We love it when our readers supplement our articles with addition information. Our feature article on local movie theaters and drive-ins garnered a great deal of interest.
Carole Gideon, treasurer of the Carmichaels Area Historical Society, sent us a trove of information about the Ross Theater in Carmichaels. This information was published in the Carmichaels 250th Celebration (1767-2017) Book
Minor Ross operated the theater from 1913 to 1928 and was a pioneer in the theater business.
The theater employed four projector operators, a player-piano operator, and a pianist for silent movies.
Children under the age of 16 sat in the front rows with boys on the right and girls on the left. Of course, Minor would have to act as a chaperone as soon as the lights went out as the boys tried to sneak across the aisle. (Some things never change)
Ross sold the theater to Pearson Minor in 1928. Two years later, the first “talkie” premiered. The theater was closed in 1933 and 1934 before Felix Palone purchased it. He began running a free bus from Crucible to the theater six nights a week for patrons. In 1938, John Lund and his son “Fuzzy” bought the place, added air conditioning and renamed it The Lund.
Immediately after WWII, the Lunds constructed a new 1,000-seat, state-of-the-art theater next door to the original. It was beautifully designed and elaborately decorated. The “old Lund” was converted into a pool hall and then a bowling alley before it was razed in 1971.
The new Lund operated until the summer of 1968. Its last feature was In Cold Blood.
On a personal note, Ms. Gideon shared that her mother went to silent movies at the Old Ross, and that she herself often bowled there many years later.
Another reader, Terry Cole, added an addendum to our drive-in theater retrospective. He recalled that many people in the southwestern part of the county would head to Blacksville, on summer evenings.
The Blacksville Drive-In operated on Mason Dixon Highway and was a small, 200-car, single-screen theater. It was popular in the 1960s and remained in operation into the mid-1970s.
Finally, we would like to apologize for a photo credit omission in our story about drive-ins. Danielle Nyland of 1331 Studios took the shot of the old Sky View Drive-in screen.
The demolition of the original Ross Theater, which became the “old” Lund Theater, then a pool hall, and finally a bowling alley before it was razed. The “new” Lund theater can be seen behind it before it was also torn down.
