Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Awesome info on old Manistee Theatres

This is topic Awesome info on old Manistee Theatres in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 09-06-2006, 11:14 AM:

Ok, so it always irked me that everywhere I went to get information on the closed Lyric Theatre and Chippewa Drive-In here in manistee, had no info.Even the cinematreasures/tours sites and waterwinterwonderland.
So..yesterday I literally spent 5+ hours down at the museum searching for this info. I am happy to say...I FOUND IT!!!
I am working on submitting info to the above sites...hopefully it will be actually upgraded on the firt two sites.
go to my myspae site,/voguetheatre and look in the history section on the left of the page.
I was/am soo excited. Im like a total nerd. [Big Grin]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 09-06-2006, 01:28 PM:

The world needs more total nerds! I am one, too. Louis

Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 09-06-2006, 10:50 PM:

I'm not sure if the world actually needs more people like me! I'm a nerd tooo! Keep up the good work.

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 09-07-2006, 12:47 PM:

Like the title over my pic says... I'm a Theatre Dork.

But yay about getting info on old theatres. If you want advice on how to best present info for quicker absorption to Cinematour, let me know.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-07-2006, 01:05 PM:

Good job, Kara! Nerd generally means smarter-than-average (or, at least, much more 'focused'), so you have nothing at ALL to be ashamed of about that! Quite the opposite! People less smart or focused are just jealous, but you know that. I think most of us here are nerds, in one way or another. [Big Grin]

Isn't it EXCITING to discover long-forgotten information you've been wondering about? I can tell you are very excited by it. [thumbsup]

Ron Yost

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-07-2006, 06:43 PM:

I happened to catch that drive-in property out of the corner of my eye as I drove through about this time last year. As I recall, you can see the projection port windows on what's left of the building from the road.

Glad to see somebody's collecting the info on it.

Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 09-08-2006, 04:33 PM:

yup. the projection booth is still there. I submitted my stuff to waterwinterwonderland.com and they have the stuff posted already.

So yeah, how Do I get cinematreasures/tour to be more absorbtion-ready?

Right now I am trying to figure out when exactlly they tore down the big screen with the chippewa head on it.
I cant get any straight answers from people. I think everyone is senile!!
I at least have it figured out that they were still advertising shows in late aug 0f 85, so that knocks out someones statement that they closed in May of 85....
Some of this is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-08-2006, 08:39 PM:

I'm guessing you thought of trying to track-down relatives of whoever owned the place? Even if the original owners are dead, or senile, as you say, their kids/relatives may know something? You'll probably have a few, or many, dead-leads, too .. but one never knows. I've done a bit of family geneology, and it's amazing where information turns up. Often not in the places one would expect.

Also, try and be patient and polite with people .. not that you aren't, but patience will get you a long way, though it's not easy at times .. especially with older folks. Don't get antzy or act frustrated with them in conversations - you won't get the info you seek. Appreciate what they offer you, even if it turns out to be incorrect or not what you wanted .. they're most likely not trying to mislead you and are doing the best they can. [Smile]

How about ex-employees of the place back in the time period? That's harder information to find, obviously. Maybe someone took a photo, when they had a special event at the theatre (or similar)? How about the projectionist(s)?? They, or their families, probably would know more than what a concessions person would, assuming they worked there for a number of years. They may even have inherited photos. A new screen or curtains would be more of a big deal (and, thus, more memorable) to a projectionist than anyone else .. except the owner(s) who had to pay for it! [Big Grin]

Did the owners belong to any service clubs or lodges .. Lions, Moose, etc.? Sometimes they can provide some useful info. You might find lodge photos, tho, which may have the people you're looking for identified, and with business clubs they'd probably also say what business they owned or were affiliated with in some way.

Just thoughts. [Big Grin]

I love a mystery!

Ron Yost