Grand Theatre Westfield NY

How many would like to see an historical plaque placed where the Grand Theatre once stood?

Today we lost the actress, Raquel Welch. She appeared on the movie screen at the Grand in One Million Years BC to the delight of many young men. The year was 1966.

Merry Christmas from Remembering the Grand.

Pat and Bill Locke, exhibit coordinators and the exhibit committee .. Bob Schlick, Cletus Johnson, Jeremy Reidesel, W***y Locke and Paul Brumigan.

Found this wonderful photo on Greater Things About Westfield. It shows the theatre marquee in all its glory AND the original half moon doors. Notice the beautifully lighted holiday windows and the tree in the park before there was a gazebo. The windows were Carnahan and Shearers and Kingan Pharmacy.

Lo and behold .. a photo of the porcelain drinking fountain has now surfaced. Photo Credit to Sebrena Monroe.

Mr. Rock Hudson .. a movie star idol of his day.

Miss Doris Day was featured in movies with Rock Hudson at the Grand.

This is a still photo taken at the June 30 reception when all in attendance raised their 🥂 in memory of the art deco theatre that once stood on the corner of N. Portage and Main. A sincere thank you to all who attended.

Miss Myrna Loy

William Powell starred with Myrna Loy in Love Crazy in 1941. It was the year the Grand opened on July 17.

We were running a re-release of Gone With the Wind. As you know, that movie has an intermission built in so as the projectionist I ran downstairs during the intermission to help out in the concession stand with the crowd. After the crowd dwindled I left to go upstairs and start the second half of the film. However, the mayor of Westfield came in from outside where he was standing under the marquee and stopped me. He then asked me to wait another minute so he could finish his cigarette before the film started. So I did.

W***y S. Locke

Anyone know who the mayor was then?

I believed in the opportunity to coordinate the exhibit to honor the Grand Theatre and am pleased that so many enjoyed and appreciated my effort for the Center and for all who came through its doors.

My Grand Theatre Memories
by W***y Locke

My favorite fun memory was when I was running the projectors for a movie and I had just gotten hard contact lenses for the first time in my life. I was tearing up all over the place, but I could not take the contacts out of my eyes due to the rules on getting used to them. I literally could not see the screen for changeovers so Ann Gollnitz came up to the booth every fifteen minutes or so from her job selling tickets to tell me when the changeover marks were on the screen.

My most poignant memory was when we did the memorial benefit for Brett Smith. One little detail that is interesting now when you look back on it was that we wanted to get a print of American Graffiti because a week before he passed Brett had told me it was his favorite movie. Well, the film was out of circulation which was what they did with popular films in that era so they could be re-issued a few years later (usually seven years). Universal Pictures was understanding and they shipped us a print from their vault in Los Angeles. However, due to the fact that the film was "out of distribution," we were not allowed to tell anyone what the title of the movie was. We could just allude to the subject matter, but could not even advertise the title on the marquee of the Grand. It was very "cool" that we had to get around that requirement from Universal and a lot of fun in many ways. And of course, no one cared. Everyone in attendance just wanted to honor Brett.

I proudly worked at the Grand Theatre from 1974-1977.

When I joined a Facebook group titled "Chautauqua County Old Photos” I had no idea of the adventure that lay ahead. I had posted an old picture of the “Westfield House”- a large wood frame hotel located at the the corner of Main and North Portage Streets in the Village of Westfield, New York. I had identified the location in my post as being the same site as that of the Art Deco Grand Theatre.

One of the first responses I received was from Pat Locke. Pat informed me that she and her husband, Bill were going to put together an exhibit honoring the Grand Theatre and that it would open, in conjunction, with the annual WACS alumni reunion weekend in July. This was March, 2022 and I thought to myself, “I admire your enthusiasm Pat, but how are you going to pull this off?” When I came to understand Pat's commitment and passion for the "Remembering the Grand" exhibit I decided to do everything I could to contribute to the success of her endeavor. We searched high and low for theatre artifacts and memorabilia to produce an exhibit worthy of Westfield and its Grand Theatre.

I was born in Westfield a few blocks East of the Grand Theatre in the Westfield Memorial Hospital on December 17, 1958. The #1 hit on the AM radio that day was the newly released "Christmas Time is Here" by Alvin and the Chipmunks. 1958 was a great year for the movies. That year, the marquee on the Grand would have displayed titles such as Vertigo, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Gigi, King Creole, The Blob, The Fly and The Attack of the 50 Foot Women!

