World Theatre

I grew up 4 blocks from the World in the 1950s. They would get movies about a few weeks after they played in downtown Toledo. It cost 25 cents to get in 50 cents for adults. I remember specific movies I saw there, e.g., Ben Hur around 1959. As more blacks moved into the area, they would go to the World, and talk incessantly except when there was something exciting on the screen. Me and my siblings stopped going because we could never hear the movie. The World was part of a vibrant neighborhood shopping area on Dorr Street. When I look at the area now on Google streetscene, it’s all gone – deserted.

Found an 1921 ad at http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UJpXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0kQNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1732%2C3073179

The architectural firm was C. Howard Crane of Detroit, Michigan. I have the full plans of the building. The Sepia Arts Theatre was the full name of the operation in the 1970’s. They actually were fairly successful with programing and live events as well. The downfall came from the same company producing a feature film entitled “The Last Jesus” in New York City, production costs mounted and ultimately the film lab refused to develop any more film and kept the stock that was already shot. One of the principals of the Sepia Arts was a neighbor and before he passed away 20 years ago I asked what the plot of the movie was and even he was not sure. The film was about 40 years ago, so has nothing to do with any book written since or the Kirk Franklin song.

Very good. Some of those organs were like that. It seems to me one of the early Chicago radio station Bartons was also a divided manual job. I think it was an early studio instrument for either WBBM or WGN. WGN eventually had a Wurlitzer/Kimball but an earlier organ was a Barton. I do not know if any of these divided manual Barton organs are still around or not. I have two Wurlitzers here that have a “divided manual”, but this was for a Concert Roll player—even though the manual has stops for both bass and treble parts of the manual.