I was an usher there from 1959-1961, while a student at R. J. Reynolds High School. $.60 an hour plus all the free popcorn I could eat. Minimum wage was 0.75 for most jobs, but theaters and agriculture we allowed to pay less. We wore uniforms then, light blue with brass buttons and ties, to match the classy architecture. Among my duties was putting up the marquee lettering – no fun in the winter!
This photo doesn’t show the upper balcony for blacks, before the theater integrated in the early 60’s. Cropping by the photographer was probably intentional, though the lens might not have been able to take it all in. There was a separate entrance around the corner from the front, along with totally separate accommodations. Thank God those days are gone!
I was an usher there from 1959-1961, while a student at R. J. Reynolds High School. $.60 an hour plus all the free popcorn I could eat. Minimum wage was 0.75 for most jobs, but theaters and agriculture we allowed to pay less. We wore uniforms then, light blue with brass buttons and ties, to match the classy architecture. Among my duties was putting up the marquee lettering – no fun in the winter!
This photo doesn’t show the upper balcony for blacks, before the theater integrated in the early 60’s. Cropping by the photographer was probably intentional, though the lens might not have been able to take it all in. There was a separate entrance around the corner from the front, along with totally separate accommodations. Thank God those days are gone!