The Decline of the Golden State

I've been trying to keep the topics in this blog related to the art of illustration, but every once in a while I will be veering off in another direction, to something that has caught my eye or interest.  Last November, in my very first entry to this blog, I talked about a movie theatre that my siblings and I use to attend when we were kids, one that had closed in the early 70s and then was left to fall into ruins.  It was an historic theater called the Golden State and it was located in Riverside, CA.  In my blog I told how I had found a way to sneak inside the old theater where I took some pictures.  Yesterday, I came across some of those photos.  With the exception of the last photo at the bottom of this post, they are all SX-70 polaroids. If you read my original post, you will know that this is the theater where D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation," had its sneak preview.  You may also recall that the theater burned down a few years after these pictures were taken.  So, as a sort of visual update to my very first blog entry, here are some photos of the late, great Golden State theater.

The closed box office booth

The door of the booth leaning against the poster cases

Upstairs, outside the manager's office

Water damage to the ceiling

The organ grill

Seats from the auditorium had been ripped out and strewn in the hallway and on the stairs

The candy counter

An exterior shot taken from the rear of the building

A feral cat who was living under the building.  This is one of my favorite photos.  I like the fact that the image is almost monochromatic.  The only vivid color is in the discarded orange, to the left of the cat.

The late, great Golden State Theater

All photos copyright Vincent Desjardins 2010