The card is from about 1942, based on one of the movies being shown at the theater on the right. The Wife Takes a Flyer was released in 1942, and starred Franchot Tone. The other movie showing in the same theater may have been This Way Please, starring Betty Grable. It was released in 1937, and may have been the lesser attraction of a double feature. It looks like there was another theater right next to this one, and then there's the Rialto Theater down the street. The Rialto was built in 1921, with a white marble staircase and Italian Renaissance facade. It was torn down in 1969. The Theater on the right is probably the Kentucky Theater, which is still standing, with the turret from the Palace Theater farther down on the right. There were a number of other theaters within the surrounding blocks. There was obviously lots of other activity downtown too.
I love the way the card publishers have made sure that they dominate the foreground.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, this is awesome. Off in the distance, you can see a tiny bit of a roof-top sign for the fabled Seelbach Hotel...
ReplyDeleteYou got me. I should have stated: "In my lifetime" (though since I left there 6 years ago, it has improved). For about 4 decades, the only thing vibrant in downtown was the Blue Movie district.
Small. Southern, Old-money...My Old Ky Home.
Holy cow, look at them colors, even zippier than the Manitoba scene!
ReplyDeleteI REALLY like this postcard. The color palette is really attractive. I've got to try to chase that one down.
ReplyDeleteFascinated by the low angle the shot was taken. Feel I could just step right into this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great street scene!
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