The Grand was Grand 

Photo taken from a W.A.C.S. Yearbook

 The Prospectus

 Circa 1962

The Grand Theatre, in grand Art Deco style, opened July 17, 1941.  The building housed 3 stores on the main level as well as a small bowling alley with 4-6 lanes in the basement.  Rhe theatre was leased and reopened on July 7, 1965 by the Blatt Bros. Theatres Inc. who managed the theatre through the 1970s.  In the late 70s, Kirsch Theatres of Erie PA took over the lease.  

In June of 2022 when the exhibit titled Remembering the Grand was coordinated we found this evening marquee photo in our exhibit research and never learned the name of the young man placing the black metal letters onto the curved marquee though we did learn the name of the movie poster being featured that night shown in the framed glass case on the front exterior of the theatre. The movie was Swiss Family Robinson which was a popular Walt Disney film in 1960 and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  The filming location was on the Island of Tabago with a film budget of $4 million. 

Release Date .. December 21

In 1975, the popular film American Graffiti courtesy of the Blatt Bros. of Erie, PA was featured at the Grand Theatre.  It was a fundraiser event for the W.A.C.S. Bret D. Smith Memorial Scholarship resulting in donations collected at the standing room only theatre that evening of $1,130.  Blatt Bros. donated use of the film and theatre for the October 30 event arranged by the late William Gollnitz, General Manager and employees of the Grand.  Bret D. Smith, son of the late Robert and Darlene Smith, was employed by the theatre on a part-time basis.  The $1,000 recipient of the scholarship had to meet certain criteria which included a student's plan to further his or her education at either a college or vocational school.  The W.A.C.S. student was selected each year by a committee comprised of the theatre manager, the senior guidance counselor and the senior class advisor.   Interesting the theatre was listed among the committee members who helped select each year's recipient.  In 1975, they had no idea that in 1992 the theatre would, sadly, no longer be part of Westfield's landscape at the main intersection of the village.

                                         

The architect who designed the art deco Grand Theatre was Michael J. DeAngelis.  He had offices in Rochester NY and in New York City and designed numerous theatres in the art moderne or art deco style.  Other theatres were the Carlisle Theatre, Carlisle PA; Clemens Center, Elmira NY; Dazzle Theatre, Rochester NY; Reg Lenna Civic Center, Jamestown NY; Spotlight Theatre, Warsaw NY; Strand Theatre Brockport NY and the Town Hall Theatre, Lowville NY.  DeAngelis was known for incorporating circle windows in many of his theatres and often times he incorporated a curved marquee as seen in the above photo.

In June of 2022, I coordinated a theatre exhibit with an opening reception in Moore Park to remember and to honor the Grand Theatre.  The title was Remembering the Grand.  I also created a FB page to remember the exhibit and how it looked for those who weren't able to attend.  Those in attendance helped me raise a toast to the theatre with Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice prior to entering the exhibit.  Fellow theatre enthusiast, William "Willy" Locke read a piece he wrote titled An Ode to the Grand Ole Lady. 

One of the two original Grand Theatre seats we found had an original wad of gum on the bottom of the seat so we added a sign that read, Is this yours?  The theatre seats were loaned to us by Dr. Earl Freling from Ripley, New York.  Many locals loaned us the black metal letters used to introduce the movie featured on the beautifully curved lighted marquee.  We honored all of the former theatre managers and even had a set of framed blueprints for attendees to view.  On a nearby piano stood black letters that spelled the word, GRAND surrounded by several laminated movie posters on the back wall that featured movies that once played at the Grand.  Former Grand Theatre movie-goers once again saw their original candy case filled with nostalgic candy from days gone by.  Many of them telling us they met at that candy case as a young couple and later married. Attendees saw a popcorn machine acquired from a local marina and believed it or not several original popcorn containers from the Grand were loaned to us by Tim and Vickie Bowen.  They also loaned us an album of original movie calendars that were once distributed by mail to local residents.  Folks could look for their birthday year and month to see what movie was being featured at the Grand Theatre on the day they were born.  

Printer's Block

I had hoped to acquire one of the original Grand Theatre popcorn machines on display though it was in Indiana PA. It is owned by a former Westfield resident, Dr. Andrew Cash who purchased the machine when the theatre artifacts were auctioned off prior to demolition in April 1992.  Another local doctor loaned the letter R that once spelled out the word, Grand above the marquee.  The good doctor was able to get the nostalgic letter to light and to blink which was the most special artifact during the exhibit for a time-honored theatre that once stood in Westfield NY at the villages's main intersection across from the former Welch's Grape Juice headquarters.

This is what memories are made of!  Thank you to the Lakeshore Center for the Arts for giving me the opportunity to "live my dream" for others to enjoy.  

The Curved Lighted Grand Theatre Marquee

During the Holiday Season

Circa 1950s

The Grand Theatre featured many movies during its lifetime though one that comes mind as this story appears during Lucy Fest 2023 is The Long Long Trailer. 

Release Date February 18, 1954