It was just a few blocks from where I grew up on the East
Side (Daytons Bluff) of St. Paul. As a
child Saturday afternoons was a big deal because, with a couple of dimes for
admission and some popcorn, I was
allowed to walk up to the Mound Theater for the afternoon matinees. There I could watch John Wayne save Western
Civilization in movies like the Sands of Iwo Jima or a never ending stream of
cowboy movies. There were always several
cartoons featuring the like of Bugs Bunny and serials such as the Mark of
Zorro. Zorro, chased by outlaws, usually
fell to his presumed doom off a cliff. Next week, there he was hanging on to a
tree root over the precipice on his way to eventually capturing the bad guys.
The Mounds Theater at 1029 Hudson Road was built in 1922 and
looked much as it did in this photo from 1950 . After a remodeling later in the year, the
theater received a more modern stucco exterior.
It was closed in 1967 and used as a warehouse until 2001. Then in 2002 it is was renovated and reopened
as a neighborhood performing arts center.
8 comments:
For us, there was a nearby church that sometimes showed movies on Saturday afternoons.
Ah, the good ol' days are gone. We don't even go to a movie theatre anymore. Haven't in years.
I loved going to the movies when I was a child. Of course, I grew up in the 60's and 70's at the start of the multi-plex - two or three theaters at one place. We still have one of those old time theaters in a neighboring town. They show some classics, and have a kids matinee - old Disney classics.
Hubs and I are fans of the black and white classics. There are many I would love to have seen on the big screen.
This brings back some memories, T.B! We had two movie theaters in our small town, the State showed B type movies and the other newer one showed newer, better films. It cost us kids 9 cents for a ticket to either one, and you could get a bag of popcorn for a nickel or a box for a dime. Then, the movies on Sunday were continuous all day, so if you really liked the movie, you could see it three times at no extra charge. We saw all the cowboy movies on Saturday, then our neighborhood gang would get together and "play it out" choosing who we would be, what horse we would get, and other details. Talk about getting your money's worth!
Cheers,
Jo
Thanks for that bit of nostalgia. In Worthington where I grew up, we also had two theaters--the State and the Grand. I think those serials where the hero was always flung over a cliff at the end of the episode were the source of the term "cliffhanger". It was awful when you weren't able to catch the following episode and never knew how the hero managed to escape his doom!
How nice that it has been preserved. We have some lovely restored theaters here and they are booked solid with events.
My brother and I were there every Saturday. We watched the serials every week and talked about the cliff-hanger endings. Such a great time when we could walk to town by ourselves.
my elementary school used to show movies in the summers...
I love that this building was reopened as a performing arts center. that is wonderful!
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