“I’d horsewhip you, if I had a horse.” – Horse Feathers (1932)
Five unused tickets to the one-night-only Midnight Burlesque Show La Vie Paree, Saenger Theatre, Mobile, Alabama, 13 January 1934. Balcony seats cost .55¢ with tax.
“Say it Ain’t So! A Fantasy?”
In the summer of 2006 we had only been collecting marbles for a couple of years and lots of things were still new to us. In an antique shop in Dade City, Florida, we bought what we thought was a nice promotional poly bag of Peltier Bumblebees. It looked to us to date to the 1940s. The black and white header looked cheap as would be expected with throw-away paper. After all, the kids who got these free bags ‘Compliments of Rio Theatre; John Wayne’ were only interested in the player marbles. Headers were ripped off and thrown away.
Our interest in these marbles was heightened because in early June 2005 we had found a 1940s glass Vitro Agate marble very near the old A & G Theatre in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. The movie theatre opened in 1927, and while partially destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005, it was rebuilt and put up for lease.
About this photo:
The Leslie Theatre on Range Avenue, Denham Springs, Louisiana, was also opened around 1927. Between 1941 and 1950, known as the “golden age” of the silver screen, the Leslie was the only theatre in town. The population was growing, and there 2,053 residents in 1950. The Leslie was renamed the Carol Theatre in 1954. Today, it is an antique mall. We enjoyed shopping here and noted that the floor slopes from box office to stage. (1)
We thought that any public courtyard, alleyway, lane, or shady open space near a small town movie house or community theatre in larger cities would be an excellent place for kids to play marbles. The A & G or the Leslie in Denham Springs, Louisiana, for examples, seemed ideal locations for spirited games of ringer during a break in a Saturday matinee double-feature!
As we continued to study our Rio Theatre marbles we came to realize that, according to experienced marble sources, the bags were totally fabricated fantasies. They did not exist in the 1940s – 1950s. We were confused.
Meet me at the Rio
We knew for certain that there are and were any number of Rio Theatres scattered across the United States and Canada. Many of these were up and running in the 1930s – 1950s, which was the “golden age” of both movies and marbles.
In fact, the Rio Theatre in Springerville, Arizona, is the oldest movie theatre in the state. It was built of adobe and plank and it opened as the Apache in 1915. It’s name was changed to El Rio in the 1930s.
“El Rio Theatre became the source of many fond and often recounted childhood memories. El Rio was the community center where kids were dropped off by their parents with a couple of dimes in pocket money on Saturday mornings to watch the next episodes of Roy Rogers, Tarzan, and the Lone Ranger or a double-feature complete with Superman cartoons and “Movietone News” shorts.”[2]
About this photo:
The King Theatre, 600 block West Main Street, New Roads, Louisiana. Façade reads 1949. Most recently it is a Vape shop. For a taste of how it was when the seats were wired for fright when a ghost movie was screened and so much more, read “Johnny’s” personal recollections in Issue #5 Let’s All Go To The Lobby (At The King)” Posted 06/04/11 [3]. And special thanks to the staff of Pointe Coupee Parish Historical Society for consultation.
There is or was a Rio movie theatre in Santa Cruz, California; in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and in Overland Park, Kansas[4]; and a Monte Rio in Monte Rio, California. Even today, some 15 years after first learning about the Rio fantasy poly bags, we find it hard to comprehend that these movie theatres never made up a few bags of marbles and cheap headers for the kids!
Look in the Dirt & Watch for Fire Ants!
After finding marbles near a few movie theatres and after learning about the fantasy poly bags of marbles, we were hooked. Every time we drive through a small town, from Florida to Colorado, we look for the old movie theatre. If there is any public easement nearby we stop and take a closer look.
About this photo:
In Mobile, Alabama, the theatre with the longest history is the Crescent, which is in the 200 block of historic Dauphin Street down town. When it opened in 1885 it featured vaudeville shows. In 1912, it was converted to a movie theatre and was among the first to show silent films.
Fruit Cake Capital of the World
When we drove through Claxton, Georgia, in June 2018 we decided to stop and stretch our legs. Like a number of towns and small cities in the South, Claxton has been undertaking downtown and regional development and in 2018 the population was growing.
We found a large open lot in the 200 block of Main Street which allowed public easement so we explored and looked for marbles. Only later did we realized that the lot is very near the historic Tos Theatre at 201 Main.
The Tos movie theatre opened as the Italian Garden Theatre in 1927 and was renamed Tos Tin 1940. It was owned and operated by the Savino Tos family. It was still operating as a movie theatre, but in1950, it closed for good in 1976. While renovation and repairs have been start-and-stop at the Tos, there was neither signage nor marque present when we were there in July 2022. Incidentally, Savino Tos was also a baker and opened a bakery where the world famous Claxton was created.
Our service dog Mia helped us look for marbles and together we found three glass marbles from the 1940s. All are in mint condition; the blue translucent swirl is especially beautiful. All three look like they were just taken out of a poly bag in the 1940s and then lost! One blue marble is 9/16 and the other 2 are 21/32. The toy at the bottom to the left is a spinning top. We can just imagine what fun the kids had back in the “golden age” when they could buy a ticket for the movie, leave between shows, buy a Coke or RC and play marbles, then go back in on the same ticket. At most of these matinees they could watch Tarzan all over again.
