Oswego Theater

 As you know, I grew up in Oswego, New York.  As you also know, I love movies.  Part of the reason came from going to the movies in my youth.

The first movie theater in Oswego was the Capitol Theater built in 1921 at 100 East Second Street, a stone's throw from my original home at 30 East Oneida street (at the corner with East Third Street).  I don't remember seeing a movie there.  It had 844 seats.  It was torn down in the 1950s.

Next came the Strand Theater in 1939 located at 149 West Second Street.  I remember one time I went there in the 1950s with my brothers Paul and Ted to watch the 1939 adventure film Beau Geste.  It had over 1,000 seats.  The Strand was torn down during the 1950s, but after the Capitol.  

Oswego Theater, now known as Oswego 7 Cinemas, is a historic movie theater located at 138 West Second Street (across the street from the Strand). It was designed in 1940 in the Art Deco style and opened in 1941. 

The front of the Oswego Theater features bands of yellow, red, and dark red brick that create broad horizontal and perpendicular belts. A pair of cast stone, accordion pleated vertical stripes are included on the facade. It was designed by architect John Eberson (1875–1964).

So, why did Oswego lose two of its three movie theaters during the 1950s?  Television.  Why pay for entertainment at the movie theater when you can get something free at home?

My earliest memory of going to the Oswego Theater was the Saturday morning shows for children.  It usually consisted of a Tarzan film or a western plus a lot of cartoons.

It seems strange now but my family would arrive at the Oswego Theater without regard to the schedule as to when a film would begin.  We would enter in the middle of a movie and see it to the end.  Then we would see the beginning until one of us would say, "This is where we came in."  I believe this was a common practice for families during my youth.

As my father did business (milk) with the theater manager, my family could get into the movies free.  However, instead of having a physical pass card, we would simply say, "Lasky," to the ticket taker.  It was embarrassing.  

Some of the movies I remember seeing at the Oswego Theater are From Here to Eternity (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), Them! (1954), Blackboard Jungle (1955), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Marty (1955), The Searchers (1956), Giant (1956), Gunfight at the O. K. Corral (1957), Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960) and The Parent Trap (1961).