The Crim Theater Narrative Adapted from 1988 Crim Theater Restoration Planning Study Motion Pictures in Kilgore

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The Crim Theater Narrative Adapted from 1988 Crim Theater Restoration Planning Study Motion Pictures in Kilgore The first motion pictures in Kilgore have been traced to 1911 when Lynch Reynolds and

Crim, a boy of 11, swept out the theater and helped the ticket taker and projectionist; for which he received the grand sum of nothing, he would later recall. His brother, J.

1 The Crim Theater Narrative Adapted from 1988 Crim Theater Restoration Planning Study Motion Pictures in Kilgore The first motion pictures in Kilgore have been traced to 1911 when Lynch Reynolds and Verner Florence rented as a movie theater a large frame building that had been a blacksmith shop. L.N. Crim, a boy of 11, swept out the theater and helped the ticket taker and projectionist; for which he received the grand sum of nothing, he would later recall. His brother, J. Malcolm Crim, built an outdoor theater called the Air Dome, and L.N. Crim was the projectionist for the Friday and Saturday night showings of silent pictures. Frank Osborn built the Cozy Theater, and L.N. Crim purchased it in He installed a player piano which he peddled himself during shows. In 1923 the Cozy was moved, and its name was changed to the Dixie. In 1928 the Dixie was equipped with a homemade device that L.N. Crim and Hamp Mercer built to accommodate talking pictures. They called the device a Dixiephone. The first sound picture show was My Man starring Fanny Brice. Al Jolson s The Jazz Singer soon followed. C.O. Murphee purchased the Dixie from Crim and changed its name to the Crim Theater, but it was destroyed by fire very soon afterwards in the summer of Another theater, the Texan, had been built, and 1931 saw the building of the Rex. L.N. Crim purchased the Rex in 1932 and renamed it the Crim, and it became Kilgore s first-run movie house. In 1933 East Texas Theaters Inc. and L.N. Crim Theaters Inc. joined interests to operate the Crim and two other theaters, the Strand and the Ritz. They bought the Texan in The Ritz was closed in 1937 because of a new oil well. East Texas Theaters Inc. operated 80 movie houses from Beaumont to Marshall, Texas. L.N. Crim became an executive in the chain. Announcement of plans to build a new Crim Theater was made in 1937, and actual construction began in the fall of 1938 with the grand opening held on Wednesday, June 21, 1939, at 8:00pm. Built as the flagship of Crim s theaters, it was to be the finest theater in the East Texas area. It was designed in the streamlined art deco style popular at that time and was called a modern-classic building. Architect for the building was Llewelyn W. Pitts, a well-known Texas architect with the firm of Stone and Pitts Architects from Beaumont, Texas. The Texas Society of Architects gives one lifetime achievement award per year, and that is the Llewelyn W. Pitts Award.

2 The new theater had a seating capacity of slightly less than The builders spared no detail in which could possibly contribute to the pleasure and comfort of our audiences, according to John Knox Lamb, manager of the theater. The cost of construction was $150,000, and from the point of view of quality or construction, the Crim was without equal in East Texas, according to acoustical experts, sound engineers, architects and men familiar with theater construction. Among the features of the new Crim were revolutionary designed Kroehler push-back seats that slid in their base and were streamlined and comfortable. Seats were upholstered in luxurious material that carried out the color scheme of the theater interior. A brilliantly colored carpet was specially designed to harmonize with the color scheme. The original designs were worked out by the architectural firm with the color designated in collaboration with Lee C. Kyburz, well-known theater designer. The Mohawk Co. arranged special looms on which the carpet was woven. The theater featured the best and most up-to-date projection machines, the Super Simplex by General Electric. Also included in the building was the best possible high and low frequency multicellular sound system with provision for a public address system for the hard-of-hearing. Marquee of the Crim was accented with neon and fluorescent lighting with C, R, I, M flashing alternately and then together. For opening night, L.N. Crim hosted a barbecue at Meadowbrook Country Club for 200 guests, including outstanding personalities of the theater and amusement world. Dallas, outstand amusement center of the Southwest, contributed the longest list of out-of-town visitors. Among those were Hugh Own of United Artists Corporation; Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Mitchell of Universal Film Exchange; Jack Underwood with Columbia Pictures; John L. Franconi of Monogram Pictures; L. Bickel, Metro-Golden-Mayer Pictures; Mr. and Mrs. Karl Hoblitzelle of Interstate Theaters Inc.; Mr. and Mrs. Roy Litsey of Warner Brothers Pictures; Mr. and Mrs. Sol Sachs, R.K.O. Radio Pictures; and Mr. and Mrs. Al Mertz of Grand National Pictures. Among others attending were Will Horwitz of Horwitz Theaters, Houston; Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Moore Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Ore Sullivan of the Sullivan-Moore Theaters. Other important East Texas Theaters Inc. representatives from throughout the region, as well as dignitaries from Kilgore and surrounding communities and family and friends were guests at the opening evening. A public auction of the first ticket to the opening night (a black-tie affair) was held on a platform in front of the theater, just prior to the start of the movie. In the 8:00pm auction, the first ticket was sold to John N. Peterson of Kilgore for $613.80, with the proceeds going to the Kilgore Daily News Milk Fund. Miss Camie Dell Crim, daughter of L.N. Crim, presented Mrs. Peterson with the ticket. A crowd estimated at 3000 people were present for the auction, for which the streets were roped off and spotlights were shining on the building.