Southern Gothic
Across the South some historic stores are no more than the architectural and ornamental wrought iron fronts, and in some places the stores’ hand-made bricks are being reclaimed.
In March 2021 we were traveling through Greensboro, Alabama which is in the west-central part of the State. The town was incorporated in 1823. While some small towns across the Southeast are undergoing central business district renovation, and old stores are being renovated into apartments, unfortunately other town centers are being abandoned.
Downtown Greensboro is also undergoing these historic changes. We found some easement behind what we believe to be the old Ritz Theatre which opened, with Belgian carpets, in 1935. But before the movie theatre, Greensboro enjoyed The Greensboro Opera House. The first Opera was built in the 1890s. It burned and was replaced in 1903.
Behind the movie theatre we found a mint blue 17/32” Bennington. It was buried and only a curved sliver was showing. At first we thought that it was a broken glass marble. We had never found a Bennington before. Near the Bennington Joanne found about half an old marble from the 1940s.
Back to the Saenger
The first photograph in this story introduces the Mobile Saenger Theatre. The lead photograph shows unused tickets to the Saenger’s burlesque show La Vie Paree. This show was Danny Kaye’s show business breakout and he toured with it for 16 months in 1933 – 1934.
About this photo:
The Mobile Saenger Theatre opened in 1927. There were over 300 Saenger Theatres nationwide!
While there was a “G-rated” version of La Vie Paree, the midnight show was the naughty one and no kids under 16 we allowed in. And, by the way, the Police Chief of New Orleans attended the one and only Mobile performance, went home, and cancelled the show’s permit for New Orleans!
The Mobile Saenger is at 6 South Joachim Street just off Dauphin Street downtown. It was opened in 1927. It could seat over 2,600 people. The City of Mobile took over the theatre in 1999 and spent $6 million on renovation. Today the Mobile Symphony Orchestra plays in the Saenger and it also features movies and concerts.
We were told by a Mobile native while researching this story that neighborhood kids rode their bicycles to the Saturday matinees. Mobile also opened an electric street car in 1893. You could ride downtown on a street car for a nickel from communities well outside of downtown. These street cars were gradually replaced by motor buses starting in 1939.[6]
If the Saenger has a “back yard” we have not found it. Also, as you can see, there is no public easement anywhere along South Joachim Street between Dauphin and Government Street. But we also know that there have been some dramatic changes downtown since the 1920s.
The “Good Old Days”
By and large the movie theatres of the “golden age” of the 1920s – 1950s are just as dead and quite as the glass houses which gave us millions of marbles. In fact, far too many of both have just completely disappeared from the landscape.
But the old downtown and community movie houses, marbles, and marble playing are intertwined in our collective memory. They remain fundamental and important elements in our American culture. Both, as they say, are as American as apple pie. For all intents and purposes, they are both dead and gone from the American landscape. It is hard to escape the fact that America is poorer for their loss.
So, the next time you find yourself driving through a small town, or when you visit your own downtown, look around for the old movie theatre. It may have been renovated; it may now be a live community theatre like the Desoto Theatre which opened in Rome, Georgia, as a movie show in 1929.
It may be a vape shop, restaurant, retail and insurance office, or a professional building. We know of at least one with apartments on the second floor.
Where to Look
We have shopped in more than one antique store inside a renovated movie theatre. We’ve mentioned the Leslie in Denham Springs, Louisiana. The State Theatre is a pink art deco architectural gem in Plant City, Florida. It opened in 1939 and closed in the 1950s. Now it is a delightful antique shop which we always enjoy visiting.
If you do find an historic movie theatre in a small town or larger community then look around for any public easement, redevelopment, or park nearby. Who knows, you may add some theatre marbles to your collection. And, whether you find treasures or not, if you find an old theatre with a little research online or at a local historical society, you may learn a lot about the golden age of movies and marbles. You won’t be disappointed; the search itself is reward enough.
If you have found theatre marbles, or if you do after reading this story, then let us hear from you!
About this photo:
The Elroy Theatre in Franklinton, Louisiana, opened around 1942. It was still open in 1957. “Old, faded & forgotten but still very much recognizable as a theatre.” (7) July 2022.
“Never miss a good chance to shut up.” – Will Rogers
- Check the Film Daily Yearbook between 1941 and 1950. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/20741 7/12/2022 ↑
- http://www.elriotheatre.com/el-rio-theatre.html 7/21/2022 ↑
- You can find the reminiscence at: https://pointecoupeereporter.com/growing-up-in-the-p77-1612.htm 7/21/2022 ↑
- Special Thanks to Anne C. Jones, Curator of Collections, Johnson County Museum, Overland Park, KS ↑
- https://alabama.travel/road-trips/alabama-historic-theater#h-5 (7/18/2022) & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saenger_Theatre_(Mobile,_Alabama) 7/23/2022 ↑
- http://saltofamerica.com/contents/displayArticle.aspx?0_748 7/23/2022 ↑
- http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/56249 7/12/2022↑
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