Vanquishing the Vogue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories.” ~From the movie An Affair to Remember

All of us of a “certain” age have a memory of a neighborhood movie theater. My childhood haunt was the Lyell Theatre in Rochester, New York. For my husband it was the Vogue Theater in Louisville, Kentucky. Although divided by several states and 600 miles, those neighborhood theaters had many similarities. Both were within walking distance of our homes and during the summer months and on weekends we went to the theater with friends unaccompanied by adults. Unlike the monster multi-plex theaters of today, these neighborhood theaters had one or two outside ticket windows, a lobby with posters advertising upcoming movies, and an area with a food counter and dispensing machines where you could purchase popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, soft drinks, coffee, and candy. The single theater had a high ceiling, a center aisle, one large viewing screen, and a stage. Instead of cup holders, the arms of the seats had mini ashtrays.

People in those days did not have cellphones to disturb theater patrons, and talking and rude behavior were not tolerated. Ushers with flashlights monitored the audience and seated late arrivals. The cost of admission was fifty cents or less for children under 12 and purchased an afternoon of entertainment. Instead of previews and one main feature, my friends and I could see two feature movies plus cartoons and previews. If one time around wasn’t enough, we could stay and watch the movies and cartoons a second time for the price of the one admission ticket. My cousin Patty and I saw the Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s Night” eleven times in two days.

As time passed neighborhood theaters lost their clientele and many, like the Lyell, became “Adult” theaters. Others adapted and survived by showing independent, foreign, and art house films and cult movies. The Vogue Theater took this route. After moving to Kentucky with my husband, I remember going to the Vogue following a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The floor was slick with water, rice and other things thrown during the movie. The Vogue Theater opened on December 22, 1939 and closed September 1998 - the last single screen, privately-owned theater in Louisville. KY. Today it has been “reborn” as part of an upscale shopping center. The theater has been gutted, the stage and seats removed, but the marquee remains to remind us of the days when children could walk to a neighborhood theater unchaperoned without the fear of child predators lurking behind bushes or sitting next to them during a movie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~