Most longtime Oneontans and out-of-town visitors have favorite memories of their times at the Oneonta Theater. When you go back as far as 1898, there are plenty to choose from.
The newly formed Friends of the Oneonta Theater would like to hear your favorite memories at their Open House at 2 p.m. Sunday at the theater at 47 Chestnut St. The organization recently formed and has hopes to renovate and reactivate the theater, which stopped showing first-run films in 2006. There will be tours, entertainment and information about what is possibly planned for the historic landmark. The event is free.
One interesting memory at the theater for a lot of people took place on Saturday night, Feb. 28, 1925. We've all heard of descriptions of shows that had people on the edge of their seats, or a performance that "brought the house down."
That night, there actually was a "show stopper." At 9:32 p.m., a mild earthquake was felt in the city.
"One member of The Star staff was seated in the Oneonta theater," the newspaper reported, "and his recollections are of movements of the seats as if caused by undulating waves with little noise of any kind and no apparent damage to the structure. The place was well filled and the patrons left quickly, with, however, no signs of panic and no menace to others. "¦ Manager Olivey quieted the fears of some, with an announcement that it was a bit of preliminary publicity to attract attention to Dante's Inferno, soon to appear at that playhouse."
That's show biz.
The Oneonta Theater was built in 1897 by Willard E. Yager. It was opened on Jan. 31, 1898, with Madame Modjeska playing the lead role in "The Sporting Duchess." For several years it was a legitimate theater hosting one-night vaudeville stands and stock companies. Many famous actors and actresses have been on that stage.
Around 1913, it began to show silent movies between the visits of the vaudeville shows. It wasn't until Aug. 6, 1926, that the first talking movie was shown. The epic "Don Juan," starring John Barrymore, fascinated the crowd. Only two years later, the Schine family invested $25,000 in improvements, including a new sound system, featuring an enhancement called Vitaphone.
There was no marquee to shade the face of the theater when it was built. An archway to the left of the present entrance covered a road leading to the stage door, now a tanning salon. A second archway was the entryway to a lobby, different from what many know today. Some may not realize it, but the theater is actually two buildings. The present concession stand and office is a connector between the two.
John Philip Sousa's band marched through the archways before they were closed in 1921. Will Rogers was here in 1927.
The theater wasn't only for shows and movies. For generations, Oneonta High School graduates marched from the former Academy Street School, just around the corner, to receive their diplomas. In the 1908 presidential election, there was a big parade and rally for vice presidential candidate James Sherman, who went on to serve with President William Howard Taft. Somehow, nearly 2,000 crowded the Oneonta Theater to hear several speeches.
In more recent years, Harold deGraw purchased the theater in 1966. He had worked in the Schine-owned circuit of movie theaters both here and out-of-state since the early 1940s. During deGraw's ownership the balcony was blocked off in 1980 when a second screen was added. Above that balcony is the original projection booth along with what was kindly called the "cheap seats."
Subsequent owners have been Peter VanWoert, Phil Colone and Terry Mattison. During Colone's ownership, he procured the National Register of Historic Places status on the building in 2002.
Since that time there have been structural repairs on the truss system over the seating area including installation of a new roof. Recent painting highlights the Italianate-style plasterwork. Seats were repaired, reupholstered and repainted.
Plenty remains to be done and lots of great events are ahead for the old showplace, and the Friends of the Oneonta Theater will be looking to make it happen.
On Monday: 20 years of leadership changed a good college into a "great college" in Oneonta.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com.
His website is
www.oneontahistorian.com.
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