the photos submitted by “lost memory” on may 17, 2006, stand as a testament to the final destruction of this building.
please do not destroy the fragile meomory fragments that i possess. i can’t believe that 25th has become the messy hulk that appears in these photographs.
where is the dignity of this grand ol'Lady? let her pass in peace.
president ronald reagan once declared “tear down these walls!”
in the imortal words of FGTH: “it’s enough to make you wonder sometimes if you’re on the right planet … enjoy … i feel … i feel alright … my name’s peirce, my name’s matt, my name’s nash, mine is the last voice you will ever hear, don’t be alarmed!”
It will be a sad moment in time when the grand ol' Lady falls to the earth from which She was born. But for many of us, Her grand times will be forever ingrained upon our minds and souls. Whether She is remembered as a grand movie house with the pipe organ playing, or Her later years as a run-of-the-mill movie parlor, or her X-L-N-T turn as the best dance club ever in the entire universe, She will be remembered. We should not mourn Her passing, but celebrate Her life that lives in each and every one of us. I raise a glass of Moet Chandon Brut Imperial and propose a toast to this fine Lady. Here! Here! To 25th Street Theatre and to her loving caretaker, Richard Olsen and Richard Keiffer. Hurrah! May She rest in peace.
On a personal note: My sincere apologies to all my dear friends that I pushed away at the time of Richard’s murder and the subsequent robbery of our house and all my belongings. It was a very rough time for me and I reacted the only way I could; by shutting down and removing myself from everybody and everything that would remind me of the horror of the empty vacuum of my life without Richard. It has been a weird 12 years and I am just coming to terms with the event and how it affected my life and how I let it affect my life. Forgive me – I am so alone and it is all my fault.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy” – Martin Luther King Jr.
surprised to read your comment on cinema treasures and see your new phone number. the last time we spoke, you had no way to contact the “outside world”. you said you would contact me as soon as you could. no big deal.
as far as my comments about richard’s father’s involvement in the restoration efforts of 25th: i do not know if you are aware of all the details regarding little richard’s relationship with his father and brother? i can tell you one thing, little richard would never go to them for this. now if the only thing richard’s father is involved in is handing the keys over free and clear to an organization to restore 25th – that is okay. but if he will benefit in any way from any transaction, that is not okay. if richard’s father or brother benefits in any way, it will be blasphemy in the face of little richard and will not honor him in any way.
the last time we spoke, you were very cryptic about 25th being saved and little richard’s father’s involvement. over the course of the last couple of months (or whenever it was the last time we spoke), i thought long and hard about richard’s father being somehow involved with saving 25th.
i stand by what i typed on cinema treasures and big richard is in agreement with me.
as i mentioned above, if his only involvement is his handing over the keys and deed to the city of waco or to the “save the 25th organization”, i am in full support. however, if he or his brother will benefit financially or otherwise from this transaction, i will be in full disagreement because little richard’s memory will be smeared by that action.
to change the subject, i hope you are doing well. i have not heard from you in awhile. i got a message on my cell phone with an old 25th street radio ad – was that you? you did not leave a voice message and did not leave any phone number to call you back.
AGAIN, I APPEAL TO ALL OF YOU, PLEASE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SAVING 25TH IF IT MEANS THAT RICHARD OLSEN’S FATHER IS INVOLVED WITH THE EFFORT. see my message above for further details.
“that which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but our power to do it has increased” – emerson
this is robert-bob. i am sure that any of you out there in the ether net who partied at 25th will certainly remember me. i have often wondered over the years if anybody used to sit back and think of 25th and me like i have thought about all of you. there are just a few of “us” who are personally connected to 25th and richard olsen, such a myself, big richard, jake vanek, chris pinero, christopher carrow, keith lindemann, michael sullivan, thurman jackson. i knew little richard for over ten years and indeed, part of my soul is missing since he was murdered. with that said, there is nothing that should stand in the way of this grand ol' lady from being demolished if the only way to save it is through little richard’s father. little richard would never want us to save this building if it meant that we had to go to his father. it is an abomination that richard’s father is somehow involved in the effort to save 25th from being demolished. i tell you right here, right now that little richard himself would push the button to dynamite the building before he would have his father involved. this is just the plain truth. it is hard to hear. but if little richard’s father is involved in the effort to save 25th, we must all abandon efforts to save it. it IS what little richard would want us all to do. we all have our memories and they will last our lifetimes. i appeal to all of you, please have nothing to do with saving 25th if it means that little richard’s father is involved with the effort. thank you – thank you very much.
