152 N. York St., 2nd Floor, Elmhurst, IL 60126 historictheatres.org Finding Aid for the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY POSTCARD COLLECTION Acc No.: various Future Additions Expected: Yes Finding Aid creation: November 3, 2015 Size: 7 boxes, approximately 4.75 linear feet Abstract The Theatre Historical Society Postcard Collection consists of approximately 4.75 linear feet of postcards. The collection consists of 3,370 postcards documenting theatres in the United States as well as some international theatres and a number of street scenes, amusement parks, ballrooms and other buildings. Background Information The Theatre Historical Society of America was founded in 1969 to promote the legacy of America’s historic theatres and ensure the documentation of the architectural, cultural and social history of those theatres. Materials were collected by members and kept in separate locations. Over time the collections were brought to one location and combined. From these initial collections the materials were organized and separated into several different collections. Records detailing histories of specific theatres were labeled the Theatre File, materials containing information on theatre mechanics, cinema chains, architects, THS members, vaudeville circuits, among other topics became the Subject Files, Photos that were used in the publication of Marquee were gathered into the Editors Collection, photographic slides, postcards, and negatives became the THS Slide Collection, THS Postcard Collection, and THS Negative Collection respectively. These collections came from THS members and donations made throughout the organization’s history. Scope and Contents Note The THS Postcard collection consists of 4.75 linear feet, numbering 3,370 postcards. The postcards are organized geographically by country, state, and grouped into folders by city. City folders may contain multiple theatres or street scenes. The folder listing below indicates the number of postcards and the individual theatres represented. Folders may contain duplicates of postcards. The postcards range in size from 3.5” x 5.25” and larger. All postcards are housed in 5.25” x 7.25” transparent archival sleeves. Several items in the collection are booklets featuring multiple postcards. The collection dates back to the late 1800’s. Items were dated using post marks and the design of postcards to approximate a date range in which it was produced. Not all postcards were dated, therefore that information was not included in this finding aid but available, however the ones that are dated and those dates are noted in records that can be viewed in THS’s online catalog. Postcards in this collection were produced using a number of different processes as the medium evolved. The collection includes real photo postcards, photochrome, chromolithography, and halftone printing processes among others. (c) Theatre Historical Society, 152 N. York St., 2nd Floor Elmhurst, IL THS Postcard Collection, Page 1 of 23 Previous work with collection included tagging individual postcards with an ID numbers. This was not uniformly completed so grouping by city was deemed sufficient for processing for the time being. Identification of individual postcards may be completed in the future. The postcards came to THS from a number of different sources. The following is a list of persons who donated postcards to THS that appear in this collection. Due to the unknown provenance of some of the postcards the complete list contributors is unknown. William Benedict Eric Ellis Peter Miller Lyman Brenneman Irv Glazer Karen Colizzi Noonan Biff Butler Ted Gooding Lloyd Prator Bro. Andrew Corsini Michael Hauser Eamon Rago Joe DuciBella Michael Miller Paul Rogers Richard Sklenar Tim Wagner Charlie Watts Related Materials Researchers interested in this collection may also wish to consult the following resources in the THS holdings: Subject File Collection Theatre File Collection THS Slide Collection THS Negative Collection Editors Collection Other materials in the Theatre Historical Society holdings may relate to the topics in this archive. Consult the archivist for further research assistance. Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions on the materials and the Collection is open to all. