Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

That Other Theatre

On Washington Street

by Tommy Towery

Class of '64

The above photo was taken on July 12, 2002, when I was in Huntsville for the Y2K Mini-Reunion. It is an awful picture! I hate it. How on earth the city fathers would allow such a horific paint scheme be applied to a building in downtown Huntsville will haunt me forever. I have put off even using this photo since that day because it is so ugly. But, now I think it is time to share some memories about the things that happened in that building.

It was not always named Oxygen. It came to life as the Tony Theatre. Web researh gave me lots of information about the history of the theatre. The Tony Theatre opened on Thursday, May 26, 1960. The address changed three times over the years, from 114, to 112, to 116 Washington Street. There was an open house from 7 to 9 on Wednesday May 25, 1960, where admission was free and people were free to tour the theatre and see the projection equipment in action while cartoons and short subjects were continuosuly played. An RCA engineer was on hand to answer questions about the projection and sound.

The theatre advertised that it had, at that time, Alabama's largest indoor screen. It also claimed in its ads to have the first traveling-message sign in Hunstville and the first one to be used in the nation for theatre attraction. Other features of the theatre were four-color hand-painted screen curtains, four track stereo sound, and staggered seating vision. The first movie shown at the Tony was "Wild River".

The theatre became the Martin Theatre on September 19, 1962. The theatre's last day of business was August 23, 1982.

I have many personal memories about the theatre. I went to see "Wild River" there as the first movie shown. I remember the moving buildboard and how I would read all the words as they scrolled across the front of the building. As I wrote once before, I remember standing in front of it at the Southern Gala Premier of "I Aim At The Stars" and seeing Von Braun walking into the building on the red carpet. I was standing at the front of the line and a local radio announcer intervied me about why I was there and what did I think of the space race and Von Braun.

In my mind, it was the first theatre that started selling those giant dill pickles alongside the popcorn, candy, and cokes. It also had one of those rotisserie machines with hot dogs going around like a ferris wheel.

The one show that sticks in my mind besides "Wild River" was "13 Ghosts," one of the William Castle horror films. I don't know why that sticks in my mind. I loved the horror movies that guy was responsible for producing.

And for the first time in print, I also remember that I was approached by what would today be called a child preditor in that theatre. I must have been 14 and was in the bathroom when this guy in his thirties came in and started talking to me. He was asking some strange questions and I was feeling uncomfortable so I left in a hurry. I was waiting in the lobby for my girlfriend to show up (one of those meet-you-inside-the-movie date) but when he came out of the men's room, I went on inside the theatre to wait to avoid talking to him.

The guy came in a few minutes later and had two Cokes in his handsand sat down next to me and gave me one of the Cokes. Back then I'd never pass up a free Coke. He was carrying a raincoat (which should have been a dead give-away since it was not raining) but I was young and stupid. As he sat down he drapped the rain coat over his lap, and a few minutes later I felt his hand coming over the armrest and touching my leg which had also been covered with his raincoat. I sat frozen, not knowing what to do.

At that time, my date showed up and I jumped up and went over and sat with her and never said a word to anyone about it - ever. Not until now, and I am not sure why I am even saying it now, except that I now know that I was the victim and not the cause of that event.

For that one bad memory, I have many where I reached across the same armrests and laid my hand on my date's leg. I smile about those times...!

I would love for any of you to share your own memories of the theatre in any form or fashion. Any special dates, movies, or events to recall? Send them in.

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Rick Simmons, LHS ’59 – ‘63 - This was an x-ray machine found at shoe stores to assist with getting the proper fit.

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Chip Smoak, Class of '66 - This week's mystery item is something that all of the better department stores had. The location was in the shoe department.

Back then one could try on a pair of shoes, walk over, stick their feet in the spaces at the bottom of the machine, and look in the viewer of the flouroscopy machine to actually see the bones of your feet and how they fit in the new shoes. I'm sure a lot of kids cheated and checked out their feet when new shoes were not being bought for them to seen the foot bones limned in green.

Unfortunately, this was a less than healthy practice that some do-gooder insisted be stopped because of the exposure to x-rays was excessive.

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Bruce Fowler - Class of MCMLXVI - The device pictured is an x-ray (actually fluoroscope) machine specifically for feet. One stood on the shelf on the right and put one's feet into the rectangular slot. The x-ray was viewed through the long oval tubes sticking out the top and left side.

The purpose of this device was to assure that children's shoes were properly sized and fitted - the shoe had to be snug on the sides and back but leave enough room in the front for growth and "wiggle room". As such they were primarily found in either large shoe stores/department stores, or in shoe stores that specialized in children's shoes. The only such of the latter type that I recall was a Stride Rite store located on the south side of the city square.

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Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, Class of '64 - As for the mystery photo, I am certain that I stood in one exactly like this in Dunnavant's shoe department. It basically x-rayed your feet to see if there were any deformities, and I suppose in theory the shoe person could decide what shoe you needed from this viewing! They would always turn it around so that I could view my own feet which I thought was way cool back then. But then, it didn't take a lot to entertain me either!

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Carolyn Taylor, Class of '64 -That is the machine in Dunnavant's that you put you foot in to check to see how well your shoes fit. I always wanted to use the machine whether I got shoes or not.

