Theaters of Jacksonville, Florida USA

Note: this post is part of the photo series Vintage Movie Theaters across the USA

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Last December my friend and I embarked on a road trip, from Tallahassee to Savannah, then down to Jacksonville Florida! 

 After crossing the Georgia-Florida line heading south on I-95 we took a ride on A1A to see Amelia Island. There's some interesting history there, and I may do blog post on Amelia Island in the future. A "Pippi Longstocking" movie was filmed there in the 1980s, but I've never seen it. 

We then continued on A1A and got to see as much as the coast as we could get to in one afternoon. 

 We then headed west on US Route 90 into Jacksonville. 

Our first stop was to check out a lovely theater in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville, located on the east side of the St. John's River.  

The street it's on reminds me of a downtown of a small town, not a street in a big city!

San Marco Theatre

1996 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32207

"Opened in 1938, the beautifully maintained San Marco Theatre remains immune to the travails of time and the Art Deco style movie palace is still showing movies after 63 years. Featured on the back cover of Davis Cone’s book, Popcorn Palaces, the San Marco Theatre is one of the most elegant and opulent cinemas in the city, designed by architect Roy Benjamin." - Cinema Treasures

We then had to cross the Main Street Bridge in order to cross the river to get the downtown part of Jacksonville. It is a neat bridge, built in 1941.

Our next destination was the Florida Theater.  Elvis Presley made one of his first concert appearances there. 

Here's the view of it coming off the ramp.

Florida Theatre

128 East Forsyth Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202

"This theater, located on Forsyth Street in downtown Jacksonville, is beautiful. It opened in 1927 and was designed to look like a Moorish courtyard at night inside, complete with dark blue sky with glowing stars, lit balconies and fountains. The theatre was designed with central heating and air conditioning." - Cinema Treasures

BELOW: I love this old fashioned ticket booth.

I wish we had more time to go inside. I'm sure it's stunning inside!

BELOW: Sign says "Welcome to Downtown Jacksonville"

Next up on the agenda is another urban movie theater of a bygone era, the Murray Hill Theater, now a concert venue in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Jacksonville (932 S. Edgewood Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32205). My friend worked on a construction project nearby.  

"This theater is listed at open in 1950. It showed many B movies and was very popular. In the 2000’s, it was in use as a nightclub. By 2008 it was hosting concerts". - Cinema Treasures

There was only time for a couple of snapshots. But imagine coming to see a 3D monster movie here in the 1950s!

Dolores Hart at the Oscars

Yes, it's true - Dolores Hart attended last Sunday night's Oscar ceremony, walking down the red carpet and everything! A video below

 I was rooting for her documentary - God is Bigger than Elvis - to win! 

But it lost to Saving Face.

Elvis' Graceland in Memphis (photos)

In honor of Elvis' birthday (he would have been 77 years old today, Jan 8), here are some pics from Graceland (from my trip there last July 2011). Click for larger view. 

Welcoming sign

Elvis' mansion was named Graceland before he purchased it in the late 50s. 

He lived there until he died.

The living room as you walk in

Dining room

Elvis' lounge, the "jungle room" where he recorded several albums in the 70s.

Green shag carpet.

Elvis' pool.

Grave

Lots of people there today. (July 5, 2011)

Elvis' car museum featues about a dozen of his cars

There are several museums you can visit; one has an entire

exhibit of all of Elvis' Gold records and plaques and awards.

Grammys

Gordon Stoker, who sang in Elvis' vocal background group The Jordanaires, said Elvis didn't liked this show, and never wanted anyone to talk about this show again. He hated being on the Steve Allen shows. (source: radio interview on Sirius XM's Elvis channel)

Several other exhibits have memorabilia from his movies.

Elvis statue in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. 

My New Autographs

Well last weekend was the annual Chiller expo in New Jersey, my first time there. Overall it was fun and I managed to get a few new autographs. Also in this post are a few other autographs from other recent shows I've been to.

Chiller Expo, Parsipanny New Jersey (Oct 29)

Dolores Hart



Mother Dolores Hart made a live appearance last weekend in New Jersey to help raise money for her monastery which is in need of renovation.  She is a warm and gentle woman and was so happy to meet and greet anyone who came up to her. I told her it was an honor to meet her and shook her hand.

There was a professional photographer taking photos of all the celebrities; the photos have been posted here at WireImage. Check them out for more pics. 

Martin Landau

 Mr. Landau looked very tired when it was my turn in line to meet him. He had just come back from a break and he had been taking very long breaks that day (as I was told) I really wanted to get my North by Northwest poster signed by him and he was very happy to do so, even though the experience felt a bit rushed. There really wasn't much time to talk. There were many people and the atmosphere was less than intimate.

I was able to take some photos of the table with all of the photos for sale

Below: Landau and a fan. At the next table to their left is a B actress named "Lisa Marie", and at the next table is Bruce Dern

Below, Chiller Expo 2011: This was the main "Pit" area in the hotel where all the big-name stars were situated. In the lower right you can see the actor from Goodfellas (in the film, he's the one who says to Joe Pesci to go back to his shinebox). Valerie Perrine was also there (at left) but I didn't get a chance to meet her. Hopefully next time!

Richard Kiel



Got Jaws' autograph! Nice fellow.

Carroll Spinney, Muppeteer ("Big Bird", "Oscar")

Got "Big Bird" Carrol Spinney to sign my Muppet Movie poster. 

Hollywood Collector's Show, Rosemont IL (October 2011)

Michael J. Pollard

He was a very nice man, but hard of hearing. A local movie theater was planning a special tribute to Bonnie And Clyde and he was going to attend and do a Q&A. Later I found out the event was cancelled due to lack of interest. 

Millie Perkins and Diane Baker from 1959's The Diary of Anne Frank

Millie Perkins was a very sweet woman. We talked for about 10 minutes about the Anne Frank movie, and some of her other films which I have not seen. She was so kind. She told me that she travels all over the world to screen the film and talk about it as well. She also played Elvis' mother in a TV movie and we talked about Graceland (we had both been there). I could tell that she really enjoyed talking to me. It's very rare for a  celebrity to be so friendly.

Diane Baker was sitting at a table next to Millie Perkins and I got her autograph too. 

James Darren



I had James Darren sign this photo for me from Gidget; it's my favorite film or TV with him in it. 

Henry Winkler, Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams



All three made a rare autograph appearance together last month. The Fonz was super nice and friendly, greeting everyone, standing up and walking around to meet fans in line, even. This is rare for a celebrity to do! But he did it! I was a bit nervous. Penny Marshall rarely makes appearances I'm told, so it was neat to get her autograph. She was signing and talking on her iPhone at the same time! Some people are just super busy, I guess. 

Chicago Comic Con (August 2011)

Christopher Lloyd



The line to meet Christopher Lloyd was huge. I think I was in line at least 2 hours. But it was fun and worth it. When you are with other fans it's fun. 

Louis Gossett, Jr.



Very nice man. It was great meeting him. I had read he had been going through some serious health complications in the last couple of years. Also I just picked up his new autobiography but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Pam Grier 



She had a book she was promoting but I opted to have my Jackie Brown poster signed. She said to me, Thank you for supporting our industry.