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy and copyright which may be involved in the use of this Collection. Number of Folder Title Theatres represented / postcard view postcards Box 01 Birmingham, AL Majestic ; Alabama ; Lyric ; Masonic Temple 4 postcards Eufaula, AL Majestic 1 postcard Gadsden, AL American Legion 1 postcard Huntsville, AL Elks 1 postcard Mobile, AL Lyric 4 postcards Montgomery, AL Festival ; State and Shakespeare Festival ; Majestic Vaudeville 3 postcards Talladega, AL Martin ; Opera House 4 postcards Tuscaloosa, AL Bama 2 postcards Anchorage, AK Empress ; 4th Avenue 5 postcards Fairbanks, AK Theatre 1 postcard (c) Theatre Historical Society, 152 N. York St., 2nd Floor Elmhurst, IL THS Postcard Collection, Page 2 of 23 Globe, AZ Fox 1 postcard Mesa, AZ Nile 1 postcard Phoenix, AZ Orpheum ; Elks Club and Opera House ; Fox 6 postcards Phoenix, AZ Elk 2 postcards Scottsdale, AZ Cabaret 1 postcard Tempe, AZ Grady Gammage Auditorium 2 postcards Tombstone, AZ Bird Cage 3 postcards Fayetteville, AR Ozark Opera House 2 postcards Hope, AR Saenger 1 postcard Little Rock, AR Majestic ; Capitol 2 postcards Pine Bluff, AR Saenger 1 postcard Anaheim, CA Century 21 1 postcard Balboa Park, CA Spreckel's 1 postcard Banning, CA Fox 1 postcard Berkeley, CA Theatre 1 postcard Beverly Hill, CA Carthay Circle 2 postcards Burbank, CA First National Pictures 2 postcards Burlingame, CA Peninsula 1 postcard Catalina Island, CA Casino 13 postcards Chico, CA Senator ; Chino 3 postcards Columbia State Park, CA Fallon 3 postcards Corning, CA Rodgers 1 postcard Costa Mesa, CA Orange City PAC 1 postcard Eureka, CA Loew's State 2 postcards Fresno, CA Liberty 1 postcard Grass Valley, CA Del Oro 1 postcard Hemet, CA Hemet 1 postcard Hollister, CA Berherich 1 postcard Glendale, CA Alex 1 postcard Chinese ; Earl Carroll ; Admiral ; Hollywood Boulevard ; World Premiere Night ; Pacific Cinerama ; Hollywood ; Warner ; Egyptian ; Hollywood, CA Hollywood Bowl ; Palladium ; Pantages 121 postcards Long Beach, CA Bath House ; Auditorium Interior 2 postcards Ahmanson ; Angelus Temple ; Auditorium ; Clune's Broadway ; Carthay Circle ; Grauman's Million Dollar ; Liberty ; Loew's State ; Mark Taper Forum ; Mason Opera House ; Music Center Pavilion ; Music Center Opera House ; Palace ; United Artist ; Orpheum ; Warner Los Angeles, CA ; First Drive-In 59 postcards Marysville, CA Tower 1 postcard Manteca, CA El Rey 1 postcard Merced, CA Merced 3 postcards Monterey, CA Jenny Lind ; State ; Rio 4 postcards National City, CA National 1 postcard Nevada City, CA Nevada 1 postcard (c) Theatre Historical Society, 152 N. York St., 2nd Floor Elmhurst, IL THS Postcard Collection, Page 3 of 23 Oakland, CA Grand Lake 8 postcards Ocean Park, CA Fox 1 postcard Ojai, CA Theatre 1 postcard Orinda, CA Orinda 2 postcards Oroville, CA Chinese 1 postcard Oxnard, CA Cinema Carriage Square 1 postcard Pacific Grove, CA Grove 1 postcard Palm Springs, CA Plaza 2 postcards Palo Alto, CA Standford ; Varsity 2 postcards Pomona, CA Fox 1 postcard Redondo Beach, CA Capitol 2 postcards Redwood City, CA Fox 1 postcard Sacramento, CA Fox ; Alhambra ; Diepenbrock ; Esquire 4 postcards San Bernardino, CA Inland 1 postcards San Diego, CA Pantages ; Old Globe 3 postcards Bella Union ; California ; Castro ; Columbia ; Louise M Davies Symphony Hall ; Majestic ; Opera House ; Mandarin ; Old Orpheum ; San Francisco, CA State ; Tivoli opera House ; Warfield ; Esquire ; War Memorial ; Roxie 34 postcards San Gabriel, CA Mission Play 1 postcard San Jacinto, CA San Jacinto ; Soboba 2 postcards San Jose, CA California 1 postcard San Luis Obispo, CA Freemont ; Elks 4 postcard San Mateo, CA San Mateo ; Baywood 2 postcards San Rafael, CA Rafael ; El Camino 4 postcards San Simeon, CA Hearst Private 1 postcard Santa Barbara, CA Arlington 1 postcard Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz ; Del Mar 3 postcards Santa Rosa, CA Tower 2 postcards Stockton, CA Esquire 1 postcard Vallejo, CA El Rey 1 postcard Westchester, CA Loyola 2 postcards Woodland, CA Opera House 2 postcards Yucca Valley, CA The Last Picture Show 1 postcard Aspen, CO Wheeler Opera House 2 postcards CO Springs, CO Ute ; Burns Opera House ; Majestic 11 postcards Cannon City, CO Theatre 1 postcard Central City, CO Opera House 6 postcards Del Norte, CO Princess 1 postcard Delta, CO Egyptian 1 postcard Municipal Organ ; Currigan Exhibition Hall ; Auditorium ; Orpheum ; Rialto ; Colorado ; Paramount ; Denver ; Empress ; Princess ; Greek ; Denver, CO Opera House Block ; Tabor Opera House 25 postcards Durango, CO KOV 1 postcard Estes Park, CO Park 1 postcard (c) Theatre Historical Society, 152 N. York St., 2nd Floor Elmhurst, IL THS Postcard Collection, Page 4 of 23 Fort Collins, CO Aggie 3 postcards Grand Junction, CO Avalon ; Mesa 2 postcards Kremmling, CO Ramona 1 postcard Montrose, CO Dreamland 2 postcards Morrison, CO Red Rocks 1 postcard Pagosa Springs, CO Mesa 1 postcard Pueblo, CO Chief ; Main ; Colorado ; Opera House 5 postcards Bridgeport, CT Poli's ; Loew's Poli ; Poli's New ; Bijou ; Colonial ; Empire 9 postcards East Haddam, CT Goodspeed Opera House 3 postcards Hartford, CT Majestic ; New Palace 2 postcards Meriden, CT Poli's 1 postcard Manchester, CT State 1 postcard New Britain, CT Fox 1 postcard New