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Saving The World

8/12/2014

3 Comments

 
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View of the stage from the Fitzgerald Theater, in St. Paul, with Garrison Keillor and crew performing.
My friend Beth Gorrie, founder and director of Staten Island Outloud, read one of my blog posts and thought about another wonderful old-time movie palace that almost was demolished:
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"Your blog reminds me of a fundraising campaign that Garrison Keillor helped spearhead years ago, when the movie palaces in downtown St. Paul were falling into disarray. One such theater, The World, had become down-at-the-heels after a long history as a movie house. (It may have been a burlesque house before that.)  

Garrison Keillor’s fledgling radio show, 'A Prairie Home Companion,' had already outgrown its original space at Macalester College, if I recall the story correctly. They needed a home, so despite The World’s crumbling condition, they moved the show there. To quote A Prairie Home Companion, the theater was, at that time, 'a lovely, crumbling building that was one plaster crack away from the wrecking ball.' 

Well, 'A Prairie Home Companion' fans created new interest in The World Theatre among a younger audience. There had been some talk of demolition. That's when Keillor & Minnesota Public Radio decided to try to buy the World and by so doing, to preserve a grand old palace. They called their fundraising campaign (what else?), 'Save the World!' And save it they did, with the help of St. Paul’s then-Mayor George Latimer and many public-minded citizens. The campaign was a success — renovation was completed in 1986 — and the theater became the permanent home of 'A Prairie Home Companion.'

In 1994, the hundredth anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birth, The World was officially renamed The Fitzgerald Theater. Fitzgerald, a leading literary light of St. Paul, had lived not far from the grand old palace."



3 Comments
victoria hallerman
8/12/2014 08:59:35 am

It seems that Garrison Keillor has a thing for old theaters other than the Fitzgerald…In 2007, as I recall, he did a one-night stand at our very own St. George Theatre. It was NOT an official broadcast of his show, A Prairie Home Companion, but featured Keillor sitting on the edge of the stage, doing comedy and telling stories. Very intimate and lovely

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Beth Gorrie
8/13/2014 03:41:39 am

Yes, I was in the audience at the St George Theatre that evening. Full house, and a big, rambunctious Lutheran contingent unfurled their banner. Keilor nodded & said, "You will hold me to a higher standard of truth."

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Judy Borie
8/15/2014 07:06:57 am

Thank you (40 years too late!) for trying to save a neighborhood movie palace. I vividly remember the opening of the Ambassador Theatre on Madison Road in almost suburban Cincinnati in 1947 It was huge and glittering with a lush velvet curtain --- glamorous beyond anything my12 year eyes had ever seen. My friend Betty and I saw Gone with the Wind there, and cried all the way home. Like the St. George,The Ambassador was not downtown, but it was a magnet for the moviegoers of the 40's and 50's, as was the ice cream parlor across the street. You could get to it on the bus and the streetcar. And on Saturday afternoons you could walk. Thanks for the memories!


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    Victoria Hallerman

    Author

    Victoria Hallerman is a poet and writer, the author of the upcoming memoir, Starts Wednesday: A Day in the Life of a Movie Palace, based on her experience as a movie palace manager of the St. George Theatre, Staten Island, 1976. As she prepares her book manuscript for publication, she shares early aspects of theater management, including the pleasures and pain of entrepreneurship. This blog is for anyone who enjoys old movie theaters, especially for those who love the palaces as they once were. And a salute to those passionate activists who continue to save and revive the old houses, including the St. George Theatre itself. This blog is updated every Wednesday, the day film always arrived to start the movie theater week.

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