Unlike the early 21st century when you go to a movie and leave with a much lighter wallet or pocketbook, there were many years in the 20th century in Delhi when you'd go to a movie and not leave empty-handed.
That was the case at the former Smalley's Theater on Kingston Street, now a parking lot nearly across from the former Great American supermarket.
Smalley's didn't begin as a theater. It was built in 1882 as the Delhi Opera House and remained the entertainment hub of the community for the next 80 years. From the golden age of vaudeville to the big screen days of "talkies," the theater echoed with applause from area residents who enjoyed a weekend night out.
William Smalley, who owned a chain of movie theaters across the Catskills, purchased the opera house in the 1920s. Smalley brought in film stars to promote their features around his 15-theater chain. The likes of top-billed cowboy matinee idol Tom Mix, or B-movie cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans paid visits to Delhi.
Smalley was big into promotions before and during the shows. "Billboys," who were grade-schoolers, would distribute fliers each week in Delhi, Bloomville, Hamden and Andes, promoting the shows and movies.
These days a ticket to the cinema is a one-feature attraction, preceded by commercials. In the Smalley years and well into the 1950s, one got a full evening of entertainment. It was a time of cartoons and newsreels, and between the features there were door prizes and live stage performances.
Saturday night was special in this era, as people in the central Delaware County area did their "trading" in Delhi every Saturday and stayed for the double feature in the evening at Smalley's.
Each Saturday night there were giveaways. The management gave away everything from bicycles, groceries, a fur coat, and even a live turkey one Christmastime during an intermission.
The giveaways had to be discontinued when it became apparent that some people only came to win a prize and became irritable when they did not.
Going back to the earlier years, the old opera house wasn't just for vaudeville shows and movies. The original floor was flat and the seats were removable, so everything from dancers' Sunday-best shoes to basketball sneakers to roller skates glided, romped or rolled on the hardwood. Merchants also cleared away the seats to show off the latest motorcycles, Model-T car or hardware items in annual trade fairs during the World War I era.
Smalley's was a very busy place during World War II because people didn't have enough gas rations to drive anywhere else for entertainment.
Once World War II ended, things began to gradually change. What is now the State University College of Technology at Delhi grew and the college began showing movies on campus for 25 cents, and Delaware Academy ran children's shows for only a dime.
It wasn't happening only in Delhi. The American public was shifting its attention from the movies to the entertainment forms of a more mobile society. Bowling, camping, television and inexpensive gasoline drew crowds away from the theater. It closed for good in 1962 and remained vacant.
By 1990, the former Smalley's had become an eyesore. Delhi was coping with a parking problem, and the village trustees felt that the problem would be reduced by tearing down the old opera house. The board purchased the property.
A citizens' group had expressed an interest in renovating the theater, but thought otherwise when they were told by an engineer that the project would cost more than $1.1 million.
A wrecking crew of six started work on demolishing the building at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 5, 1990. They were breaking the rubble into pieces by 3 p.m. The debris was cleared before the end of the week. The memories of the place likely lingered a while longer.
On Monday: A second-grade student sold his first car in Sidney.
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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