The Pensacola Saenger "We have confidence in Pensacola's growth," announced E.M. Clark, secretary of the Saenger Amusement Company. "We have an abiding faith in the future of Pensacola and are not only keeping faith with the Pensacola people, whom we promised to give a theatre, but we are planning for the future..." C.H. Turner, builder of the San Carlos Hotel, Isis Theatre and the Citizens and Peoples National Bank on Palafox Street, agreed, winning the contract to construct architect Emil Weil's Pensacola Saenger Theatre. News of the half-million dollar "Florida's Greatest Show Place" weaved in and out of the tobacco shops, stores and pharmacies of Palafox Street. Soon, masons began picking through the bricks from the old Pensacola Opera House destroyed by the great hurricane of 1916. Blacksmiths worked on the balcony railing restoring a piece from the old Opera House and filling in the missing sections by reproducing its pattern. For sixteen months construction continued. Artisans crafted egg and dart molding to trim the Spanish Baroque architecture. Contractors suspended chandeliers, experts installed the Robert Morton organ pipes, and ushers memorized the placement of 2250 leather-backed seats. On April 2, 1925, the Saenger's doors opened to a sold-out crowd. Pensacolians arrived in their most elegant finery. William Fisher, county solicitor , emceed for an ill Mayor Harvey Bayliss, welcoming a new era in Pensacola's economy and entertainment, and Miss Blanche Morgan was crowned Miss Pensacola. Then, the audience marvelled at Cecil B. DeMill's "The Ten Commandments," projected from "Dr. Mendenhall's new transvertical non-statical projectographic machine" on a screen made from eight and one-half pounds of real silver. After the show, the San Carlos Hotel and the B&B Cafe on Palafox Street hosted astounded Pensacolians. Throughout the 1920's, Johnny Jones managed the Theatre's time well, providing multiple daily showings of the latest films between the vaudeville acts, Broadway shows and minstrels that danced atop the Saenger's stage. The Saenger, the Saenger-owned Isis, and eventually, the Rex, drew crowds, Palafox Street bustled, and the motion picture industry whirled. Federal Trade Commission anti-trust suits in the 1930's sought to stop the motion picture industry's monopolistic behavior. Ownership of many theatres changed. The Saenger circuit which included theatres throughout the South, and even Panama and Cuba, eventually merged with Paramount. Despite all the legal ballyhoo, the Saenger continued to attract a crowd. The Kiddie Klub grew; drawing kids every Saturday morning to a mixture of talent shows, lectures and movies while companies gave away goodies, toys and sometimes money. On Saturday afternoon, the audience could catch the latest Tulane football game. Daytime events gave way to the great movies at night; "King Kong" frightened while "Gone With the Wind" romanced. Additional articles about the Saenger: |