Hurry up! Wake up! It’s Saturday and we are missing the cartoons on Television! That was the wake-up call shared between my Aunt Sandy (who is my age) and I, on Saturday mornings when I was at my grandmother’s house for the weekend. During the school week we didn’t want to get out of bed, but on Saturday’s we were out of bed and sitting in front of the Black and White Television in a flash, ready to watch the adventures of some of our favorite cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird and Sylvester, and Tom and Jerry. Or, characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Mighty Mouse and Mr. Magoo.
But what made some Saturday’s extra special was when we could take a trip downtown for a day of entertainment at the movies. Most of the cartoons and full-length animations were in color, which was a real treat for us. Sandy and I would walk to the bus stop for the Woodlawn and Southern Motor Coach Company and catch a bus from her house in Davidson Heights to the State Theater in downtown Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. It was always exciting to ride the bus by ourselves. We felt so grown up as we paid our bus fare with tokens that we dropped into the coin box, and when we pulled the pull cord bell to get off the bus at our requested stop, smiling from ear to ear because we made it to our destination.
We walked a short distance to the State Theater, one of two theaters in Aliquippa at the time (the other was The Strand Theater) but the State was our favorite because it was bigger and fancier. The theater built in the early 1920’s was designed by the architectural firm of Carlisle & Sharrer, Pittsburgh, Pa. It was originally owned by Ed Harvey one of the moving picture pioneers in Beaver County. The exterior architecture of the theater was impressive with terracotta tiles and unique Islāmic/Gothic arches adorning the windows on the second floor, each attached to a terracotta circle above it. The entire second-floor bay was trimmed in a terra-cotta rope molding (HABS).
“This 8×10 photo was given to me by my neighbor, Jesse Lund, in 1969, when I was 14 years old. He was the former manager of the State Theater in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and was retired. The film ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ was released in the USA on Feb. 4, 1938. The photo has an embossed stamp on the lower left corner reading “Simantiras Studios, Pittsburgh Aliquippa.” Richard Kicovic
We paid for our tickets at the ticket booth in the center of the double entrance doors. Those tickets would allow you to enjoy multiple viewings of the day’s entertainment for just one price. When we walked through those doors we felt like we were in a palace of sorts. In the center of the entrance area, there was a wide staircase that immediately captured your attention with a set of stairs, a landing with restrooms decorated in beautiful mosaic hexagon tiles to the left and right, and then another set of stairs leading to the balcony seating. The staircase was covered with red plush carpeting that was so thick, you felt like you were walking on pillows.
To the left and right of the staircase on the ground floor were walkways leading to double doors to the main floor seating area. Along the path were brass stanchions with red velvet ropes to direct or control traffic. As you walked through the double doors, there was a wide aisle, with a snack bar in the center and with knee walls to the left and right topped in glass panels with openings to the main floor seating area. At the far end of the aisle was a room for parents to take crying babies so they did not disturb other patrons, or for mothers to breastfeed. The State Theater had a total seating capacity of 1,450 persons, before it was remodeled in the 1960’s (HABS).
I remember how we immediately began to talk in low tones as we entered the theater. Once we were seated, we gazed upon a plush red velvet curtain that covered the screen and made you feel like royalty. There were uniformed ushers helping people to their seats and maintaining order and quiet. Once the films started the ushers would walk up and down the aisle ways with their flashlights if assistance was needed for latecomers’, or to keep everyone quiet.
We could hardly wait for the lights to dim and for the curtains to open to begin our day of entertainment. There were usually newsreels and a few cartoons before the main feature. But our favorites were the full-length animations such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. Halfway through the main feature, there was an intermission of about 15 or 20 minutes. The curtains closed, the lights came on and patrons would line up at the snack bar, use the restrooms, or go out to the lobby for a smoke. The lights would flicker off and on when it was time to return to your seats.
When the movie was over, I can remember our eyes struggling to adjust to the daylight as we exited the theater and walked to the bus stop for our trip back home. We had to walk past the Isaly’s store to reach our bus stop and if we had any money left we would stop for a“skyscraper” ice cream cone or a milkshake. We always had a great time and I have many great memories of our trips to the State Theater. I was greatly saddened when through the years and several economic downturns the theater eventually fell into a state of disrepair and was demolished. 😔
PHOTOS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY
http://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa2700/pa2748/data/pa2748data.pdf
STATE THEATER ALIQUIPPA, PA. FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRES http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa2748.photos.356976p/
WOODLAWN & SOUTHERN MOTOR COACH
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Woodlawn-Southern-Motor-Coach-Transit-Token-Large-7-8-Size
