Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Waikiki Theatre

A  L  O  H  A !
 " Stuff your eyes with wonder,
 live as if you'd drop dead
 in ten seconds. 
See the world. "

Ray Bradbury



Hooray For Hollywood by MGM Orchestra on Grooveshark




Vintage neon sign.


The Story:





 All That's Left - the Sign

" The stuff that dreams are made of. "

  Waikiki Theatre
 was designed by Hawaii architect
 C.W. Dickey
 in 'Tropical Moderne' style,
 and built by the local
 Consolidated Amusement Company
 as its deluxe flagship.
 She opened August 20, 1936 
exhibiting “Under Two Flags.
 Many of us considered her 
Hawaii’s most beautiful theatre.

The star of Kalakaua Avenue
 featured a lush garden forecourt 
with a large fountain.

" I'm walking here! I'm walking here! "


Her lobby featured ornate Moderne wall murals,
 a ceiling fresco,
 and an atmospheric auditorium
 lined with artificial tropical vegetation,
 including two full size coconut palms, 
a proscenium in the shape of a rainbow, 
and a huge Robert Morton organ
that I got to hear!

  "TOTO,
 I'VE GOT A FEELING 
WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS 
ANYMORE"















" Here's looking at you, kid "











2005
" I love the smell
 of napalm
 in the morning."








A Bird in flight !

Duke Kahanamoku
Remembers-
















" Creativity
 is the residue
 of time wasted. "

Albert Einstein


"At the movies"
Cloudia 




 <(-'.'-)>




Going to the movies
should be an escape.


Our hearts go out
to everyone effected
by the weekend's
incident in Colorado.

Thank YOU
for visiting
Your comment
is valued

                            Warmly, cloudia

23 comments:

  1. We have come to a place where even the places we use to escape for a few hours are not trust worthy places.

    We really do not need stricter gun control, a person should be able to own as many damn guns as they want and I am sure the NRA will send me mail over that and ask me for money to support their gun rights lobby.

    What we really need is bullet control. A bullet should be as hard to acquire as a personal use fully functional M1 Abrams tank and each one just about as expensive, including local, state and federal taxes. Let them who rule the gun lobby pay for the destruction they abet.

    That's a bummer the theater being torn down, a very Detroit thing to do. We once had dozens like that and beautiful too. Now we have one...
    Pictures

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  2. Nice tribute/lament Cloudia...:-)

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  3. I get it. Read it. Some amazing photographs.

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  4. it should be an escape...it was a sad deed, i feel for the families left behind...i am not sure how we fix our broken machine....

    aloha from va

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  5. Another sad demolition... another icon gone.

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  6. Die herrliche Blüte auf dem ersten Bild habe ich vorhin auch fotografiert, aber in einem Palmengarten...

    Lieben Gruß
    CL

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  7. Nice. I'm with you on thoughts about the shooting.

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  8. Thanks for sharing the history of Waikiki Theater. And heartfelt condolences to the Colorado victims and their families.

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  9. what a history...all food for thought....

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  10. It's sad when a well loved place disappears.

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  11. Gosh, Cloudia, that music really made me jump. That first photo is stunning.

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  12. Heartbreaking, in a split second things can change and when I read Ray Bradbury's quote, how true. This kind of tragedy never makes sense, how, why? A touching post Cloudia.

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  13. Sincere APOLOGIES
    for the loud music!


    YOU deserve better for the joy your bring here.


    THANKS each of YOU

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  14. For years, Uncle David K. Nu'uhiwa was the dapper doorman at the Waikiki # 3. Some people mistook him as the father of modern Hawaiian surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, but he is the father of famed surfer David Nu'uhiwa, Jr..

    Uncle David, skilled in Hawaiian Lua and the Japanese martial arts, could throw a drunk or disorderly person out of the door of the Waikiki # 3 Theatre OVERHAND, in a tight spiral even. He probably knew if someone had bad intentions just by observation...How's that for security?

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  15. Kilohaumana-

    You have honored us
    by sharing these precious
    thoughts! Your profile lists no blog or contact - so just wanted to say MAHALO NUI. You are most welcome here ANYTIME to share your esteemed mana`o.

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  16. Amazing theatre interior, really classy. Thoughts are with those brave souls, survivors and those lost, from the horrid act of one person. So many stories of protecting others. Makes me want to carry a weapon to stop the occasional madman, but that one seemed to be too protected to take down. What do we do? DrumMajor

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  17. Indeed, the movies should be all about fun. Thank you for this beautiful tribute.

    I would recommend Erik Larson's "Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun" for anyone arguing for or against gun control. Larson tells the story of the gun that Nicholas Elliot used to kill one teacher and injure another in Virginia in 1988. It's an excellent book about gun culture.

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  18. I love this art-deco's architecture...

    Pierre

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  19. Sorry to read about this wonderful theater..
    Your tribute made me feel sad!
    Hard times everywhere.

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  20. I think I was at that theater just once a very long time ago. Sad to see it gone.

    I have given up on gun control. How many deaths does it take before we come to our senses? (The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.) Bullet control works for me too. Let's stop making them. That's a good idea.

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  21. A shocking happening Cloudia, I am so very happy that guns are not allowed for anyone and everyone here in Australia, I know most Americans think it's their right to carry a gun, but to me it's the most insane thing I've ever heard. WHY!!

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