Posts Tagged theater

    The house at 501 Wayne Avenue was built in 1914 by Robert and Elinore Curry. Mr. Curry built a large number of homes in Ellwood City including as many as eight on Pershing Street between Line Avenue and five points. Mr. and Mrs. George Nickles purchased the home from the Currys in 1917, before selling the large brick house to Doctor Hosea Gold in 1925.
    H.E. “Frank” Biordi purchased the house from Dr. Gold in 1946. Frank was part of the family that was already in the theater business but in 1921 he also became owners of the Majestic Theater. Mr. Biordi owned the Majestic Theater from 1918 to 1924 when he sold it to the Shuler family. He purchased the Theater again from its new owner Thomas Barnes in 1936.
    Frank served as the manager as his brother Andy played on the legendary 1925 Ellwood City High School football team. On October 29th of 1974, Mr. Biordi collapsed in the lobby of his Theater and taken to the Ellwood City Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
    If you remember “Frank” Biordi or Dr. Gold or have any memories of the house at 501 Wayne Ave you would like to share, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.
   Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

   It was almost 11:30 AM on a very cold January morning in 1984 when a small fire was discovered that would change the structure of Lawrence Avenue forever.
   The fire started at the rear of the Majestic Theater and spread to three adjoining structures causing almost a half a million dollar in damages. The burned out Theater was not the only business devastated as ten other businesses on either side sustained fire, smoke, and water damage.  The Majestic Hall that was located at 506 Lawrence Avenue was completely destroyed and the two story building on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Fifth Street (known as the Young Building) was heavily damaged. Helen’s Dress Shop immediately to the west and Stereo Systems immediately to the East of the Theater were complete loses. Stereo Systems had moved to 504 Lawrence Avenue after a fire at the 7-L building almost exactly two years earlier caused damage to their shop next door to it. 
    The Ellwood City Fire Department assisted by firemen from Wurtemburg-Perry, Wayne Township, and Franklin Township fought the large fire for over four hours before they could get control and the thick dark smoke could be seen for miles away. Helen Mantz, owner of Helen’s Dress Shop, and Joseph Sobczak, owner of Stereo Systems, were two of nine people that were taken to the hospital and treated from various injuries that ranged from smoke inhalation to injuries sustained from falling on the ice that formed quickly with the mixture of multiple hoses and the cold Ellwood City January weather.
    The fire at the Majestic Theater was the fourth major fire on Lawrence Avenue in two years. The other fires included Keller’s Department Store at 613 Lawrence Avenue, Vinny’s Pizza and Sub Palace at 705 Lawrence Avenue, and the 7-L building on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Seventh Street.
    If you have any memories you would like to share of the Majestic Theater please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    With all the current plans by the revitalization committee to add a theater to the downtown area, it has reminded some folks of the one of the greatest performances they have seen put on in this area.
    During the last week of July in 1942, an estimated crowd of 15,000 spectators packed the old football field at Lincoln High School over four nights to see the highlight of the Ellwood City golden Jubilee Celebration Pageant. The memorable performance was a historical pageant called “America on Parade” and was directed by Larry Knowles and Mr. Squirrell of the John B. Rodgers production company out of New York. Hundreds of local citizens also contributed to make the performance a truly memorable event that is still remembered today almost 70 years later. Not only the large cast, the enormous choir, the stage crew, the volunteer firemen handling the seating, the boys that guarded the property at night, Miss Marjorie Streeter that played the piano constantly throughout the night, but also the many others that handled a multitude of odd jobs. All performed their assigned task remarkably well including the narrators Grace & Virgil Brown, Ives Harvey, Doris Shirey, Mildred Edelman, Charles Hall and the Rev. D.A. Lightfritz all made the celebration a rousing success.
    No one we have talked to about this can remember a single person ever mentioning that they did not enjoy the highly dramatic pageant
    If you would like to share your memories of the pageant, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    This is one of the greatest pictures we have been given. The picture was taken from on top of the current Nick Frisk Law Offices building looking West down Lawrence Avenue in 1963. Most of the businesses are no longer located in Ellwood City but most of the buildings are still there. On the left of the picture you can see the Stiefel Building with Fifth Street marker attached to the building. Across the street on the Northern side of Lawrence Ave we get a clear picture of Ellwood City in the early part of the 1960’s. The first thing that stands out to most people is the Majestic Theater.
     The Majestic Theater was located at 506 Lawrence Avenue was purchased and operated by Andy Frank & John Biordi in 1917 and was well known for it’s vaudeville and silent movies at that time. Irene and Tony Guerrere purchased the theater from them in 1976 and continued to own the Majestic until it was destroyed by a massive fire in 1984.
    To the East was a drug store and then Isaly’s (I Shall Always Love You), both were very popular hang outs to local teenagers. To the West is Shapiros, Damas Grill, W.T. Grant Co. with a sign for a bowling alley in front. Does anybody remember if the bowling alley was on the main floor, basement, or second floor? Next to the Grant Company was the G.C. Murphy’s Co. The Murphy Company arrived in Ellwood City as early as 1917 and advertised “Goods under $0.25”. The “five & ten” store as it became known as remained a fixture on Lawrence Ave until the early 1980’s.
    Continuing west, we can see signs for Edmin’s, Lucc’s, Hardware Store, and the old Hotel Conway. Beside Kimpel’s Jewelers was National Lunch and City Drug Store on the corner of Sixth Street. After crossing Sixth Street it gets a little harder to make out the names on the signs but we can see Pushs, and Merves Furniture.
     Some of the other things we noticed from this picture were the street lights and television antennas. You can see the old fixtures on all the light poles where the fancy ornate street lights used to be but no longer. Also on top of all the buildings are television antennas which were customary for this time but if you look on top of Merves Furniture the antenna is huge, because they sold televisions.
     Does this picture remind you of any old stories? Please share your memories with us by leaving a comment below or EMAIL us.

