Going to see a
movie before the advent of today's multiplex theaters, it was an experience.
Next to listening to one's favorite radio program (before television, of
course!) such as Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lux Radio Theater and The
Great Gildersleeve, a weekly trip to the movies was as important as going
to church on Sunday. During the Golden Age of the Movie Palace (roughly
1921-1929), most Baltimoreans traveled downtown by streetcar (of course!) to
see a first run movie at one of the city's movie palaces.
At the movies, you just didn't see the picture. You experienced an
entire show. Each of these large houses had their own orchestra which
accompanied live acts on stage and in many cases, were augmented by the grand organ
(Gee, Dad, it's a Wurlitzer!). A typical show included the live acts, a
cartoon. coming attractions, a news reel, perhaps another short subject and
then the feature movie. If it were a silent movie, it was more than
likely accompanied by the grand organ. Theater organs were
specially designed to accompany silent movies, as they were "one man
orchestras." (Today's digital keyboards are actually
descendants of theater organs.)
Baltimore had its fair share of these pleasure palaces, to be sure. Of
the larger houses, there were the Loew's Century and Valencia and the RKO's Keith
Theatres on Lexington Street. The Hippodrome (which is now undergoing
restoration) could be visited on Eutaw Street. Then there were the
Auditorium (later Mayfair) and of course, the Stanley Theaters on Howard
Street.
The Stanley Theater was Baltimore's largest and most opulent movie
house. It was completed in 1927 at a cost of $2,500.000.00.
Seating almost 3,500, the Stanley's decor was something out of a rococo
dream. Italian marble, Tiffany chandeliers, highly polished brass and
deep carpeting abounded throughout the theater. Prices on opening night
was 60 cents for a balcony seat, sixty cents for an orchestra seat and
seventy-five cents for a box seat or one in the loge (a small mezzanine tucked
under the balcony with luxurious seating).
As the Stanley was the largest movie house in Baltimore, it also had the
largest theater pipe organ in Baltimore. Built by the revered firm of the
W.W. Kimball Company of Chicago, it was said to be the largest three-manual
(keyboard) theater organ built by Kimball. (The Kimball company's
largest theatre instrument is still in the Atlantic
City Convention Hall Ballroom.) The Stanley Kimball was a popular
feature of the show, having been played by a number of organists, including
the late Roland Nuttrell, who was a long-time member of the Baltimore
Streetcar Museum.
Time ran out for the Stanley in the 1950's. In 1958, the Stanley-Warner Company
sold the theater to Baltimore entrepreneur Morris A. Mechanic, who almost immediately changed
the name of the theater to the Stanton. The theater was used to show
movies, legitimate theater, closed-circuit television shows and variety
shows. On bright spot towards the Stanley's end was the resurrection of
the Grand Kimball Organ in 1962, used for the Baltimore premiere of The
Music Man. The organ was played regularly until the theater closed.
Prior to its restoration, the organ had been silent for 10 years.
By 1965, Morris Mechanic decided that the Stanley should not compete with his
new theater, the architectural monstrosity located at Charles and Baltimore Streets, bearing
his own name. And so, the Stanley vanished in a pile of rubble in the
summer of 1965, its place being taken by a parking lot.
The Kimball organ was sold at first to a group of Baltimore theater organ
enthusiasts, who restored and maintained the organ in her final years. However, Mr.
Mechanic changed his mind, reneged on the agreement and sold the organ to a
west-coast organ broker, who then offered to re-sell the instrument to the
Baltimore group at a handsome profit. The grand Kimball was removed from
the theater and broken up for parts, sadly, never to play as a complete
instrument again. In fact, a few non-musical parts of the organ were
demolished with the building, including the organ's blower with its 15-hp
motor. It is thought to remain under the present parking lot.
Fortunately, the Stanley
Kimball's console found its way to a happy ending. The console is being
lovingly restored by the Dickinson
Theatre Organ Society to be an identical twin console for its fabulous
enlarged Kimball theatre organ.
There are many who pass the west side of the 500 block of North Howard Street
by light rail, bus, on foot or automobile and will never know of the grandeur
that was once there . . . the fabulous Stanley Theater. The pictures
below represent "what once was" and "what is now."
As it is said, the song is ended, but the memory lingers on.
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Looking
north at the west side of the 500 block of North Howard Street in
1927. The Auditorium Theater would eventually become the Mayfair
in 1941. The Stanley sported mammoth signs ... the marquee and
the one on the roof. Tracks of the #10 streetcar line are evident, along
with the Belgian block paving. Note the overhead trolley
wire. A south bound to west-bound switch (into West Franklin Street) is
evident. Past the Stanley. to the north, is Baltimore City College High School,
later Western High School.
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Here's a
close-up of the Stanley's marquee in 1949. The front of the
building had changed little. However, the streetcar tracks and
the street's Belgian block paving have been replaced by overhead trackless trolley
wire (#10 line) and red brick paving. Ronald Reagan and Shirley Temple were
starring the Stanley's feature movie, That Hagen Girl. By
this time, City College had moved to its present location on the
Alameda and 33rd
Street and Western High School occupied the building to the right of
the Stanley.
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Here's
the console of the Stanley's fabulous W.W. Kimball pipe organ.
It resided on its own lift, which permitted it to rise out of the
orchestra pit. The console, having three keyboards, control 31
sets (ranks) of pipes. each rank being individually voice for a
particular sound, e.g., trumpet. The organ was installed
in two huge chambers, on either side of the stage. In addition
to the pipe work, the organ contain real percussion instruments
such as an upright piano, glockenspiel and chimes, all typical for a
theatre organ. |
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Looking
desolate, here's the west side of the 500 block of North Howard taken
in January 2003. The huge gap between the abandoned Mayfair
Theater and the Western High School Building (now condominiums) serves
as a sad reminder of the once-proud Stanley Theater. Had wiser
heads prevailed in 1965, the Stanley could easily have been converted
in a stunning symphony hall, as many other cities have now done.
The Stanley's stage was well-equipped and could sustain any musical
production, including opera. |
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Movie goers
were always hungry for a snack after the show. The White Coffee
Pot Restaurant (long closed), located diagonally from the Stanley and
Mayfair Theaters at Howard and Franklin Streets, was probably well
patronized after shows had ended. The White Coffee Restaurant
was popular all over Baltimore and was owned by the Horn and Horn
Cafeteria chain. The White Coffee Pot's bread pudding was
famous. One bright spot in this picture is the south-bound Penn
Station/BWI light rail car that passes by the photographer. |
For those who would like to
learn more about these grand theater pipe organs, visit these two sites.
The American Theatre Organ Society is
dedicated to the preservation and the education of an American original . . .
the theater organ. Baltimore is most fortunate to have its own theater
organ society. The Free
State Theater Organ Society has preserved a theater pipe organ from a
Baltimore movie theater and monthly concerts are offered. Your author is
a regular performer for this group.
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