Memories of Irwin's Lamp Theatre leave warm glow
Most Irwin-area residents, young and old alike, have fond memories of the Lamp Theatre on Main Street. This is the place where generations of local children had their first big-screen movie experiences.
Of course, this wasn't the first cinema in town. By 1905, Irwin had a "nickelodeon," called The Lyric, at the present location of Irwin Bank and Trust. The name nickelodeon resulted from the nickel admission charge. Short, silent movies were accompanied by a live pianist who tried to match the music with the action in the film. In those days, Charlie Chaplin was a popular entertainer and a western called "The Great Train Robbery" made its debut.
The Aladdin Theatre was built around 1920 along Main Street where the Masonic Lodge is located now. Admission was only 10 cents and the movie was accompanied by organ music. Sound was added to the silent movies about the same time. Later, serial films were shown, prompting the return of patrons each week in order to see what would happen next in the ongoing story.
When the Lamp was built in 1938, movie theaters were popular family entertainment centers in small towns throughout the country. This was long before the days of shopping mall theater complexes or today's "megaplex" theaters.
Thelma Weston Knoel won a contest that was held to name the theater. She suggested the name "Lamp" because it complimented the Aladdin Theatre up the street; the idea was that Aladdin needed a lamp. Seating 397 patrons, the new theater opened with "Little Lord Fauntleroy" starring Freddie Bartholomew.
In 1964, the Lamp was purchased by Adelaide Del Vitto and Abe Beter. Twelve years later, Beter acquired Del Vitto's ownership share. After Beter's death in 1978, his wife, Hazel, managed the theater until she passed away; then it was run by her daughters, Jean Rebich and Eileen Eddy until Eddy's death in 1994.
All of Abe and Hazel Beter's grandchildren worked at the theater selling concessions, taking tickets and cleaning. This included Jean's daughter, Terri Yurcisin, and sons, George, Dave and Jim Rebich, as well as Eileen's daughters, Kathy Hydak, Kim Durka and Karen Shearer.
"It was a big deal for us, and we all enjoyed helping our grandparents," Yurcisin said. "We started working at the Lamp in junior high school and continued through graduation. Some of us also helped out later whenever we were needed."
The owners were always committed to providing family entertainment at low prices.
Jean Rebich and her husband, George, continued to operate the Lamp until their retirement at the end of 2004, and the theater finally closed. The closing triggered a flood of memories about this popular Irwin landmark.
North Irwin native Karyn Baughman recalls seeing her first movie there around 1956; it was "The Greatest Show on Earth," starring Burt Lancaster.
"My friend, Bonnie Seman, and I would take our children to the Lamp during the 1970s," Baughman reminisced. "I remember going to a Saturday matinee to see '101 Dalmatians'. My husband DeWayne and I took our granddaughter, Chloe Janiro, there to see her first movie, "Monsters, Inc."
"When I was a teenager, I would go to the movies with 50 cents in my pocket. After paying the 25-cent admission charge, I still had enough money for a snack at the theater and a 10-cent cherry Coke and 5-cent bag of potato chips after the show at Isalys. Sometimes, we'd go to Harry's Pizza after the movie; it was located next to the building where Casorio's Shoe Repair Shop is now.
"We would walk to the Lamp from North Irwin. If we saw a monster movie like 'The Thing,' the boys from North Irwin would hide behind the monument on Lauffer's Hill and jump out to scare us on our way home.
"Spending Friday night at the Lamp was a popular activity for local teens in those days. That's what kids did on Friday night. The place would always be packed. My girlfriends and I would anxiously wait for the local guys to arrive," she said with a smile.
"They had live bands playing there on New Year's Eve 1999 for Irwin's First Night celebration, and we were still going to see movies at the Lamp with our friends until a few years ago. It was amazing to see so many of the same people there who went to the movies with us when we were children growing up in Irwin."
Adams Hill resident Greg Waszczak vividly remembers seeing the Beatles movie, "Hard Day's Night," at the Lamp in the early 1960s.
"I remember standing in line with my buddies from Sixth Street School. It was my first experience with Beatlemania," Waszczak explained. "The movie made a tremendous impression on me; it inspired me to learn to play a musical instrument. It was like having the Beatles right there with me."
Irwin businessman Tom Witman recalls going to the Lamp as a young boy.
"When I was a young 'whippersnapper' during the '50s and '60s, the Lamp was the place to go," Witman said. "It was a lot of fun and was always so inexpensive. We lived on Old Trail Road, but my parents would let us walk downtown to go to the movies. In those days, there was nothing to fear. I sure look forward to the day when the Lamp is back in business."
While growing up in North Huntingdon, Washington County resident Brian Cupp was a regular moviegoer at the Lamp.
"It's a great old theater," Cupp remarked. "I'll never forget the pop machine in the lobby; you could get a cup of pop for a quarter. I remember taking a field trip to the Lamp with my Hillcrest Elementary sixth-grade class to see 'Gandhi.' In 1981, I saw 'Fox and the Hound' there; it was my all-time favorite Disney movie. Even a few years ago, I enjoyed coming back home to see 'Star Wars -- Episode II, Attack of the Clones' with my father and brother.
"If you drove through Irwin on a Wednesday night, you'd see a long line of people backed out the door because it was 'ladies night.' It was a classic old-time theater with the marquee all lit up." Cupp summed up his feelings for the Lamp by adding, "It was a great place to see a movie; the places you grew up with always remain special."
Many Lamp patrons also remember Bob Dittman and Chuck Eckenrod; they worked at the Lamp for many years and were dedicated, loyal employees. Dittman was the projectionist; Eckenrod was a handyman and also collected tickets.
Early in 2005, the Rebich family sold the Lamp to Jean's cousin, George Koury, and his KCS Real Estate Services partners, Bill Chapman and David Sinclair. Motivated by a desire to make the Lamp a focal point for a revitalized downtown Irwin, their plan was to renovate the building and reopen it as a multi-use community theater for the arts.
Koury also liked the idea of keeping ownership of the theater in the family.
"My partners and I want the Irwin community to prosper," Koury explained. "We're all local guys. It's taken much longer to get things moving than we originally thought, but we're confident that a lot of hard work will make it happen. Because we needed an avenue to obtain funding, we formed a partnership with the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which also owns the Palace Theatre in Greensburg."
KCS will operate the theater and, through the Trust, the Lamp will utilize the Palace's extensive resources to provide a variety of entertainment programming, as well as marketing, promotions and ticket sales. An architectural firm has been hired and drawings have been prepared. The initial step in the restoration will be replacement of the roof. Weather permitting, work should commence early next year.
Mike Langer, executive director of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, explained, "The Trust assumed ownership of the Lamp last summer after being approached by the Downtown Irwin Revitalization Committee. The committee views entertainment as a key component of the revitalization. We're in the process of obtaining funding and hope to be open by mid-2007.
"We plan to adapt the stage to accommodate both films and live productions, including plays, concerts and bands, and intend to bring in acts from outside the region, as well as hosting local productions. The Trust is looking forward to reopening Irwin's theater as a community asset for all the people who have such fond memories of the Lamp. The options and opportunities are limitless."
Jean and George Rebich wish to extend a special "thank you" to several generations of longtime, loyal customers of the Lamp Theatre for their patronage throughout the years, and hope that they will continue to support this venue when it reopens.
