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Grand Opening of the Williamson Theatre
January 19, 1925
The Winter Haven Chief
Tuesday, January 20, 1925
Williamson Theatre Opened
to Pubic Monday Eve
with Record-breaking Attendance
Monster Crowds See First Picture at
City’s New Theatre;
Prof. Hamrick Delights Audience
with Recital on $20,000 Pipe Organ
With the 116th Field Artillery Band heralding the great
event from the street in front of its spacious portals,
the new Williamson theatre, south Florida’s finest
playhouse, opened its doors to the public Monday evening,
playing to an audience that in numbers probably has never
been equaled in the history of the city.
The doors opened at 7 o’clock and from that moment until
7:30 there was an endless stream of spectators filing
past the box office and into the beautiful auditorium,
where every one of the thousand seats was occupied long
before the appointed time.
At 7;30 music began to peal forth from the $20,000
Robert-Morton organ under the skillful touch of Prof.
George Hamrick, of New York City, who had been sent here
by the organ company to play the opening recital. As an
opening number, Prof. Hamrick rendered the well-known
“overture from William Tell,” a selection which brings
out the tonal qualities and many variations of the organ.
All music lovers sat enthralled beneath the magic spell
of the great instrument as Prof. Hamrick faultlessly
rendered the great classic.
The offering of the evening was “Isn’t Life Wonderful?”
D. W. Griffiths’s latest classic of the screen, a story
of the aftermath of the world war in Germany and the
triumph o love in the hearts of a boy and girl over the
difficulties that beset their paths during the
reconstruction period. The appeal of the picture lay in
its simple humanness and its message of encouragement of
all classes and conditions of men.
The large audience admired the beautiful building and its
modern appointments and when the first show had ended,
another crowd, almost equal in number took their places
and enjoyed the first show at the Williamson.
Tonight the show will be “’East of Suez” featuring Pola Negri.
Prof. Hamrick will play tonight and Wednesday, and
as he is considered to be one of America’s greatest
organists, Havenites will welcome the opportunity to hear
him again.
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