glcody26, do you recall what year you met Jack in the parking lot? I had no idea the steam plant was the cause of the theater closing. Do you think the Harrison would have stayed open if the steam plant had not closed? Feel free to email me at . Maybe you have some more information that you would be willing to share.
I recently visited my hometown of West Chester in September, 2011. I moved from West Chester in July 1965. I went to the site of the old Harrison Theater that I frequented when I was a teenager. I was surprised that the building bears a little resemblance to the original building as shown in the picture. The visit brought a lot of memories of the Harrison that I will share with readers. During the period of about 1960 to 1964 I would go to the Harrison to see a movie on weekends. I knew the manager, Jack, who managed and operated the theater. I met Jack because he was a customer on my paper route and he would occasionally give me free passes to get in. I was intrigued by movies theaters at that time and had visions of being a theater operator someday. During the period of 1960 – 1964, I would estimate “Jack” to be about 50 -60 years old at the time. I knew Jack managed and operated the theater, but I did not know if he owned it. I learned how to run a theater, or more correctly, how not to run a theater by asking Jack questions. Jack would let me climb the ladder to the projection booth to see the projectors in operation. The movie presentation was terrible, missed reel changeovers, screen going black because Jack did not keep the carbon arc lamp tweaked up. More than once, I observed the screen going “white” when film ran out of the projector and Jack was climbing the ladder in a hurry to fix the problem.
The seats were in need of repair, but Jack made no effort to fix them. The restrooms were so small that they could only accommodate one person at a time. This was usually not a problem because the theater had few customers. The tickets issued at the box office had “Garden Theater” printed on them instead of Harrison. I guess the tickets were left over from the Garden Theater days. I wonder when the name changed from Garden to Harrison. Sometimes there was an usher that took your ticket and sometime there was not.
Popcorn was dispensed from a machine for a dime. Soda and candy was available from machines.
The Harrison showed many “B” movies, but occasionally had first run movies. Cleopatra was shown at the Harrison. An auditor showed up to count tickets sold and very few people showed up for the matinee showing. Spartacus was a road show movie complete with intermission. This was the only time I recall that the house was nearly full. When intermission came, people filed out onto Gay St. The 2nd half started after a few minutes without warning and people had to find their way back to their seats during the show. As I said, presentation was terrible.
I have always wondered how and when the life of the Harrison Theater ended. I was amazed how long the theater stayed in operation with the Warner Theater around the corner drawing most of the customers. Today, downtown West Chester is a totally different place then it was 50 years ago. I wonder if the Harrison was alive today, as an independent theater showing independent films, could it survive in West Chester.
glcody26, do you recall what year you met Jack in the parking lot? I had no idea the steam plant was the cause of the theater closing. Do you think the Harrison would have stayed open if the steam plant had not closed? Feel free to email me at . Maybe you have some more information that you would be willing to share.
I recently visited my hometown of West Chester in September, 2011. I moved from West Chester in July 1965. I went to the site of the old Harrison Theater that I frequented when I was a teenager. I was surprised that the building bears a little resemblance to the original building as shown in the picture. The visit brought a lot of memories of the Harrison that I will share with readers. During the period of about 1960 to 1964 I would go to the Harrison to see a movie on weekends. I knew the manager, Jack, who managed and operated the theater. I met Jack because he was a customer on my paper route and he would occasionally give me free passes to get in. I was intrigued by movies theaters at that time and had visions of being a theater operator someday. During the period of 1960 – 1964, I would estimate “Jack” to be about 50 -60 years old at the time. I knew Jack managed and operated the theater, but I did not know if he owned it. I learned how to run a theater, or more correctly, how not to run a theater by asking Jack questions. Jack would let me climb the ladder to the projection booth to see the projectors in operation. The movie presentation was terrible, missed reel changeovers, screen going black because Jack did not keep the carbon arc lamp tweaked up. More than once, I observed the screen going “white” when film ran out of the projector and Jack was climbing the ladder in a hurry to fix the problem. The seats were in need of repair, but Jack made no effort to fix them. The restrooms were so small that they could only accommodate one person at a time. This was usually not a problem because the theater had few customers. The tickets issued at the box office had “Garden Theater” printed on them instead of Harrison. I guess the tickets were left over from the Garden Theater days. I wonder when the name changed from Garden to Harrison. Sometimes there was an usher that took your ticket and sometime there was not. Popcorn was dispensed from a machine for a dime. Soda and candy was available from machines. The Harrison showed many “B” movies, but occasionally had first run movies. Cleopatra was shown at the Harrison. An auditor showed up to count tickets sold and very few people showed up for the matinee showing. Spartacus was a road show movie complete with intermission. This was the only time I recall that the house was nearly full. When intermission came, people filed out onto Gay St. The 2nd half started after a few minutes without warning and people had to find their way back to their seats during the show. As I said, presentation was terrible. I have always wondered how and when the life of the Harrison Theater ended. I was amazed how long the theater stayed in operation with the Warner Theater around the corner drawing most of the customers. Today, downtown West Chester is a totally different place then it was 50 years ago. I wonder if the Harrison was alive today, as an independent theater showing independent films, could it survive in West Chester.