hey chris, the sketch of the mural was traced by consuelo and another woman. the plastic sheets were rolled up and put in the marque letter/number room upstairs next to the projection room. after richard’s murder, andy and big richard came to 25th to clear out all the video editting equipment to bring it up to arcadia in dallas. the last i knew, the mural tracings were still in that room along with some old records, etc.
kelly, you said you had pics of people from the club. do you happen to have any of me, or of richard – michael – keith – christopher – thurman – matt – horry – etc.?
i have forwarded a couple of pics to jake and he has posted them on this website under news. just type 25th street theatre in the box – check news – and select search, and you will be taken to the site with the pics. one of the pics is 25th at night with my car, little richard’s car, and big richard’s car in front. in the pic, the green outline neon on the sign is not on, just the pink letter neon. but the orange racing neon on the front of the building is on. that is my favorite neon on the club. it was very art-deco. we could turn on certain parts of the marque or all of it, depending on our mood! do i know kelly samford? if you went to 25th, you certainly have to know me!
jake, the least you could have done was attributed the above photograph of 25th at night to me! LOL. looks great. wish richard was still here. we always planned to come back and reopen the club in waco. all the wiring was left in place in the ceiling to hook the light show back up. we talked about painting the ceiling and walls black (except the chariot wall) and have exposed orange coil electrical wire hanging down to the grid from the ceiling. we toyed around with the idea of the name “INDUSTDANCE”. it is a name i picked for one of the tapes richard made for one of my birthdays.
girl, michael just hasn’t consumed enough ecstasy during his lifetime and is in a bad mood. apparently, he just was not part of the “in-crowd” and is a little horsey-torsey! oh, mr. ed! a note to michael: you should do a little history project and determine the value that this theatre has provided to the city of waco. i am sure you would have the same tired attitude had you seen the mighty hippodrome before it was brought back to her glory. now, go take some ecstasy, and call somebody who cares in the morning!
The 25th Street Theatre in Waco, Texas, was built around 1946 by Interstate Theatres, a chain with headquarters in Dallas. I don’t know the name of the architect, but whoever he was he designed a number of houses for the chain, including the Inwood, Wilshire, Esquire, Forest, and Circle in Dallas, Texas which were built at about the same period as the 25th Street Theatre. In fact, the Wilshire and Circle were built on the same blueprint design as the 25th Street Theatre, except the Wilshire and Circle had balconys. The Arcadia is an old house, built in 1926, (not by Interstate), for vaudeville and silent pictures. It had a theater organ and the loft that held the pipes on each side of the proscenium can still be seen, although empty. The organ was donated by the owner to Baylor University in 1935. It was modified and installed in Waco Hall on the Baylor campus. Little Richard and I used to sneak in and play it. The Arcadia was leased and operated by Interstate in the ‘30s until they opened the Lakewood, when the operation of the Arcadia reverted back to it owner. The Wilshire continued to operate profitably until the value of its land became so high that it was steel balled and a shopping center was built on the site. This happened about 1978. It was a luxury house with an animated neon facade that has never been duplicated that I know of. I wish I had a picture of it. After the money grubbers got through destroying the beautiful things, the only theatres, mentioned above, left standing are the Inwood, (still a first run art house), the Circle, (a bingo parlor), and the Forest, (now a black theatre that operates off and on and is in a bad neighborhood).
dubnstein or milks4pooter? how in the Hell do you know about milk for pooter? robert-bob
blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah
“are we living in a land where sex and horror are the new Gods?”
