Cold War). Inside these abandoned and very outdated containers were a “prepper’s” dream. Food, medical supplies and more. I wonder what ever came of these?
In the rafters above the stage (yes, I climbed up there) were elements of the massive pipe organ. This organ could play much more than just a typical organ. It could play the snare and bass drums, horns of numerous types and even bird calls/chirping. There were also stringed instruments that could be played via the keyboard. During the time I worked at this theater, there was an organist that came in every Sunday morning and “exercised” it just to keep it from falling into disrepair from lack of use. My favorite piece he would play was J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. While exercising the organ, he always included playing each of the “rafter” instruments. Most of which were out of tune but still functional. The bird chirps sounded so real.
It really is a crime and shame that all of this is lost from the world. The Lowes Crown Theater (as I knew it) was a most incredible and precious piece of Americana. It should have been declared a National Treasure!
While in High School, in 1972, I worked at this theater as an Usher, then Doorman and then getting promoted to Assistant Manager. At that time it was a part of the Lowes chain of movie theaters. This is a fact that has been omitted from the above narrative. While working there, I met a girl. She worked behind the candy counter and I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen (in all of my many seventeen years). I married that girl later that year, exactly one week after my eighteenth birthday. By then, I was a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps with prospects of shipping out to Vietnam. It saddens me to know that this theater has been reduced to a ruin. Here in 2016, 44 years later, I still think that “Candy Girl” is the most beautiful girl/woman I have ever seen. She sits next to me as I write this.