Comments from gatormak

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gatormak
gatormak commented about Raue Center for the Arts on Dec 8, 2005 at 7:16 am

I think it was called the Lake in the 1950’s and 1960’s during a span when it only showed movies. Sometime in the 1970’s Rhyne Management bought the building and named it Showplace 8, which was a sister theater to the old Showplace 1-7 on Rte 14 near Rte 31.

I have an employee pay logbook from the 1950’s that I took out of one of the basements while I worked there in the mid-90’s. I also have part of the marquee that was hung out front “Downtown Showplace” in white and black letters, which was the incarnation before the massive renovation.

I was in the building this year and went up into the control room above the balcony. The original movie projector and film platters were still up there and functional, so perhaps they are still considering movies from time to time.

gatormak
gatormak commented about Raue Center for the Arts on Jun 24, 2005 at 6:28 am

I worked at this theater from 1993-1996 when it was known as Showplace 8. It was affiliated with Showplace 1-7 located on Rt 14, which was rebuilt in the mid 90’s as a 16 screen modern megaplex. My teenage career as an usher began with “The Firm” and ended with “Twister”. Often priding myself on pursuing 80 work weeks in the summer, I spent more time in the building than I did at home. Who could pass up the draw of $4.75/hour? The theater was one screen and could seat close to 900 when the balcony was open for big shows.