Frances and Helen Bowers
Going to the movies
21 Mar 2011 2 Comments
When I was growing up the movie theaters were a lot different from now. They had single theaters which were large and most had balconies. I can remember sitting in the theater looking at ceiling. I was fascinated by the ceiling because they were so ornate back then and the seats were plush. They ran a newsreel, cartoon, and a double feature. You could go to the show at anytime, buy a ticket go into the theater, take a seat, and start watching the movie. When the movie was over you could stay and watch the beginning of the movie to where you came in and then leave or watch the whole thing again. If you really liked the movie you could stay and watch it over and over.
I remember going to the York Theater on York Street in Elmhurst, Illinois. I remember standing in line to see Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I remember going with my parents to see shows they wanted to see. When I got bored that is when I studied the ceiling. When I was in high school a friend and I would go there every week during the summer. I remember seeing Goldfinger and some Elvis movies that summer. It was the only show around at the time. Lombard had one too, but we didn’t use that one very often.
And we can’t forget about the Drive-In Movies back then. They were a lot of fun. We would bring our own food, sit in the car with awful speaker and watch the movies. It was part of our summer’s back then. The summer wasn’t complete without a couple of trips to the drive in. We used the Sky Hi on Route 53 in Addison, IL when I was growing up. About the only drive-in’s still around this area are the ones in McHenry, IL and one in West Chicago. When my kids were small we used the West Chicago one a lot. As a teenager I saw Rosemary’s Baby at the McHenry Drive in.
