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Blogroll
Category Archives: Theaters
W.W. Watts, theater impresario
William Walter “W.W.” Watts flopped the first time he opened a theater in Springfield. But his stepson-in-law persuaded Watts to try again, saying there was “big money in 5-cent picture shows.” The younger man was right. Watts (1868-1937), an Ohio … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Business, Journalism, Media, Prominent figures, Social life, Theaters
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Pekin Theatre
In segregated Springfield, the Pekin Theatre was the only movie house that not only catered specifically to African-Americans, but was managed by African-Americans as well. The Pekin was at 811-15 E. Washington St. The block, the site of both Black- … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Amusements, Social life, Theaters
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Roxy theater
“One of the city’s oldest, largest and most reliable babysitters, the Roxy Theater, will fall to the state of Illinois headache ball.” So wrote State-Journal Register critic Paul Povse in September 1978. Indeed, the demise of the Roxy was a … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Social life, Theaters
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Theater bombings, 1931-32
Unhappy theater workers were the immediate suspects in 1931, when bombs – both explosives and stink bombs – went off in three local cinemas. A few months later, another bomb wrecked the home of a theater manager. Members of Springfield … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Depression, Labor unions, Law enforcement, Theaters
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‘Big Tent Theatre’ photographs
These photos apparently are publicity stills produced when the Depression-era Federal Theatre Project played a season of live, professional theater in a tent at West Grand Avenue (today’s MacArthur Boulevard) and Outer Park Drive in 1936. The venue was known … Continue reading
Posted in Theaters, Uncategorized
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‘The Big Tent Theatre’, 1936
The Big Tent Theatre, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-relief programs, played to packed houses at West Grand Avenue (today’s MacArthur Boulevard) and Outer Park Drive in 1936. The Big Tent was formally part of the Federal Theatre Project, which … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Depression, Theaters, Uncategorized
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Johnny Connors (boxer, saloon-keeper)
Johnny Connors – boxer, saloon-keeper and sportsman – was small in stature, but he played an outsize role in Springfield for nearly 80 years. Connors (1867-1966) was born John O’Connor in Ireland, but boxed as Johnny Connors. He never legally changed … Continue reading
Springfield Muni Opera
The Springfield Muni Opera’s earliest ancestor was a play named “Good News,” performed by the Springfield Municipal Choir at Lanphier Park on July 28, 1938. But today’s outdoor community musical theater more accurately dates from a presentation of “Bye Bye … Continue reading
Esquire theater
Springfield’s Esquire theater opened in late 1937 via an unusual alliance between two central Illinois movie chains. Kerasotes Theaters of Springfield and Frisina Amusement Corp., founded in Taylorville, had almost simultaneously announced plans to build separate “suburban” theaters within a … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Social life, Theaters
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The potato matinee of 1925
The “potato matinee” of Christmas 1925 was the brainchild of longtime local theater manager Harry Thornton. It quickly went awry, the victim of its own success. Illinois State Journal editor/publisher J. Emil Smith, a friend of Thornton’s, heard the potato … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Business, Children, Media, Prominent figures, Social life, Theaters
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