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ENLARGE
Jim Spehar
“Where are we, Auntie Em?”
That was the question from a puzzled friend as we exited the Avalon Theater in downtown Grand Junction Saturday night after the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. The festival, hosted by Western Colorado Congress, featured a half-dozen films of varying lengths, all centered around environmental issues and scenic beauty.
The answer, again in terms of the “Wizard of Oz,” might well have had Dorothy replying something along the lines of, “I don’t think we’re in Grand Junction anymore, Toto.” Sponsors and viewers alike were surprised to see only a reported 16 seats at the Avalon empty as the films began, and some potential viewers were turned away at the door.
The Avalon is a historic, old theater familiar to many of us who’ve lived through “Boom(er) Times” as the Cooper Theater. It’s now owned and operated by the city of Grand Junction after restoration funded by the city and contributions from the community solicited by Friends of the Avalon. It hasn’t exactly been noted for large audiences for films in recent years.
“How long have you been coming here?” asked Dacre Dunn, a high school classmate seated in front of us on Saturday night. Now there was a question that brought back a flood of memories.
I first recall being in the old Cooper Theater when I was in grade school. Dacre remembered wandering down to Main Street to see movies, cartoons and the newsreels that provided the only active pictorial version of current events back in the days before television came to the Grand Valley.
I don’t know if we got extra credit, but those of us progressing through the primary grades at the old St. Joseph’s School certainly were encouraged to see “The Robe” starring Richard Burton and Victor Mature. My memory is of sitting with my family not too far from where Bonnie and I were situated on Saturday night, over on the right side of the main floor, and taking in the story of the Roman centurion who commanded the troops responsible for carrying out the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
That would have been in 1953 when I was in first or second grade. Movies weren’t a regular outing for our family back then, so seeing “The Robe” was a special occasion.
Given that, I don’t know what would have possessed my parents to take us out on North Avenue, probably to the old Rocket Drive In, to see Elvis Presley’s movie debut in “Love Me Tender.” That film came out in 1956, and I can still remember Elvis as Clint Reno, the brother who stayed home from the Civil War. Seated in the back of our black ’53 Nash Statesman from Fuoco Motors, I listened to Elvis crooning the title song, a rewritten version of the old Civil War Ballad “Aura Lee.”
A year or two later it was back to the Cooper. Elvis was a busy dude back in those days, using his movies to advance his singing career and vice versa. “Jailhouse Rock” was released in late 1957, and there was even an intervening flick, “Loving You,” that came out in that short period of a couple of years of frenzied movie-making by E.P.
My own experience seeing “Jailhouse Rock” at the Cooper bears out the reason the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The heartfelt screaming by Elvis’ young female Grand Junction fans was only a preview of the excitement yet to come when the Beatles invaded pop culture.
Three decades later, when we purchased KEXO AM, we inherited a stash of black-and-white photos tracking radio station history that included pictures of station-hosted events at the old Cooper Theater. They include photos of a very young “Uncle Bob” Collins and a big band around the stage back in the days when grocery giveaways and other promotions were used to fill the theater. That’ll be the subject of a “Boom(er) Times” column sometime in the future.
I’ve seen various concerts pack the Avalon Theater since it’s been refurbished, but Saturday night was the first time since perhaps “Jailhouse Rock” that I’ve seen it virtually sold out as a film venue. It was good to experience that again.
Jim Spehar wonders if a little less fretting over lack of amenities and a little more creativity in booking might continue to draw film audiences to the Avalon. Your comments are welcome at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
That was the question from a puzzled friend as we exited the Avalon Theater in downtown Grand Junction Saturday night after the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. The festival, hosted by Western Colorado Congress, featured a half-dozen films of varying lengths, all centered around environmental issues and scenic beauty.
The answer, again in terms of the “Wizard of Oz,” might well have had Dorothy replying something along the lines of, “I don’t think we’re in Grand Junction anymore, Toto.” Sponsors and viewers alike were surprised to see only a reported 16 seats at the Avalon empty as the films began, and some potential viewers were turned away at the door.
The Avalon is a historic, old theater familiar to many of us who’ve lived through “Boom(er) Times” as the Cooper Theater. It’s now owned and operated by the city of Grand Junction after restoration funded by the city and contributions from the community solicited by Friends of the Avalon. It hasn’t exactly been noted for large audiences for films in recent years.
“How long have you been coming here?” asked Dacre Dunn, a high school classmate seated in front of us on Saturday night. Now there was a question that brought back a flood of memories.
I first recall being in the old Cooper Theater when I was in grade school. Dacre remembered wandering down to Main Street to see movies, cartoons and the newsreels that provided the only active pictorial version of current events back in the days before television came to the Grand Valley.
I don’t know if we got extra credit, but those of us progressing through the primary grades at the old St. Joseph’s School certainly were encouraged to see “The Robe” starring Richard Burton and Victor Mature. My memory is of sitting with my family not too far from where Bonnie and I were situated on Saturday night, over on the right side of the main floor, and taking in the story of the Roman centurion who commanded the troops responsible for carrying out the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
That would have been in 1953 when I was in first or second grade. Movies weren’t a regular outing for our family back then, so seeing “The Robe” was a special occasion.
Given that, I don’t know what would have possessed my parents to take us out on North Avenue, probably to the old Rocket Drive In, to see Elvis Presley’s movie debut in “Love Me Tender.” That film came out in 1956, and I can still remember Elvis as Clint Reno, the brother who stayed home from the Civil War. Seated in the back of our black ’53 Nash Statesman from Fuoco Motors, I listened to Elvis crooning the title song, a rewritten version of the old Civil War Ballad “Aura Lee.”
A year or two later it was back to the Cooper. Elvis was a busy dude back in those days, using his movies to advance his singing career and vice versa. “Jailhouse Rock” was released in late 1957, and there was even an intervening flick, “Loving You,” that came out in that short period of a couple of years of frenzied movie-making by E.P.
My own experience seeing “Jailhouse Rock” at the Cooper bears out the reason the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The heartfelt screaming by Elvis’ young female Grand Junction fans was only a preview of the excitement yet to come when the Beatles invaded pop culture.
Three decades later, when we purchased KEXO AM, we inherited a stash of black-and-white photos tracking radio station history that included pictures of station-hosted events at the old Cooper Theater. They include photos of a very young “Uncle Bob” Collins and a big band around the stage back in the days when grocery giveaways and other promotions were used to fill the theater. That’ll be the subject of a “Boom(er) Times” column sometime in the future.
I’ve seen various concerts pack the Avalon Theater since it’s been refurbished, but Saturday night was the first time since perhaps “Jailhouse Rock” that I’ve seen it virtually sold out as a film venue. It was good to experience that again.
Jim Spehar wonders if a little less fretting over lack of amenities and a little more creativity in booking might continue to draw film audiences to the Avalon. Your comments are welcome at jimspehar@bresnan.net.
