KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI
GENEALOGY & LOCAL HISTORY
Old Postcards and Photographs of Kalamazoo
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Majestic Theater 1920's
THEATERS & ENTERTAINMENT
| South Burdick Street - probably 1908, bird's-eye view from the Kalamazoo National Bank Building constructed in 1907 . The building on the right with the flag is the old Post Office on the corner South Burdick and South St . Note the Bijou Theater on the left - it was in business for two years, 1906-1908, as a vaudeville theater. |
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| Majestic Theater and Elks Club 1908 | 1910 | Majestic Theater, Elks Temple, and Peck Building - 1912 |
| Showing nearby post office, left foreground - 1912 | 1914 | Theater Ad, Police Souvenir View Book |
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|
Orpheum Theater
1911 A film theater, on W. Main near Burdick, that operated until 1949. |
North Burdick St.
1949 note the Uptown Theater and Hotel Rickman |
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| The New Theater on Burdick, 1914 |
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| 1930's | 1964 | 1964 Bronson Park |
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| Fuller Theater and F. W. Woolworth, 1940's onSouth Burdick |
| In its early day the Fuller featured live performances such as the Denishawn Dance Company with Louise Brooks. Another view of the Fuller can be found at Winter Water Wonderland Lost Theaters. |
| FRONT VIEW | FRONT VIEW #2 | 1920 Advertisement for the Fuller Theater |
| INSIDE VIEW |
Note topical reference to "Dry's" Prohibition |
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link to see photos !
State Theater, 1940's
State Theater,
Burdick Street - 2000, built 1927
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| Kalamazoo Central High School Auditorium |
| Kalamazoo Summer Starlight Theater - 1960's, using the Gilmore's parking lot deck |
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|
Barn Theater,
Augusta, 1963 <----
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on link to see photo ! also see http://www.barntheatre.com/ |
| Hayloft
Theater Portage - 2000 THE HAYLOFT THEATRE BARN WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1902. FROM 1919 INTO THE 1940'S. THE BARN WAS PART OF A WORKING FARM OWNED BY THE SOLOMON SCHIEDEL FAMILY. THE BARN WAS PURCHASED IN THE 1940s AND DEVELOPED INTO THE HAYLOFT THEATRE BY MARY AND VERN MEYERS. THE THEATRE WAS CLOSED IN 1952. IN 1992, THE HAYLOFT THEATRE WAS RELOCATED FROM ITS ORIGINAL SITE ON EAST MILHAM AVENUE TO THE CELERY FLATS HISTORICAL AREA PREMIERING THE FIRST NEW PERFORMANCE IN FORTY YEARS ON AUGUST 6. THE HAYLOFT THEATRE IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE CITY OF PORTAGE. See the Portage Park page |
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|
Oakwood Theater and Park, 1909 First established as Lake View Park - "By the turn of the century, summer theatre had become the key attraction at Lake View - so much so that in 1904, the park's name was changed to Casino Park. Vaudeville, light opera and burlesque dominated the bill at Casino Park with occasional feature musical attractions (ragtime was all the rage), minstrel shows and flickering films from a new gadget called the Kinetoscope." In 1907, Casino park was torn down and completely revamped. Now called Oakwood, a new dance hall, band stand, nickelodeon theater and boat house were erected, as well as the new park's feature attraction - the "Dizzy figure-8" roller coaster. Oakwood's dance hall flourished during the "jazz years" with nightly dances greeting capacity crowds during much of the warm weather season. The Kalamazoo community was given it's first introduction to the miracle of radio when a 1922 concert by Fischer's orchestra (see below) was broadcast from Milwaukee and played to a delighted audience at an Oakwood Park "radio dance." The park was closed in 1927 - DEFUNCT PARKS. |
| Earl Gardner's Band at the Gull Hotel, 1930s or 40s |
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| fischers exposition orchestra 1922 | fischer edward pub coad |
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| Kalamazoo's Charles Fischer's Exposition Orchestra |
| Charles Fischer's brother, Burton owned a music publishing company in Kalamazoo |
Kalamazoo Valley Museum publication
Volume 3 Issue 2 Winter 2004
KALAMAZOO ORCHESTRAS
"And the Band Played On...In the late 1890s, Charles Fischer organized Fischers Globe Trotters, a band that gained not only local but national and international fame as well. It traveled the world, performing in many well-known nightspots as well as on several round-the-world cruises. On a 1930 cruise, Albert Einstein sat in with the band and played violin for several songs. Although the musicians changed, the band played together for nearly 50 years. Charles Fischers brother, Burton, put Kalamazoo on the musical map as well. An original member of the band, Burton Fischer founded the Burton E. Fischer Publishing Company, a leading publisher of sheet music in the 1930s."
Kalamazoo Songs
"O Kalamozozle - mazizzle
Mazazzle, mazeezle - mazoo
The liquid, harmonious, easy euphonious
Name known as Kalamazoo"
I Gotta Song 'Bout Kalamazoo
in
Museography online magazine
#
There is only one Kalamazoo It's in the Wolverine state; 'In Kalamazoo we do' From morning to late.
See Winter Water Wonderland Lost Theaters picture of the Michigan Theater
Douglas Avenue drive in theater and Portage Drive in theater
