Savoy Theatre

This Savoy was operated by Chalmers Cullins. He, according to his niece, had a reputation for keeping close watch on his employees as far as their education was concerned and was much admired for the help he gave them.

I don’t know when the Savoy was built, I can only go back to 1945 when my parents carried my brother and I to see Song of The South. We lived one block over and had the same numbers in our address. The Theater was owned by Chalmers Cullins. He was aslo the co-owner of the W.C.Handy on Park Ave at the corner of Airways Blvd. Thats another story. The theater colosed for a while in about 1954 and my parents reopened it in 1955. It faced West on Thomas St.(Hwy 51North). On the North side was a resturant named The Harlem House on the South side was a barber shop. The projection room had 2 Simplex projectors, sound and carbon arc lamps. The film cabinet had 12 bins. There was a fire door that would slide shut should the fire line break and so would the port hole shutters. There was 2 windows and a ladder at the one next to the recifier switches, no water and no restroom. My job was to open at 6:45pm to 8 and back in the projection room at 10:30 to close. The theater remained open until around 1959.