     It feels like only yesterday but the stretch of Lawrence Ave between Fourth Street and Fifth Street has changed more than perhaps any other part of town, and we are not only referring to the loss of Pe Wee’s Lunch. This single picture seems to remind more people of the great memories they have of Ellwood City more than any other we have posted here.
    The Manos Theater (previously Liberty Theater), and the Jayhawk both seem to remind people of how fun it is to grow up in Ellwood City. The Manos was on the South side of Lawrence Avenue and was a popular date spot in town for years. The Jayhawk restaurant across the street was also a very popular teenager “hangout” and made famous by their Roast beef sandwich.
     The second door on the South side was Turners Barber Shop, the largest barber shop in town and during the 1940’s and early 50’s had six barbers working. Linda Turner remembers the shop got to the point that it was so busy that Turners Barber Shop was the first in town to use numbers to keep arguments down and the first to have a television for its waiting customers.
    Before Lincoln High School offered bus service to its students, the pupils from Ellport had to walk from the High School to the bus terminal at the gas station beside the Jayhawk and catch the public bus to Ellport everyday.
     Also, we had someone trying to recall what the Grill was on the Northeast corner of Lawrence Ave and Fourth St. They recall a teenage hangout on the second floor there if anyone remembers this, please let us know.

     The downtown “market” district has had many different looks over the years and continues to evolve even today. With the many different types of businesses and the High School so close, almost everyone has a great memory tied to Lawrence Avenue. Like Bruce Brenneman who shared with us his memories of coming to Ellwood City from Portersville and how impressed he was with Blocher’s Jewelry Store and that black marble front. Also how he loved going to Isaly’s, Young’s Drug store, and Alberts Drug Store but he could not recall which made the great Lemon Blennd drinks.

 

     In the pictures you can see Wehr’s Meat Market (Home Dress Meats) that was located at 523 Lawrence Ave and Hotel Conway in some others. Hotel Conway was located at 526 & 528 Lawrence Ave on the North Side of the street. It was the first building erected on Lawrence Ave between 5th & 6th Streets. Later the West side of the building was remodeled for banking purposes and was the original home of Peoples National Bank here in Ellwood City. Later it was again remodeled for store and office purposes.

 

     On the North side of Lawrence Ave you can see Deemis confectionary. Deemis was a popular “hangout” for teenagers until it was sold and became IMB Fray’s, and today is Olivers Pub. Another popular spot a few doors down was the Majestic Movie Theater owned by the Biordi family. Folks remember seeing Star Wars Return of the Jedi in that theater just before in burnt down.

 

     On the Southwest corner of Lawrence Avenue and Fifth Street is the Stiefel Building, named after R.C. Stiefel, the inventor of the seamless tube. During her term, Congresswoman Melissa Hart had her office on the first floor of the Stiefel Building.

 

     The bank diagonal from the Stiefel Building has changed names so many times over the years it is hard to keep track of the various names but at one time had an adverting clock on the corner that is no longer there. Beside the bank is a sign for Kaufman’s Lunch.

 

      Before malls and Mega-Marts, all the shopping whether for groceries, clothes, or even furniture, was done downtown at locally owned shops or at neighborhood grocery stores.
If you needed a new wardrobe you could go downtown to JC Penney’s department store, Cecelias Shop, Margeret’s Dress Shop, Doutts, or Helen Herberts. For mens clothing you could go over to Jake Oswalds and Belloffs before heading to Kellers or Edelmans for shoes. Mazers and Garsons shop offered clothing for the children too. Most citizens purchased their groceries from the local “mom and pop” stores within walking distance of their home or head to the A&P supermarket with a stop at Wehr’s Meat Market on Lawrence Ave. If you didn’t feel like cooking, Ellwood City had a number of small, locally owned restaurants as well.
Some of the local teen hangouts consisted of Nick’s Snack Bar in Ewing Park, Willy’s Dairy on Bell Ave, or the Wolverine Restaurant. If you wanted to take out a date, the Son’s of Italy hosted weekend dances, the Jaycees also sponsored dances for young people, as did the Shuffle Shop after the game. If dancing wasn’t your thing, you could head to one of the movie theaters, Majestic, Manos, (the Liberty) or even Barnes Theater.
Pictures and comments of the Business of Ellwood City

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