Thursday, September 15, 2011

In this place: Pearisburg, Virginia

Pearis Theater - 2011 - Pearisburg, Virginia 

The Pearis Theater

The art deco facade and marquee of the Pearis Theater, which opened in 1939, are remarkably intact. It looks just as I remember it, except of course for the blank marquee. The theater is L-shaped, with the auditorium behind the building next door, which used to be Whitten's Drug Store.

In the summer of 1955, the feature advertised on the marquee was Meet The Mummy, starring Abbott and Costello. I was visiting Pearisburg and my dad's sister, who was still in high school at that time, and I walked from my grandparent's house to the theater to see the show. I was proud of my aunt as we walked down Wenonah Avenue together in the twilight; she was surely the most beautiful girl in all of Pearisburg.

Everyone in the theater that night thought the mummy was hilarious except for me and Lou Costello. The movie scared the daylights out of me, and I dreaded the long walk home in the dark. Being with my aunt was little comfort. Everybody knows mummies are attracted to pretty girls.

3 comments :

  1. Oh I love this photo what memories this must bring back. Very nice.

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  2. What a lovely picture! I grew up in Pearisburg, and this theater and The Bank are my two favorite buildings. I saw ET there countless times, and can still remember the layout of the place. I even remember stories of a supposed entrance in the basement to a labrynth of limestone caves that run under the town, which was fascinating to the active imagination of a child! Now as an Architect by profession, and living a few states away, I love taking a nostalgic moment to search the web for little gems like these, and appreciate the buildings in a whole new light. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Sara. Pearisburg is a very special place to me, and most of the folks I meet that are from Pearisburg feel the same way. Thanks for visiting.

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