destroy the remains of this grand ol' Lady, and leave her in peace.
the photos submitted by “lost memory” on may 17, 2006, stand as a testament to the final destruction of this building.
please do not destroy the fragile meomory fragments that i possess. i can’t believe that 25th has become the messy hulk that appears in these photographs.
where is the dignity of this grand ol'Lady? let her pass in peace.
president ronald reagan once declared “tear down these walls!”
in the imortal words of FGTH: “it’s enough to make you wonder sometimes if you’re on the right planet … enjoy … i feel … i feel alright … my name’s peirce, my name’s matt, my name’s nash, mine is the last voice you will ever hear, don’t be alarmed!”
It will be a sad moment in time when the grand ol' Lady falls to the earth from which She was born. But for many of us, Her grand times will be forever ingrained upon our minds and souls. Whether She is remembered as a grand movie house with the pipe organ playing, or Her later years as a run-of-the-mill movie parlor, or her X-L-N-T turn as the best dance club ever in the entire universe, She will be remembered. We should not mourn Her passing, but celebrate Her life that lives in each and every one of us. I raise a glass of Moet Chandon Brut Imperial and propose a toast to this fine Lady. Here! Here! To 25th Street Theatre and to her loving caretaker, Richard Olsen and Richard Keiffer. Hurrah! May She rest in peace.
On a personal note: My sincere apologies to all my dear friends that I pushed away at the time of Richard’s murder and the subsequent robbery of our house and all my belongings. It was a very rough time for me and I reacted the only way I could; by shutting down and removing myself from everybody and everything that would remind me of the horror of the empty vacuum of my life without Richard. It has been a weird 12 years and I am just coming to terms with the event and how it affected my life and how I let it affect my life. Forgive me – I am so alone and it is all my fault.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy” – Martin Luther King Jr.
jake,
surprised to read your comment on cinema treasures and see your new phone number. the last time we spoke, you had no way to contact the “outside world”. you said you would contact me as soon as you could. no big deal.
as far as my comments about richard’s father’s involvement in the restoration efforts of 25th: i do not know if you are aware of all the details regarding little richard’s relationship with his father and brother? i can tell you one thing, little richard would never go to them for this. now if the only thing richard’s father is involved in is handing the keys over free and clear to an organization to restore 25th – that is okay. but if he will benefit in any way from any transaction, that is not okay. if richard’s father or brother benefits in any way, it will be blasphemy in the face of little richard and will not honor him in any way.
the last time we spoke, you were very cryptic about 25th being saved and little richard’s father’s involvement. over the course of the last couple of months (or whenever it was the last time we spoke), i thought long and hard about richard’s father being somehow involved with saving 25th.
i stand by what i typed on cinema treasures and big richard is in agreement with me.
as i mentioned above, if his only involvement is his handing over the keys and deed to the city of waco or to the “save the 25th organization”, i am in full support. however, if he or his brother will benefit financially or otherwise from this transaction, i will be in full disagreement because little richard’s memory will be smeared by that action.
to change the subject, i hope you are doing well. i have not heard from you in awhile. i got a message on my cell phone with an old 25th street radio ad – was that you? you did not leave a voice message and did not leave any phone number to call you back.
with regards and best wishes,
robert bob
AGAIN, I APPEAL TO ALL OF YOU, PLEASE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SAVING 25TH IF IT MEANS THAT RICHARD OLSEN’S FATHER IS INVOLVED WITH THE EFFORT. see my message above for further details.
