The Ritz (Juniata)Theatre
By James Grebe
The Ritz Theatre at 3149 S Grand began its life as the Juniata Theatre in 1910. The architect for the building was William Lucas and was originally part of the O.T. Crawford family of theatres. The styling was in Art-Moderne. The Crawford family owned many of the early theatres including the Gayety, Kings, Union, Montgomery (Hi-Way), Arco, Bremen,Maffitt, Gravois, Park (Pershing), Shenandoah, Cherokee, Novelty, Mikado (Victory). The building permit was issued in August 1910.
By the year 1917, Crawford found himself over extended and vacated to San Francisco where he died in 1917. The Koplar family took over most of Crawford’s theatres. Louis and Joseph Ansell got into the theatre business in 1913 when they took over the SavoyTheatre, not the Ferguson theatre, a long forgotten theatre on Delmar, just west of Vandeventor. Louis K Ansell and Ben Stromberg (Strancell Real Estate Co} took over the theatre and renamed it the Ritz), after remodeling the building the ad in the paper read, “Rebuilt,Modernized, and Beautified. The policy is to be one of courtesy, and refinement with photoplays, music, and stage entertainment of a high order.”. The theatre was narrow and had a small balconyand seated 950 people. It had a small lobby and fairly plain interior, regardless of its name. In 1925 the Ansell Brothers contacted the Kilgen Organ Company to design and build a 2m/4r theatre organ. The specs come from October 16, 1925. It was a single chamber organ. The first organist was Alta Mae Cramer and she stayed until August 1927. Later, she sued the Musicians Union in 1929 for $50,000 but it is unknown thereason.
Oct16,1925
8’WP, 2 HP 10” static
16’ Flute 97 Pipes
8’ String 73 Pipes
8’ Trumpet 61Pipes
8’ Vox Humana 73 Pipes 6” WP
Chrysoglott 49 bars
Xylophone ` 37 bars
Glockenspiel 30 bars
Chimes 5 tubes
16’ Bourdon
8’ Trumpet
8’ Flute
8’ Cello
4’ Flute
Bass Drum
Tympani
Cymbal
ACC:
16’ Contra Viol Ten C
16’ Bourdon
8’ Trumpet
8’ Salicional
8’ Flute
8’ Vox Humana
4’Salicet
4’Flute
Harp Chrysoglott 49 bars
Snare Drum
Tambourine
Castanets
2ndTouch
8’Trumpet
3 Adjustable combo pistons
16’ Contra Viol Ten C
16’ Bourdon
16’ Vox Humana Ten C
8’ Salicional
8’ Flute
8’ Trumpet
8’ Orchestral Oboe (synthetic)
8’ Vox Humana
4’ Salicet
4’ Flute
4’Vox Humana
2&2/3’ Twelfth
2’ Piccolo
1&3/5’ Tierce
Xylophone 37 bars
2ndTouch
8’Trumpet
Xylophone 37 bars
3 Adjustable Combo Pistons
5 Cathedral chimes played by separate keys
Sleighbells
Firegong
Bird
Siren
Autohorn
Doorbell
Steamboatwhistle
Crescendopedal
1 expression lever
1 general tremolo
1 Vox Tremolo
One of the interesting things in research of thesethings is that in the build sheet the organ was supposed to have a 30 bar Glockenspiel. Yet, in. the stop list, none appears. One can only guess why this is so.
Between 1910 and 1920 the Ansell Brothers also owned the Rainbow, the Dixie, and the Variety, all three located on Broadway, downtown. In 1933 they took over the Empress Theatre on Olive, just west of Grand and in 1935 they converted a one-story garage into the Varsity Theatre, the building now being arecord store. In the 1950’s, the Empress was used for a stock company policy and in the end; they lost their shirt on this policy. I remember Debbie Reynolds appearing in a live stage production there in the 1950s. She appeared in “Gigi”, March 3-14 in 1954 and I have a copy of the Playbill for that production in my possession.
The Ansell’s also tried film production and failed and one of their products was called, “Women in the Night”. Louis died in 1958 at age 65and Joseph in 1966 at 83. August 30,1924. .
In December of 1981, a new owner, Harmon Mosley, twinned the small theater and that did not turn out too well, as he then turned to Art films and then to soft-core porn and exploitation films. The city got many complaints and wound up buying the building and demolishing it. The final date of operation was March 30, 1986
Copyright, 2009, Yesterday Once MorePublications.
Sources: Gerald Alexander, Charles Van Bibber,Travis Cape, Alan Nagel’s Kilgen Ledgers, James Grebe Archives