The Theater that Once Was: Carmichael's Washington Pennsylvania

Over 60 years ago the state of the art theater was the talk of the town when it opened in Carmichael's Washington Pennsylvania in 1949. The Lund Theater was one in five parents attended as young adults. After reviewing old actual theater tickets that my parents stored away, enticed me to dig a little bit and investigate what this talk of the town was really about.

The room on the theaters second floor had the speaker and a large, glass window overlooking the screen. It was one of the few theaters, to my parent's recollection, that had anything like it. From the late 1930s through the 1960s, the Lund was the place to go and clever Michaels to view Hollywood's latest releases.

According to the locals who have attended this theater, most stated "It was kind of a social gathering place for those of us who lived in town," who were all teenagers in Carmichael's in the 1960s. Lund's was considered a top notch theater before and the megaplexes of today. People went to the show of their hometown theaters. My parents, As well as their friends spent many pleasant hours wrapped up in movies at the Lund.

The Lund's theater most people would remember was built in Carmichael's town square by John Lund and his son, Werner "fuzzy" Lund, in the late 1940's. The Lund's owned or operated 17 movie houses in Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the 1940's and 1950's, including the Arcadia in Marianna and the Rialto in Daisytown.

Their theaters could be found all across western Pennsylvania area's small coal mining towns such as Claysville, which had the park; Bobtown, the Circle; and Mather, the Family. Not many people at the time had automobiles and so they couldn't drive from here to there. But everybody somehow managed to make it to the theater.

The Lund's began operating the theater in Carmichaels in 1938, when they purchased the Ross Theater in the town square. Ross Theater held about 350 people and sat adjacent to what is now the main building of Community Bank. The Ross was operated by Minor Ross from 1913 to 1928, according to a business history published in 1985 by the Carmichaels area Chamber of Commerce.

The theater had a succession of owners, including Pearson Minor, William Roberts and Felix Palone Sr. sold the theater to the Lund's. To many the Lund's was a haven for young people to have a good time as well as staying up on Hollywood's latest. The Lund was legendary to some locals.

The name of the theater was changed by its new owners, which also expanded the theater. Created a new entrance and added sound proofing as well as adding air conditioning. This theater was small but comfortable with a pleasant atmosphere. Sounds like a great time having pop corn, soda and watch a movie that cost only 13 cents in those days. Wow with our theaters at $8 bucks for admission.

The theater that was façade with marble stone had a spacious lobby with a huge candy counter. A large area separating the lobby from the screening area was three or four foot high partition topped with glass. There wasn't a theater around that could match up to the carpeted floors, new push back seats, special acoustic material on the walls and a high tech projector with widescreen format that was brand new at the time.

It did not have a balcony, but it did have a partial second floor, where there were offices, projection rooms, restrooms as well as a cry room. At the Lund's opening Aug.5, 1949, first featured the movie "Canadian Pacific." With the opening of the new Lund's theater the old theater was use as a catholic church. The new theater showed movies each night and had a matinee on weekends. It normally had a double feature and showed newsreels and cartoons.

Saturdays was said to be the biggest night according to locals. The theater even had buses to bring movie goers to the theater and would later take you home. It would be so nice to have that type of service to and from a movie. Soon there were other theaters with other owners with a different but similar approach to the way they sold their tickets to style and better accommodation.

As business at the theater began to diminish, due to attendance declines because people had televisions in their homes. Movie rental business also made it hard for the small independent theaters. The local theaters throughout the western Pennsylvania area also were hurt as people began to have more disposable income and were willing to travel to other towns to see a show.

The theater closed in July 1968 with the last movie to be shown there was said to be "In cold blood". To experience the feeling of the movie at the last showing I rented the movie and watched it with my surround sound booming and imagined I was at the Lund and at the last showing. Open a mere 19 years the Lund was said to be a great experience, but also a short lived life.

Well I hope you enjoy reading this. This was an inspiration and memoir to some. Thanks for your time.