My earliest recollection of the Grand was attending Disney movies with my mom, my sister or a parent substitute in the early 1960s. That was until we were about 5 or 6 years old when we were set free to walk down Portage Street with a gaggle of neighborhood kids to the Grand. Santa arrived by helicopter in Moore Park for a matinee in December one year with free candy! As we got older and after we were done crying over “Bambi” and “Old Yeller” .. came Bond, James Bond. What could be more exciting than action, intrigue and suspense? Well, just maybe the interest in dating. In 1968, Sir Arthur Charles Clarke wowed us on the big screen with "2001: A Space Odyessy".

By the early 1970’s you needed an extra fifty cents to buy your girl some candy and now you get to share your popcorn! Next, you try to hold hands or put your arm around her. Why did the guys always have to make the first move? By then, we were watching adult themes like Paint Your Wagon in 1969 and watching Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. in 1967. Meanwhile the “advanced” kids were "making out" in the back row by the knee wall. In 1973, the movie American Graffiti directed by George Lucas appeared at the Grand to a full house in small town America.

Then, along came the cineplexes and we all went to the mall and held hands with our girl at the movies. Art Deco fell out of favor along with “Main Street, USA”.

As movies gave way to multiplexes, vcr recorders and streaming video the center of social and cultural life in our hometown drew its last breath. Unappreciated by the folks in charge, the Grand Theatre was unfortunately demolished though still remembered today thanks, in part, to an exhibit titled "Remembering the Grand".

Paul T. Brumagin, Beverly Massachusetts
WACS Class of 1977

For those who didn't see Remember the Grand .. here is the panoramic photo. Enjoy.

Thank you for your patience. The title of this FB page to honor the Grand has now been returned to its rightful name. For those who attended the exhibit .. thank you. For those who did not .. I am deeply sorry you weren't able to experience the Grand, once again.

The title of this FB page should still be Grand Theatre Westfield NY though somehow it got changed by mistake. I am working on a correction. I apologize for this unfortunate error on my behalf and am working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.

A special display "Remembering The Grand", presented by: Pat Locke, 2022

Remembering The Grand - June 30th (reception) through August 6th - Lake Shore Center for the Arts, Portage St., Westfield NY

(background, left to right)
Michael De Angelis, design architect 1941 photo & bio

Original blueprints

The original marquee letter "R" purchased at the 1993 theatre auction

Period popcorn machine

(on wall) Art display: Cletus Johnson collage; 1960's photo; Brad Anderson "Marmaduke" cartoon featuring the theatre; First Film: Love Crazy 1941 showing; Bret Star tribute; former managers

(on white table - center) Photos taken by W***y Locke before auction; original 35mm film reel; theatre article by Joan Mascaro; original cast aluminum marquee letters announcing the next show at the theatre; original glazed building blocks used in construction; original theatre seats; original candy case

(on white table - left foreground) special display case showing tickets; commemorative painted wood blocks; press block used for printed material and ads; monthly show calendars; 3-ring binder with 100+ pages of research on the Grand Theatre.

If you have a "grand" story to share with others, send it to my email address and I will then post it. Type Grand Theatre in the subject line.

We all have a story so tell your story. Thanks.

[email protected]

Pat Locke, Exhibit Coordinator

Another story that says everything about growing up in a small town ..

We were running a re-release of Gone With the Wind. As you know, that movie has an intermission built in, so as the projectionist I ran downstairs during the intermission to help out in the concession stand with the crowd. After the crowd dwindled I left to go upstairs and start the second half of the film. However, a village official came in from outside where he was standing under the marquee and stopped me. He then asked me to wait another minute so he could finish his cigarette before the film started.

So I did.

William S. Locke
Cortland NY

My favorite "fun" memory was when I was running the projectors for a movie and I had just gotten hard contact lenses for the first time in my life. I was tearing up all over the place, but I could not take the contacts out of my eyes due to the rules on getting used to them. I literally could not see the screen for changeovers so Ann Gollnitz came up to the booth every fifteen minutes or so from her job selling tickets to tell me when the changeover marks were on the screen.

