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The Garberville Theatre is turning 75 years old and will hold a “75th Anniversary of The Garberville Theatre” party this coming Monday night, August 2. The Garberville Theatre opened on August 2, 1935 and has been in continuous operation ever since.

The following is a small excerpt from the detailed history of the theatre on their website at www.garbervilletheatre.com.

”For four generations the Garberville Theatre’s brightly lit marquee has loomed over the west side of Redwood Drive, beckoning to locals, weary travelers, and movie goers of all ages to step inside, enjoy a bag of delicious hot popcorn, sink into a comfortable seat, suspend their worldly woes, and be transported to another place or time on the silver screen. During that span, literally thousands of theaters in the country were constructed, flourished, declined, and were subsequently closed, remodeled, or demolished.

”That a community of our size has been graced with a continuously operating movie house for as long as almost anyone can remember is nothing short of remarkable.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event will kick off at 7 p.m. Admission will be 24¢ ... (the 1935 ticket price). Of course you can donate more if you wish.

In addition to live music from Twango Macallan and The Nestburys, webmaster Ed Truthan of North Coast Graphics will present an historical slide show presentation featuring a variety of archival theatre photos and memorabilia along with brief history of the theatre’s 75 years of operation. Some of the photos to be displayed have only recently surfaced and have never been publicly viewed. We plan on having a great time and hope you’ll join with us to give thanks for the four generations of continued pleasure our venerable theatre has provided to our small community. See you there.

photo: The Garberville Theatre as it looked in the late 1930s. The marquee and sign were replaced in 1939-40 to accommodate the new façade that would encompass the shops to the south including the Garberville Mercantile Co. (far left), now AllSport.