Behind The Silver Screen Afterward and Appreciations
I felt that it was important to clarify some facts and fictions about the story.
The locations in the story, in Dayton and Cincinnati were factual.
In Dayton, the Loew's Downtown theatre was torn down in 1975 and to this day remains a parking lot.
The Loew's Northtown was actually the Loew's Ames Theatre, located just south of the Northtown Shopping Center. Later it was twinned by putting a wall down the middle of the auditorium, which ruined it by having two narrow theatres with small screens. The theatre stopped showing first run movies and became a discount theater in Dayton. It was closed in 1986. It became a Click Camera Shop and warehouse. Today it stands empty.
The Troy-Dixie Drive In where Mike learned how to run projectors became a used car lot.
The Kontiki Theater has closed.
In Cincinnati, the Ambassador Theatre closed and became a hardware store.
The 20th Century Theatre was closed and abandoned. It has since been rescued and restored to its current majestic state.
The Esquire Theatre was closed and then reopened as an art and independent theatre with five screens and still operates today.
The Jolly Roger Drive In was closed and torn down.
Some of these theaters are listed on the following websites...cinematreasures.com and cinematour.com. These are great websites for those, like me, who love old movie theaters.
Though the story is mostly fiction, the characters of 'straight' Mike and 'gay' Mike were based loosely on actual people.
A note of thanks to all of those who wrote emails, with words of praise and encouragement that were greatly appreciated with a tip of the hat to Marc, Steph, Mike, Michael, and a special thanks to Adam who's words spoke volumes to me.
A big thanks to EGR, whose editing skills made all the difference.
This was the second story I have written. Each one is like a journey for me. Writing this one was a joyful experience. With each story, they have brought me new friends.
And now on to the next journey...
Jerry