Danny52: The original Grand was on Cherry Street (now Fourth Ave) north of Cedar (now Charlotte) and burned November 8, 1902. The name Grand was immediately carried to the former Masonic which was on the north side of Church Street at 422, whereas the New Princess was on the south side in the same block at 415 starting in 1951. There had very briefly been a Parthenon Theater on the south side at 411 in 1915-1916.
Just for the record and to whoever wrote the opening comment above, the Capitol Blvd address and the Sixth Ave address are the same building; the ole Knick had two entrances, one on each of these streets.
Great pic, TLSLOEWS. To the youngsters looking at this, the main part of this property facing Church Street was occupied by the Jackson Building, the Princess lobby was on the westerly (right) side over next to McKendree Methodist and the auditorium was at the back of the property, behind the Jackson Bldg.
Old timers recall eating at Shackletts in the Jackson Bldg. They had a bread cart that came around and you could pick what you wanted.
Most things that I recall fondly do not exist any more!!
I believe she was a life-long artist. That’s how I met her as she was a long-time friend of Chris Tibbott who taught art here in Nashville for many years and after whom the art wing of the University School is named.
No I didn’t work in the booth but I was a good union billposter in my young days. I bet you remember old Mac who managed the Capitol and then the Bordeaux- I posted a lot of paper with him. That was in the winter, in the summer I was off with the circus. Oops- I’m going to air all my old linen here if I don’t watch it.
I’m sure you’re right, Mike. Everywhere you look there’s some cheaper way to run things. And of course there are experienced people sitting at home unable to find work.
I’m glad I’m an old man and have had my day- sure wouldn’t want to start over in today’s world.
That is an excellent piece on the old Roxy and its neighborhood.
In 1923 my mother’s family briefly lived across Meridian from this property and she attended Glenn School nearby. Then some years later one of her sisters lived several blocks up Meridian from this point when she was married to Paul Roark, the son of the barber you mention. During those years I have attended the Roxy with my cousins, the children of the Roarks.
The Roxy business district used to be a very nice safe area and I hope the new owners will return that to the neighborhood.
My only response is that the Paramount used to have kiddie clubs on Saturday mornings- apparently under more than one name- and maybe this happened there. This is the sort of thing that Ed Jordan later did at the Bellemeade.
Today there was a full obit telling of his starting at the Paramount in 1930 as an usher. Also a young picture of him. He was born on 11/11/11 (Nov 11, 1911) and died 1/15/11 (Jan 15, 2011).
Did anyone else notice in the Tennessean where Ben H Garrett, age 99, had died? Mr Garrett took over management of the Paramount from Charles Amos in the mid-to-late 1940s. Russ McCown told me probably fifteen or more years ago that he was then working as night watchman at the L&C Tower.
That was the stage door of the Orpheum facing the Capitol Blvd side of the Knickerbocker. The front of the Orpheum faced 7th Avenue and there’s the rub. The Orph was opened as a vaudeville theater and vaude depended on foot traffic out front. No one ever walked up or down 7th Ave except to get uphill to the YMCA or downhill to Church Street. There was no crowd of people as there was on Church Street and so they failed as a venue for vaude.
It was then decided to make it a playhouse, in other words they booked roadshows of various kinds and in that role they prospered for a number of years. Stock companies presenting several plays, minstrel shows, magic shows, light opera companies and the occasional cinematic production were booked into the old Orpheum. Older Nashvillians know that during the Great Depression the Edward Bellamy Players went broke at the Orpheum and Mrs. Inez Bassett Alder bought the props and wardrobe for the Hume-Fogg dramatic department.
For awhile I was able to get every issue of Nashville Retropect but my wife broke her hip in December then then I had a stroke in April and we were both in a nursing home for quite awhile. Since then I have been somewhat resticted in getting around so can’t get back to the place I usually got these. I have some pix of the Paramount lobby I might be able to post someday.
tisloews: I was in that sign shop over fifty years ago. The guy who did the work up there was Monk Ferguson. Those windows above the marquee were the sign shop windows, the shop being right over the lobby entrance.
We lived in Washington in 1947 and my dad used to meet me and my mother every Friday after work to see vaudeville at the Loew’s Capitol. Of course we watched the movie too but it was the vaude we went for. My mother was once picked from the audience to direct Sammy Kaye’s orchestra and I still have the souvenir autographed baton he gave her. They also had “Follow the Bouncing Ball” singing between pictures. It was a great theater and I love to think about those days of my youth.