My most poignant memory was when we did the memorial benefit for Brett Smith. One little detail that is interesting now when you look back on it was that we wanted to get a print of American Graffiti because a week before he passed Bret had told me it was his favorite movie. Well, the film was out of circulation, which was what they did with popular films in that era, so they could be re-issued a few years later (usually seven years). Universal Pictures was understanding, and they shipped us a print from their vault in Los Angeles. However, due to the fact that the film was "out of distribution," we were not allowed to tell anyone what the title of the movie was. We could just allude to the subject matter but could not even advertise the title on the marquee of the Grand. It was very "cool" that we had to get around that requirement from Universal and a lot of fun in many ways. And of course, no one cared. Everyone in attendance just wanted to honor Brett.

I proudly worked there from 1974-1977.

William S. Locke
Cortland NY

Blatt Bros. Theatres began in the 1920s in a rented barn in East Brady Pa where bingo, square dancing, and silent movies were featured during the week. The three Blatt Bros.,Charles,William, and John, found devoted audiences with the advent of "talkies". By the 1940s theatres often became social hubs and were especially popular during WWll years before TV when Movie Tone News kept audiences informed of world events on the big screen. War bonds were sold on stage. By the 1950s Blatt Bros was building and buying theatres in small towns in eastern New York State and in western Pennsylvania. In the 1970s drive-in theatres were added to the theatre choices. The competition with TV as well as the poor content of some films resulted in Blatt Bros selling theatres often to theatre managers. Several generations have enjoyed the adventure and escape that only movies could provide.

Janet Blatt Windahl

Below is photo of John "Jack" Blatt

This is the Strand Theatre located in Brockport NY with its round circles which was a Michael DeAngelis signature design repeated in all of his theatres including the Grand Theatre with its original half moon doors and large round windows. The red and black exterior is a material called carrara glass or vitrolite. Many main street jewelry stores in the 50s used that shiny exterior material. Whether this theatre ever had half moon doors is unknown though I plan to ask during a visit to the Strand this Fall.

These cards were available at the exhibit for anyone interested in theatres, in general. My interest in theatres began when I decided to research Michael DeAngelis and his beautiful art deco theatres. The closest one from Westfield is in Brockport NY and is the Strand Theatre. I have spoken to the Strand theatre manager, Sydney and will be visiting that theatre in the near future. She told me there is an historical plaque in their lobby which was music to my ears.

The final farewell by W***y Locke and Pat Locke (no relation though we were asked often during the exhibit run). Thank you, W***y. I know the Grand will remain in your heart, forever .. as it will for myself and for many others.

This is correspondence from 2005 on Cinema Treasures by the late William Gollnitz. I truly wish he could have joined us at the reception on June 30 to share his "grand" movies standing alongside W***y S. Locke. We would have been there all evening hearing their many theatre stories.

After being approached by Jim Crolle at the Grape Discovery Center their board met and have decided NOT to present a downsized version of Remembering the Grand. The display would have been on the back wall of their tasting room this Fall.

Pat and Bill Locke, Grand Theatre Exhibit Coordinators

https://fb.watch/eN4-rn9ltj/

Marty Hemmer, Grand Theatre Projectionist

Thank you, Marty.

..for Remembering the Grand ..

Thank you, Jeremy and Chris for the letter R. It was the showcase piece at my exhibit, Remembering the Grand. The R was not only the first letter of their last name, but for me .. the R simply stood for the word, Remember. Thank you all for remembering the art deco Grand Theatre. May she remain in our hearts and minds, forever.

It's a wrap!

Thank you again to my exhibit committee from left to right .. W***y Locke, Bob Schlick, Bill Locke, Jeremy Reidesel and Paul Brumigan. Thank you, gentlemen. Absent from the photo .. Cletus Johnson.

A panorama view!

This is the final weekend for Remembering the Grand. A thank you to those who came by over the past several weekends and a thank you to those who plan to come by tonight 6-8 and tomorrow afternoon 1-3.

Thank you for a lovely reception. It was the nicest reception I have ever attended. The toast was "grand".

Cletus Johnson

My sister and her husband met at the candy case.

Kathy Koshute Archer

This beautiful lady at the June 30 reception is Janet Blatt Windahl and husband, Ron Windahl. Thank you for coming on that special day to remember the Blatt Brothers Grand Theatre. I look forward to meeting your son, Michael Blatt and your grandson, Alex Blatt from Erie.

Thank you, Pat and Bill for putting on such a splendid exhibition. We especially enjoyed the blueprints and the vintage theatre seats.

Dave and Sandy Milo
Westfield NY