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By the time the Auditorium was completed in 1913, the transition from live shows to “picture shows” was underway.
Laurel’s first movie theater opened in 1912 in the building that stood until recently at 110 E. Second. It was called the Star Theatre. As Laurel had no power plant at that time, electricity to run the projector was generated by a gasoline engine.
The Auditorium Theatre opened in April 1916. Until the Light Plant was in operation, the Auditorium generated its own electricity. Later that year, the building was connected to city power and the generating equipment was sold. For about three years, Laurel had two movie theaters. But there was not enough business to support two movie theaters and the Star went out of business in 1919.
Among the early movies in the Auditorium Theatre was “Battle Cry of Peace,” which was screened in October 1916. In this movie enemy agents conspired with pacifists to take over America. The Advocate described “Battle Cry” as a good advertisement for the munitions industry.
‘’Birth of a Nation” was another early blockbuster.
This controversial movie was screened in the Auditorium in March 1917 just as the United States was about to enter World War I. Set during the Civil War and the Reconstruction period that followed, “Birth of a Nation” has been described as the most racist film Hollywood ever produced, partially because of its heroic portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan. “Birth of a Nation,” incidentally, was the first motion picture screened in the White House.
Both “Battle Cry” and “Birth of a Nation,” were silent movies and were accompanied by a full orchestra. Pictures of lesser quality generally were accompanied by a smaller band, a single pianist, or a player piano. “Talkies” were first shown in 1929.
The Auditorium Theatre was the place to go for movies from April 1916 until January 1936. On Jan. 27, 1936, the building was badly damaged by an electrical fire that started beneath the stage, flashed through the main floor, and spread between the metal ceiling and the upstairs floor.
Firemen spent six hours fighting the blaze in subzero weather. They had to chop through the floor of the lodge rooms on the second floor to get at the fire. The stage, the screen, the sound equipment, and most of the furnishings were destroyed. The projector, which was housed in a separate room near the front entrance, escaped damage.
George Sulz, who was managing the theater at the time, then moved the projection equipment to an empty building at 121 E. Second and renamed it the “Laurel Theatre.” Note: the spelling “theatre” was often used instead of “theater” in those days.
The Laurel Theatre opened for business on April 2, 1936. The first movie was “Special Agent,” starring Bette Davis and George Brent. Admission was $.10 for children and $.25 for adults.
By 1936, the Odd Fellows was not as strong financially as it had been in 1913. Lacking sufficient resources to repair the damage, the lodge moved to Andrew Paulsen‘s hall on the second floor of the building recently known as the Friendly Corner. In June 1948, the Odd Fellows of Laurel merged with the Belden lodge. The Rebekahs continued to meet until June 1957 at which time they also merged with Belden.
The Odd Fellows, incidentally, had a rather unusual initiation ceremony. A blindfolded candidate would be led into a darkened room illuminated by a flickering torch. When the blindfold was removed, the initiate would be confronted by a human skeleton in a coffin. The skeleton was supposed to symbolize the mortality of mankind. Sometimes the skeletons were real, sometimes they were not. (A number of years ago, when I was seriously interested in antiques, I bought a 19th century wooden coffin from the Sudbeck brothers at a flea market near Spirit Lake, Iowa. They told me it came from the Odd Fellows lodge in Hartington. There was no skeleton so I put a fake skull in it and used it as a Halloween decoration for a few years. I still have it, but it is too cumbersome for me to wrestle around these days.)
Following the fire, title to the auditorium reverted to William A. Wickett who held a mortgage on the property. Wickett offered to sell the building to the city for $7500. A special election was held. Voters narrowly approved the purchase but the bond issue failed to garner the required 60 percent majority. There would be no sale. On April 15, 1936, Wickett sold the building to William B. “Bill” Chambers. Chambers remodeled the basement and the main floor to house his International Harvester dealership. He also converted the upstairs lodge rooms into a small hotel.
Chambers also may have added a low addition to the rear of the building with a concrete ramp to get his machinery into and out of the basement. No mention of this addition has been found in the Advocate, however. Chambers also installed a small bowling alley either in the basement or on the main floor. It was there that my future mother, Theo Lorang, met my future father, Edward Tryon. Dad was learning to bowl; Mom was working in the hotel.
When Chambers took over the auditorium, two hackberry trees which had been planted in front of the building in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington were moved to the cemetery. Like Washington’s proverbial cherry tree, the hackberries planted in his honor were later chopped down.
In October 1937, Chambers sold his International Harvester business to George Berglund of Hartington. Berglund moved the tractors and machinery into a building just south of the Light Plant.
Chambers then went to work as an International Harvester field representative while Mrs. Chambers continued to operate the hotel. The cafe and dining room were moved downstairs to the main floor. In October 1938, Chambers offered to sell the building to the City of Laurel. At the time the building was demolished, a rusty sign reading “Hotel Laurel“ still was mounted over the door on the east side of the building.
MORE NEXT WEEK.
