By Kathy Arlt, Contributing Writer @Blogfinger
Here we are, back at the North End Hotel in 1911:
See that arched entrance in the middle of the photo? That was the “Scenario.”
“Wholesome” was, indeed, the by-word for the films shown at the Scenario. (And as for the “orchestra of competent musicians,” don’t forget: it’s 1911, so we’re talking—no pun intended—about silent films.) Mrs. Lauretta Hughson, shown below, reported that the Camp Meeting Association reviewed—and approved—all the films the Scenario presented. Her family took over the Scenario in 1916 and renamed it the Strand.
Whether it was the Scenario or the Strand, it’s obvious that it was a popular attraction. The Scenario was open 13 hours a day! And look at that sign on the Strand’s ticket booth: any place that advertises the time the doors open is a place that anticipates lines—even for “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” a film that received only 5.4 stars (out of a possible 10) from the Internet Movie Data Base.
But, if the theatre was full when you arrived, there were plenty of other things to do at the North End Hotel…as you’ll see in Part 2.