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The man responsible for all those American Classic photos
posted by
HowardBHaas
on
July 29, 2009 at 10:52 am
Here’s the story of the man whose photographs of so many US cinemas have been linked to individual theater pages.
Working from a 1953 movie exhibitor guide listing all the theaters in the country, he plotted his trips: Ogden, Utah; Omaha, Neb.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Bangor, Maine.
They drove like hell to get where they were going, but once they got there, they were prepared to wait.
If it was too cloudy for a good shot of the theater marquee or if the trains were late, they sat in the truck, drinking Special Export beer, which Jim would drive to Chicago to buy, reading, listening to the CB and napping.
Read the full story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Comments (9)
Very touching and heart-warming story, HowardBHaas. Thanks for posting it.
I wanna thank this guy for taking a photo, and the only one I could find, of my old neighourhood movie palace in Monterey Park, CA. I’d been looking for years online for a photo and was stoked when I found it on his site. So, thanks alot man! You brought back a lot of good memories and now that image is on my hard drive where I can look at it all the time.
On behalf of every movie fan who remembers their favorite, long lost theater of their childhood, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Great story. These people probably have a better sense of America, as a result of their photo obsession, than most of us will ever have.
A big thank you from Miami.
It’s so funny to see the features playing because most of the photos were taken in the early 1980s. I was in college at that time or finishing, and I saw most of those films. back then a movie in Center City Philadelphia cost about $3, first-run, and I used to see at least one movie a week. Now two tickets for my wife and me plus junk food is upwards of $30. So thanks for keeping the 80s alive.
I’m searching for any photos of the System Theatre – Syracuse, New York; preferably a photo from the 1920s; interior, exterior if poss
Also searching for a photos of the Strand Theatre from the 1920s in Pasadena, CA and the Academy Theatre in Pasadena, CA from the 1920s
Any leads would be appreciated! Thank you
The website doesn’t seem to give Jim Marcus credit anywhere that I could see…
Wow—what a romantic story, from beginning to end. Thanks Howard, for posting this.
Cool keep them coming.