In checking this site out on the map I discovered an interesting tidbit that I never knew. This theater is on 1st Ave South but there is also a very short parallel street simply called 1st Avenue that only runs from Lafayette to Wharf Avenue. Both are more-or-less extensions of 1st Avenue which sort of plays out where Hermitage Ave begins.
So Cameron School is located between 1st Ave S and 1st Avenue. Odd!
Well, they did occasionally show movies as a special event but normally they had stage shows, originally vaudeville and then road shows of the type that had formerly played the Vendome.
Jack Coursey listed them in the paper he did for Mike Slate showing the various movie theaters here and I tried to write him at the e-mail address shown with the list but my e-mail came back undelivered. Must have changed addresses.
Jack, if you read this chime in and I’ll just paste the letter here.
My father always said that when the Warner Bldg was built it was planned that a theater be there but what with the Depression etc it didn’t get done for many years. I rode through town the night the Tennessee was opened and saw the crowds but didn’t get to go to the gala opening at which some movie premiered.
By the way I believe the old Capitol occupied part of the Odd Fellows building at 6th and Church. The Odd Fellows Lodge might have owned the property as I seem to recall that it was simply leased for 100 years to the builders of the Warner building and I understamnd they had a Lodge on the top floor. They might even yet own the propertty. I think the high-rise condo building there is called the Cumberland- is this correct?
The Colonial was owned by one John F Marshall by 1918. In about 1926 it became the Elite (possibly having been bought by Crescent at the time) and survived under this name until demolished about 1935 or 36 and replaced by the Capitol. Note there were four Elites and two Capitols here at various times.
Why is there no listing for the Colonial Drive-In on Gallatin Road in Madison, or for that matter why not the Montague Drive-In also in Madison?
I believe that Lloyd Lawrence managed the original Madison at one time. He had two brothers who also managed Crescent houses: Johnny at the Rex and Joe at the Woodland.
Danny52: The original Grand was on Cherry Street (now Fourth Ave) north of Cedar (now Charlotte) and burned November 8, 1902. The name Grand was immediately carried to the former Masonic which was on the north side of Church Street at 422, whereas the New Princess was on the south side in the same block at 415 starting in 1951. There had very briefly been a Parthenon Theater on the south side at 411 in 1915-1916.
Just for the record and to whoever wrote the opening comment above, the Capitol Blvd address and the Sixth Ave address are the same building; the ole Knick had two entrances, one on each of these streets.
Great pic, TLSLOEWS. To the youngsters looking at this, the main part of this property facing Church Street was occupied by the Jackson Building, the Princess lobby was on the westerly (right) side over next to McKendree Methodist and the auditorium was at the back of the property, behind the Jackson Bldg.
Old timers recall eating at Shackletts in the Jackson Bldg. They had a bread cart that came around and you could pick what you wanted.
Most things that I recall fondly do not exist any more!!
I believe she was a life-long artist. That’s how I met her as she was a long-time friend of Chris Tibbott who taught art here in Nashville for many years and after whom the art wing of the University School is named.
He was married to Marie Sudekum (no t). I knew Marie but not Porter.
No I didn’t work in the booth but I was a good union billposter in my young days. I bet you remember old Mac who managed the Capitol and then the Bordeaux- I posted a lot of paper with him. That was in the winter, in the summer I was off with the circus. Oops- I’m going to air all my old linen here if I don’t watch it.
I’m sure you’re right, Mike. Everywhere you look there’s some cheaper way to run things. And of course there are experienced people sitting at home unable to find work.
I’m glad I’m an old man and have had my day- sure wouldn’t want to start over in today’s world.
I’ll just sign as “The Old Grouch”
(I’d rather be a has-been than a never-was)
This pic looks like the mid-fifties from the THREE Fords lined up abreast at the traffic light. Boy have I been right here many times!
I have a LOT of Paramount lobby photos, but I don’t know how to post them here.
Debie:
That is an excellent piece on the old Roxy and its neighborhood.
In 1923 my mother’s family briefly lived across Meridian from this property and she attended Glenn School nearby. Then some years later one of her sisters lived several blocks up Meridian from this point when she was married to Paul Roark, the son of the barber you mention. During those years I have attended the Roxy with my cousins, the children of the Roarks.
The Roxy business district used to be a very nice safe area and I hope the new owners will return that to the neighborhood.
My only response is that the Paramount used to have kiddie clubs on Saturday mornings- apparently under more than one name- and maybe this happened there. This is the sort of thing that Ed Jordan later did at the Bellemeade.
