Looking Our Best
September 13, 2018
JAMES H. writes:
In response to “Nihilist America:” When we attended St. Louis Cardinal baseball games – we dressed up. When we attended the St. Louis Muni Opera – we dressed up. When we travelled – we dressed up. When we attended the movies, we dressed up!
On May 31st, 1965, Mom and Dad assembled the “troops” and took us to the St. Louis premier of The Sound of Music at the St. Louis Theater. The St. Louis Theater was one of the grandest theaters in the world opening on November 25, 1925 – four years after Dad’s birth. The theater was enormous, seating 4,100 patrons. The Sound of Music ran 86 weeks, from 1965 to 1966 and closed immediately afterwards when the restoration for the St. Louis Symphony began. You can still visit the St. Louis Theater today which is now known as Powell Symphony Hall – its grandeur evocative of an earlier better age.
We sat near the front of the balcony on the right as you face the screen and I will never ever forget the opening scenes from the Sound of Music on that enormous screen. The theater was equipped with a 70-millimeter projector and with stereophonic sound to showcase the movie’s beautiful Todd-AO large-format cinematography. Seeing that magnificent movie in that spectacular theater was one of my fondest memories as a child. And you can bet, we (all seven children with 2 yet to come) dressed up!
When I grew up America had a bright future – and we looked our best for it. Today, not so much. Read More »