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Dink Hollingsworth, Class of '65 - The mystery item is a Shoe Salesman's dream. It is an X-Ray machine found in Buster Brown Shoe Stores. Childern would try on the new shoes then stand on the step and place their feet in the openings where X-Ray's would show a perfect image of the feet. The two view areas were for the sales person to point out the fit of the shoe to the parent looking at what was being described through the second area.

There have been recent survey's of former Buster Brown employees with a high incidence of cancer as they were exposed over and over to the X-Ray's with nothing more than a wooden box and their clothes for protection.

I grew three extra toes on one foot from this device.

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Bobby Cochran, Class of '64 - Re the "Mystery Item" - that looks like a machine that Dunnavants and some other stores had for properly fitting shoes for prospective customers. Since it showed the bones in your shoes, I assume it was an x-ray machine.

If the shoe companies didn't furnish those machines, I'll bet the merchants spent a pretty penny on them. I remember getting a pair of "dress" shoes (remember how virtually everyone had a "special dress" outfit for important occasions?) I had a suit from one of the downtown shops, and I don't think i ever wore it, except to church.

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Carolyn Burgess Featheringill, Class of '65 - This week's mystery item may be one of the scariest things from the '50's and early '60's--an X-ray machine to make sure that your feet were fitting into your new shoes at Dunnavant's Department Store. The only trouble with this dynamo was that while we were checking to make sure the fit was correct we were getting bombarded with an X-ray overload!

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Skip Cook, Class of ‘64 - The strange device with the viewing ports looks like an x-ray machine that used to be in shoe stores.

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Tommy Towery, Class of '64 - I remember playing with one of these things in Belk-Hudson shoe department. No one care that we were just kids playing with the thing.

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Subject:Rebel Rouser

Linda Beal Walker

Class of '66

Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy was playing on your video. I remember the band playing that at the football games and the crowd went wild. When did the band stop playing that? Was it between 1964 and 1966 or after?

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Suject:Things to do in Washington

Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly

Class of '64

We just returned last night from South Carolina, where we almost froze to death! It was 64 degrees at the Newark airport at 9:30 PM when we landed. What's up with that??? Are the rest of ya'll freezing down there in the South? I only took warm-weather clothes because the day we landed the temperature was 90 degrees! We are heading to Spokane, WA and Jackson Hole, WY next week and have no idea what to expect weather-wise. I wish I'd thought earlier to ask if anyone had any great suggestions for things we should do in those areas. Of course, Yellowstone is already on the list. We'll be arriving in WA on May 14 and then on to WY on the 18th for 9 days, so if anyone has any suggestions please email me at barbdonn13@aol.com. I'll be your best friend forever . . . Well, I promise not to say anything ugly about you in a slam book, anyway.

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Subject:Picinc Film

Skip Cook

Class of ‘64

You never cease to amaze me with what you can find. The film was outstanding, I stayed glued to the screen trying to recognize young faces from the distant past. Bobby Cochran’s jumped out at me a couple of times. Great job.

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Eddie Burton, Class of '66 - Tommy I think the face from our past is Davy Jones of the Monkee's. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Nashville about 27 years ago. I had a band in a club in Printer's Alley and he was playing in the club next door to us. It was called something like Davy Jones and the Monkee Review or some kind of thing like that. It was him and a back up band from L.A. playing the Monkee's songs and other things he had done on the stage in England where he was a musical theater actor and singer before becoming a Monkee. On his breaks he would come and listen to our band and of course we got him up on stage to sing a song with us. He was very nice and polite and quite a gentleman.

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Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, Class of '64, Skip Cook, Class of ‘64, and Linda Collingsworth Provost, Class of '66 all also correctly identified the Mystery Face.

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Sandra Parks Bozeman, Class of '67 - That's the one and only Davy Jones of the Monkees.Remember watching them every week? He is still a real cutie!

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Subject:Class Picnic

Carolyn Burgess Featheringill

Class of '65

Loved the movie of your class picnic, Tommy. I remember that the class of '65 had a picnic as well--I believe at the Braham Springs Park.

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Subject:Mayday and Sad News

Dianne Hughey McClure

Class of '64

I also remember Mayday at East Clinton in fact I was passing on May 1 with my granddaughter Cheyenne and I told her about Mayday and the pole. If I remember right the girls had to wear white dresses and the boys had to wear white shirts. It really was fun and I am sorry the today kids do not get to twist the streamers around the pole like we did. It taught co-ordination as well as team work. Oh well the school system seems to have different ideas about what kids need today.

I would also like to talk about another subject for a minute. My sister Exie was having a lot of problems with her back and hip, the doctor had said it was arthritis. She was visiting her daughter in Phoenix and was in too much pain to travel back. She went to a doctor there and cancer was found. It had began as breast cancer and had already metasized to her lungs, kidneys, spine, pelvic bones, and her arm which she wore in a sling for a while.earlier this year. Sadly she did not get her mammograms as recomended. It may not have made any difference,but it is all we have. Our Mother Grandmother and two aunts had breast cancer and sometimes people are afraid of what will be found so they try to ignore what may be best.

Please remember her in your prayers and please friends do you monthly checks and have your mammograms. At least give yourself a fighting chance at catching it if you have it.

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