Today there was a full obit telling of his starting at the Paramount in 1930 as an usher. Also a young picture of him. He was born on 11/11/11 (Nov 11, 1911) and died 1/15/11 (Jan 15, 2011).
Did anyone else notice in the Tennessean where Ben H Garrett, age 99, had died? Mr Garrett took over management of the Paramount from Charles Amos in the mid-to-late 1940s. Russ McCown told me probably fifteen or more years ago that he was then working as night watchman at the L&C Tower.
I wonder if you mean Richland Park? Sylvan Part is a neighborhood roughly extending from 42nd to 51st on the south side of Charlotte.
Oh God, tisloews, don’t tell me you follow football.
That was the stage door of the Orpheum facing the Capitol Blvd side of the Knickerbocker. The front of the Orpheum faced 7th Avenue and there’s the rub. The Orph was opened as a vaudeville theater and vaude depended on foot traffic out front. No one ever walked up or down 7th Ave except to get uphill to the YMCA or downhill to Church Street. There was no crowd of people as there was on Church Street and so they failed as a venue for vaude.
It was then decided to make it a playhouse, in other words they booked roadshows of various kinds and in that role they prospered for a number of years. Stock companies presenting several plays, minstrel shows, magic shows, light opera companies and the occasional cinematic production were booked into the old Orpheum. Older Nashvillians know that during the Great Depression the Edward Bellamy Players went broke at the Orpheum and Mrs. Inez Bassett Alder bought the props and wardrobe for the Hume-Fogg dramatic department.
For awhile I was able to get every issue of Nashville Retropect but my wife broke her hip in December then then I had a stroke in April and we were both in a nursing home for quite awhile. Since then I have been somewhat resticted in getting around so can’t get back to the place I usually got these. I have some pix of the Paramount lobby I might be able to post someday.
tisloews: I was in that sign shop over fifty years ago. The guy who did the work up there was Monk Ferguson. Those windows above the marquee were the sign shop windows, the shop being right over the lobby entrance.
We lived in Washington in 1947 and my dad used to meet me and my mother every Friday after work to see vaudeville at the Loew’s Capitol. Of course we watched the movie too but it was the vaude we went for. My mother was once picked from the audience to direct Sammy Kaye’s orchestra and I still have the souvenir autographed baton he gave her. They also had “Follow the Bouncing Ball” singing between pictures. It was a great theater and I love to think about those days of my youth.
In checking this site out on the map I discovered an interesting tidbit that I never knew. This theater is on 1st Ave South but there is also a very short parallel street simply called 1st Avenue that only runs from Lafayette to Wharf Avenue. Both are more-or-less extensions of 1st Avenue which sort of plays out where Hermitage Ave begins.
So Cameron School is located between 1st Ave S and 1st Avenue. Odd!
Well, they did occasionally show movies as a special event but normally they had stage shows, originally vaudeville and then road shows of the type that had formerly played the Vendome.
Jack Coursey listed them in the paper he did for Mike Slate showing the various movie theaters here and I tried to write him at the e-mail address shown with the list but my e-mail came back undelivered. Must have changed addresses.
Jack, if you read this chime in and I’ll just paste the letter here.
My father always said that when the Warner Bldg was built it was planned that a theater be there but what with the Depression etc it didn’t get done for many years. I rode through town the night the Tennessee was opened and saw the crowds but didn’t get to go to the gala opening at which some movie premiered.
By the way I believe the old Capitol occupied part of the Odd Fellows building at 6th and Church. The Odd Fellows Lodge might have owned the property as I seem to recall that it was simply leased for 100 years to the builders of the Warner building and I understamnd they had a Lodge on the top floor. They might even yet own the propertty. I think the high-rise condo building there is called the Cumberland- is this correct?
The Dixie was on Fifth Avenue, not Church Street.
It opened in 1907 and according to one of Tony Sudekum’s grandsons the seating was 170 so that at 5¢ a seat a full house brought in $8.50.
It is said that the Dixie had Nashville’s first curved marquee featuring twelve electric light bulbs.
The Colonial was owned by one John F Marshall by 1918. In about 1926 it became the Elite (possibly having been bought by Crescent at the time) and survived under this name until demolished about 1935 or 36 and replaced by the Capitol. Note there were four Elites and two Capitols here at various times.
Why is there no listing for the Colonial Drive-In on Gallatin Road in Madison, or for that matter why not the Montague Drive-In also in Madison?
I believe that Lloyd Lawrence managed the original Madison at one time. He had two brothers who also managed Crescent houses: Johnny at the Rex and Joe at the Woodland.