“that which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but our power to do it has increased” – emerson
hello all you x-heads,
this is robert-bob. i am sure that any of you out there in the ether net who partied at 25th will certainly remember me. i have often wondered over the years if anybody used to sit back and think of 25th and me like i have thought about all of you. there are just a few of “us” who are personally connected to 25th and richard olsen, such a myself, big richard, jake vanek, chris pinero, christopher carrow, keith lindemann, michael sullivan, thurman jackson. i knew little richard for over ten years and indeed, part of my soul is missing since he was murdered. with that said, there is nothing that should stand in the way of this grand ol' lady from being demolished if the only way to save it is through little richard’s father. little richard would never want us to save this building if it meant that we had to go to his father. it is an abomination that richard’s father is somehow involved in the effort to save 25th from being demolished. i tell you right here, right now that little richard himself would push the button to dynamite the building before he would have his father involved. this is just the plain truth. it is hard to hear. but if little richard’s father is involved in the effort to save 25th, we must all abandon efforts to save it. it IS what little richard would want us all to do. we all have our memories and they will last our lifetimes. i appeal to all of you, please have nothing to do with saving 25th if it means that little richard’s father is involved with the effort. thank you – thank you very much.
hey chris, the sketch of the mural was traced by consuelo and another woman. the plastic sheets were rolled up and put in the marque letter/number room upstairs next to the projection room. after richard’s murder, andy and big richard came to 25th to clear out all the video editting equipment to bring it up to arcadia in dallas. the last i knew, the mural tracings were still in that room along with some old records, etc.
kelly, you said you had pics of people from the club. do you happen to have any of me, or of richard – michael – keith – christopher – thurman – matt – horry – etc.?
i have forwarded a couple of pics to jake and he has posted them on this website under news. just type 25th street theatre in the box – check news – and select search, and you will be taken to the site with the pics. one of the pics is 25th at night with my car, little richard’s car, and big richard’s car in front. in the pic, the green outline neon on the sign is not on, just the pink letter neon. but the orange racing neon on the front of the building is on. that is my favorite neon on the club. it was very art-deco. we could turn on certain parts of the marque or all of it, depending on our mood! do i know kelly samford? if you went to 25th, you certainly have to know me!
jake, the least you could have done was attributed the above photograph of 25th at night to me! LOL. looks great. wish richard was still here. we always planned to come back and reopen the club in waco. all the wiring was left in place in the ceiling to hook the light show back up. we talked about painting the ceiling and walls black (except the chariot wall) and have exposed orange coil electrical wire hanging down to the grid from the ceiling. we toyed around with the idea of the name “INDUSTDANCE”. it is a name i picked for one of the tapes richard made for one of my birthdays.
girl, michael just hasn’t consumed enough ecstasy during his lifetime and is in a bad mood. apparently, he just was not part of the “in-crowd” and is a little horsey-torsey! oh, mr. ed! a note to michael: you should do a little history project and determine the value that this theatre has provided to the city of waco. i am sure you would have the same tired attitude had you seen the mighty hippodrome before it was brought back to her glory. now, go take some ecstasy, and call somebody who cares in the morning!
The 25th Street Theatre in Waco, Texas, was built around 1946 by Interstate Theatres, a chain with headquarters in Dallas. I don’t know the name of the architect, but whoever he was he designed a number of houses for the chain, including the Inwood, Wilshire, Esquire, Forest, and Circle in Dallas, Texas which were built at about the same period as the 25th Street Theatre. In fact, the Wilshire and Circle were built on the same blueprint design as the 25th Street Theatre, except the Wilshire and Circle had balconys. The Arcadia is an old house, built in 1926, (not by Interstate), for vaudeville and silent pictures. It had a theater organ and the loft that held the pipes on each side of the proscenium can still be seen, although empty. The organ was donated by the owner to Baylor University in 1935. It was modified and installed in Waco Hall on the Baylor campus. Little Richard and I used to sneak in and play it. The Arcadia was leased and operated by Interstate in the ‘30s until they opened the Lakewood, when the operation of the Arcadia reverted back to it owner. The Wilshire continued to operate profitably until the value of its land became so high that it was steel balled and a shopping center was built on the site. This happened about 1978. It was a luxury house with an animated neon facade that has never been duplicated that I know of. I wish I had a picture of it. After the money grubbers got through destroying the beautiful things, the only theatres, mentioned above, left standing are the Inwood, (still a first run art house), the Circle, (a bingo parlor), and the Forest, (now a black theatre that operates off and on and is in a bad neighborhood).
hello jake. this is robert-bob. of course, i have a pic of 25th.