Only a portion of the crowd of 3000 could get inside for the first movie, Only Angels Have Wings, from Columbia Pictures. Howard Hawks was producerdirector.

3 Only a portion of the crowd of 3000 could get inside for the first movie, Only Angels Have Wings, from Columbia Pictures. Howard Hawks was producerdirector. The film starred Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess and Rita Hayworth. A dance following the movie was held at Medowbrook Country Club, with Chinese cannon exploding like the Forth of July. The Crim continued for many years as center for the finest entertainment in the style set by its grand opening. Picturesque promotion campaigns were held for many of its featured first-run movies, such as Gone With the Wind, Boom Town, Honky Tonk, and The Greatest Show on Earth. At the blacktie opening of Gone With the Wind, patrons were welcomed to the theater by actors posing as characters from the film, just as if they had arrived at Tara. In 1948 the film Strike It Rich was filmed in Kilgore. It starred Rod Cameron, Stu Irwin and Bonita Granville. A black-tie world premier of this film was held in Kilgore. The Crim continued to be a key element in Kilgore s social and entertainment life until the late 1950 s when television made inroads into the motion picture audiences. The theater was closed and sold. The building was used as a warehouse, and then was largely vacant since the mid-1960 s. In 1987 the Main Street Project Resource Team visited Kilgore for its evaluation. The team recommended that as a long-term goal citizens restore the Crim Theater because of its significance as a major structure in the central business districts, as an architectural landmark, and an important part of the social history of the city. Representatives from the Texas-New Mexico Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation also recommended that the Crim be restored and that a nomination to the National Register of Historic Landmarks be sought. About this same time, the Crim was ordered sold at public auction for non-payment of taxes, and the City of Kilgore received the deed to the property as trustee for all other taxing entities. These other entities gave the city the right to act for them and to restore the building as a public meeting place, if possible. Local interest mounted, and a newly developed Downtown Walking Tour made citizens aware of the need for immediate fix-up on the building façade at the very least. A group of local people

4 volunteered time and materials to clean, paint and make temporary repairs to the front of the structure. Others who couldn t help physically voluntarily donated unsolicited money to the project. A local businessman, Leon Gibson, approached the Lions Club about a fundraiser benefitting the Crim and donated a side of beef to be raffled off. Garden clubs, women s clubs and other groups, organizations and individuals throughout the community got on the band wagon and began donating money to the project. People began talking about possible uses for the building, and so many ideas were suggested that it soon became obvious that a feasibility study needed to be done. In June, the City of Kilgore applied for and received from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a Preservation Services Fund Grant to do a restoration planning study. The Preservation Services Fund for Texas was made possible in part by a grant to the National Trust from Meadows Foundation Inc. The Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation, a newly formed not-for-profit organization, agreed to provide the matching funds for the grant. The City of Kilgore also sent Amanda Pratt, Main Street manager, to the League of Historical American Theaters Annual Conference to get an idea of what possibilities were available for a historic theater. All of the original architectural drawings ( tracings ) were located at the Beaumont firm of White, Bud and Van Ness, successor firm to Stone and Pitts Architects. Bill Nelson, of that firm, allowed the city to use the tracings and make copies of the plans and correspondence between Mr. Pitts and Mr. Crim concerning the theater in hopes that this would assist restoration. The team of Killis Almond Jr., Maureen Patton, and Bill Lindstrom came to Kilgore in early October, 1988, and performed the feasibility study for restoration and reuse of the Crim. After inspecting the building and interviewing many local groups and individuals, the team made a public presentation of their findings. Among their recommendations were the creation of a conference center complex, using not only the Crim but also the Texan Theater, which the city also owns. The Texan, also abandoned, is across the street from the Crim. Under the team s recommendation, the Texan would be renovated for conference meeting rooms and video type presentations while the Crim would be restored to its former glory as a performing arts theater. While the project would be expensive and would involve building an addition onto the rear of the Crim to accommodate additional stage area, local support continued to grow for the project. It was planned that 1989 would be the Year of the Crim when the entire community could care for the Crim on the 50th anniversary of its opening. The Crim Committee planed a local fund raising campaign to replace the roofs on both theaters immediately and to make the buildings water and vandal proof. The city began the process of applying for federal and state assistance for the project with an eye of leasing the structures on a long-term basis to the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation for management. That foundation would then seek additional funding from local and state foundations and corporations for the completion of the project.

