In 1914, A. S. Russell came to Alderson, where at first he embarked in the moving picture business. He purchased an existent theater called the Palace in 1914 (Wonder where that was), and operated it in its old location for a while. In June 1915, he purchased lands on the lower block of Railroad Avenue and began construction of a new building. It was a 36' x 90' brick, two story structure, which housed the theatre on the ground floor and apartments or offices on the upper. It seated nearly four hundred persons, and was known as the "Russell Theatre". It was a family theatre, with excellent patronage, and presented a clean, moral and high-class entertainment. In the 1940's it was taken over by the Alpine Theatre chain and operated by them into the mid-1950's. In the succeeding years, several attempts to revive the theatre were made after the Alpine Chain took out their franchise. Television was beginning to be the main source of entertainment and having a theater was becoming impractical to fund and maintain. ( Note: The first motion pictures viewed in Alderson were presented by the Edison Motion Picture Company of New York in the Town Hall* (Opera House) on October 5, 1904. Edison started with Kenetoscope in the 1890s, so it is a possiblilty that the first motion pictures in Alderson were of the Kenetoscope type. *I recall reading that the upstairs of the light brick building where the Laundromat is not located was where they use to show movies. ) - From the history, “The Russells Of Alderson” - byJames Russell.

(Click on photos for larger view)

Photo 1: The building as A. S. Russell built it. Note the several arch openings. Residents upstairs. Photo 2: Another view of inside the arches. Appears to be several bill boards and an ornate ticket booth. Photo 3: When the Alpine Co. took over, off went the arches, ticket boot extended to the front, and installed the over hanging marquee with lights. (Note Townley’s store to the left) Photo 4: The way the old theater building looks today, with markee removed and front filled in with matching brick. I understand the inside is used for storage. Not certain if the upstairs are occupied. It’s a sad ending for many old theaters in our country. They gave much joy and great memories.