rememberwhen
Timeless Sanctuary Nothing New in Escaping Scottsdale Heat at the Movies By Joan Fudala Photos courtesy of Scottsdale Historical Society
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hen temperatures stay above 100 for months at a time, Scottsdalians often head for the sanctuary of the movie theater, even if they have a 60-inch screen at home. Technology, amenities and even theater etiquette have changed, but our desire to sit in a cool, dark spot for several hours and be entertained is a historic constant during Valley summers. Here’s some Scottsdale area cinematic history: Before 1948, Scottsdale residents had to make the trek into Phoenix to see a movie. “We didn’t see many movies when I was growing up, but when we did, we had to go into downtown Phoenix,” recalls Scottsdale native Joann Handley, director of the Scottsdale Historical Museum. Phoenix movie houses in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s included the Rialto, Orpheum, Fox and Vista, all ornately decorated and with a single movie screen. For a few years in the 1920s, Johnny Rose showed silent films at his pool hall on the northeast corner of Brown Avenue and Main Street. Rose sold the pool hall in 1928 to Jew Chew Song, who operated the Tee-Bar-Tee Theatre, circa 1948 facility as a grocery store until the 1950s, when the Song family converted it to Mexican Imports, still operating today. White offered four shows weekly The building is listed on Scottsdale’s at the Tee-Bar-Tee, including short Historic Register. subjects, feature films and Spanish On Friday, June 18, 1948, the Teefilms on Thursdays. Admission in 1948 Bar-Tee opened on the south side of was 50 cents for adults and 14 cents for Main Street, between Scottsdale Road children. Mrs. Frank Cavalliere won the and Brown Avenue, described on the naming contest and received a pair of front page of the Scottsdale Progress as season passes, according to an article Kachina Cinerama, circa 1963 “one of Scottsdale’s most important in The Scottsdale Booster. developments in years, and is its first During the 1950s the Tee-Bar-Tee talking picture theater.” Scottsdale entrepreneur Malcolm White (who was sold and renamed the Kiva, which continued to show feature films would become the town’s first mayor in 1951) incorporated the latest and children’s movies during Saturday matinees. In the 1960s, it became technology and amenities in his instantly popular theater. The exterior an adult movie house. Soon another adult movie house opened across and interior were in Western motif, in keeping with the newly coined Main Street, the Cinema Portofino, much to the chagrin of many in Scottsdale slogan, “The West’s Most Western Town,” attributed to White. the city who were concerned about the message this presence gave to Inside features included a Crying Room (after all, the Baby Boom had young people and tourists (these were the days before home videos/ begun in earnest) and a Smoke Bar (in the unhealthy era when everyone DVDs, when so-called “art” films could only be seen in public theaters). smoked in public places). Both were separated from the rest of the theater In the 1950s, Ford’s Theatre operated on the south side of Indian by a plate glass window. It was equipped with modern projection and School Road, across from Scottsdale High School, before it became sound equipment, as well as a cooling system. a bowling alley, and was then torn down in 1969. During the 1950s, June 2012 Scottsdale Airpark News | 33