History The Discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1930 resulted in an economic boom that poured money into an economically depressed farming community.

A concentration of modern buildings in the Art Deco style were then constructed among the oil derricks. The Crim Theater is the best example of this style.

5 History The Discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1930 resulted in an economic boom that poured money into an economically depressed farming community. Buildings in the central business district (now known as Downtown Kilgore) were torn down to make room for more than 1200 oil wells (within the City limits). A concentration of modern buildings in the Art Deco style were then constructed among the oil derricks. The Crim Theater is the best example of this style. During the Great Depression of the 1930 s, Kilgore was an agricultural and lumbering town with a population of 500. Discovery of oil on two nearby farms belonging to Daisy Bradford and Lou Della Crim made Kilgore a boomtown with thousands of people flocking to the area to find jobs and a share of the wealth ensued. The Crim Theater was built in Kilgore in 1939 during the peak of the oil boom years; opening June 21, Llewelyn W. Pitts, a well-known Texas architect during the Art Deco period, designed the building for L.N. Crim, who built it at a cost of $150,000 as the modern flagship of his chain of theaters. This is a key, representative building of the boom that resulted from the discovery of oil in Kilgore in the 1930 s, a period when most of the nation was in economic depression. The Crim contributed much to the social life of the city; the site of many black tie movie premiers and live shows, and was a popular gathering place. Although the theater was equipped with a modest stage facility, its primary use was for motion pictures. Its presence in a city which nine years earlier had numbered less than five hundred inhabitants is extraordinary. Although the theater served the public well, the growing pressures of the television industry on the motion picture marked during the late 1950 s forced the abandonment of the facility in favor of a more modest one across the street. Since then it has remained unoccupied and has suffered from general neglect. Architectural Features Although it is in a slowly deteriorating condition, the building remains one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the area. The interior details in the lobby, upper level lounge, and auditorium are

all representative of that style. During the 1950 s the details of the proscenium opening were obscured when the advent of cinemascope projection necessitated an enlargement of the projection screen.

6 all representative of that style. During the 1950 s the details of the proscenium opening were obscured when the advent of cinemascope projection necessitated an enlargement of the projection screen. At that time the arrangement of the seats using a broad central aisle and two smaller side aisles was changed to one utilizing two interior ones, but other than these modest changes, the building remains virtually unaltered. Landmark Status Because of its large scale and unusual stylistic characteristics, the Crim Theater makes a strong visual statement from many different points in the core area of the city and thus serves as a landmark. The strong associations which the building has with the oil boom in the minds of the residents tend to reinforce this landmark status. As a result the building contributes much to the imageability of the city and its demolition would do far more than simply change the physical character of the cityscape. Potential The theater is located near the corner of Main Street and Kilgore Street in the primary core of the city. The potential that it possesses for once again contributing to the life of the city has been largely ignored. Since the closing of the smaller theater across the street in the early 1970 s, the city was completely without a motion picture theater and those desiring such entertainment must visit neighboring cities, until To reestablish the theater as an activity center in the heart of the city would serve to attract additional people into the area, especially during the evening hours when their presence is so drastically needed. Chessmen Projects In her book The Death and Live of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs discusses reasons for the devitalized conditions existing in many city areas today and potentials for reversing these trends. In writing about potentials for downtown revitalization, she refers to chessmen building projects which because of their strategic importance are able not only to create a diversity of uses in an area but also to spawn additional diversity of uses around them. (Jacobs, page 167, 1961). The Crim Theater in Kilgore is in a prime position to function as such a chessman.

Future The possibilities for the old theater building are numerous, but immediate action should be taken to preserve it and to insure that it once again may contribute to the life of the city.

7 Future The possibilities for the old theater building are numerous, but immediate action should be taken to preserve it and to insure that it once again may contribute to the life of the city. It is imperative that a plan for the restoration and adaptive reuse of this building be developed. An architectural consultant needs to develop a phased plan for the stabilization and renovation of the Crim, to formulate a design for appropriate space utilization, and to set a renovation budget.

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