Pam Scott shows off an old projection reel at The National Theatre. A decade after restoring the theater, Scott and her husband David continue to draw large crowds to the historic showpiece in Downtown Graham. (Photo by Gay Storms)
Theater a worthwhile investment
by Gay Storms
(Posted 2/5/2010 02:44 pm)
lifestyles@grahamleader.com
The undertaking seemed overwhelming, but the payoff was worth it.
David and Pam Scott rescued a historic Graham landmark when it was down on its luck and needed lots of TLC and money to be functional again. The huge investment of time and cash was not a drawn-out deliberation for the Scotts.
“I’ve got an appointment set up,” Pam said were the first clues to her husband’s interest in The National Theatre.
They toured The National with Jim Larmour, who was the then owner. Unused for several years, major repairs such as adding a new roof and ceiling, replacing heating and cooling, restoring seats, buying new projection equipment and screen were all needed.
“The ceiling in the auditorium had fallen onto the chairs and floor,” said Pam. “There was a massive amount of work to be done.”
In addition, a concession area, game room, rest room and a museum on the second floor eventually would be built.
The Scotts added the expenses up, went to their banks and presented the project to the Graham Industrial Association. They began renovation on Nov. 12 1989.
“Work went pretty fast — it was six to eight months before the grand re-opening of The National,” said Scott.
At first they thought of the process as redecorating more than renovating, but both soon realized that this approach was a shortsighted plan for such a historic landmark.
“We started to look into renovation and then got the idea to restore and preserve,” said Scott.
“The colors were already there — just waiting to be discovered, all the colors underneath the chipped old paint — it was charming,” said Pam.
The old theater had surprisingly few pictures of its interior so the Scotts talked to people who remembered what the theater looked like. They had to abide by the strict guidelines of the The Texas State Historical Commission as they renovated. Although restoring rather than renovating the theater helped them obtain grant money, restoration took on a whole new dimension.
“We did it because it was the right thing to do,” said Pam. “We committed ourselves to reading and educating ourselves to all we could find. It became a labor of love.”
They didn’t cut corners but used the best craftsmen, equipment and restoration process they could. A good example is the painstaking care put into restoring the auditorium seats.
“We completely restored the auditorium seats,” said Scott. “We tore the seats apart, stripped the wood and resealed it. We took the end-standards apart and sand blasted them.”
They didn’t redo the 400 available seats because they redesigned the auditorium to accommodate a ladies’ rest room and a concession stand.
Scott said two years ago they put in new auditorium seats but kept some of the old seats. A new screen 13 by 28 feet wide replaced the old screen which was introduced in the 1950s for cinematography. The screen was so heavy and large that it required a support across the stage, which was removed during restoration. The stage was redone and the lights put back in place. Rocker seats are available for those nearest the stage.
While they were gutting the theater, they found wonderful memorabilia such as vintage movie posters although most had been damaged by water leakage from the roof.
“All the time, people came in telling all the things that happened to them in this theater — their first kiss, rolling Coke bottles on the floor and all sorts of funny things,” said Scott. “People would see 20 to 30 workmen going in, and they were curious. People were anxious and excited, interested in the process and dying to see the results.”
The National Theatre finally had its grand opening in April 1990. But before the public grand-opening, the Scotts threw a celebration for the people who had actually participated in the restoration.
“We had a big group on stage, all hands-on people like the electricians, general contractors and all the hands — people who had a lot of pride in what they did, who beautifully restored and finished the theater,” Scott said.
The first opening flick, “Outrageous Fortunes,” was the movie playing when the theater closed its doors in 1988.
“When we did open to the public, it was to a packed house,” said Scott. “The community supported us from the very beginning and has continued to support us.”
For the grand opening, “Milo and Otis” proved a hit with the kiddos and families.
Since the opening, the Scotts have continued to enjoy a community following that amazes them.
“We’ve had great support, many sellouts and set records,” said Scott. “The reason why we’re still here are the sellouts. “Titanic” was here for eight weeks. We have sold out at all three auditoriums before. ”
Despite the success, Scott wonders if they sacrificed too much in terms of family time.
Scott said since they had five small children, they were either working at the theater or taking care of children.
“My schedule was the exact opposite of David’s so we only saw each other in passing,” said Scott. “For at least 10 years we never went anywhere. We didn’t have money to hire extra staff. When we first opened, I was here every night for months on end — either David or I had to be here. You miss out on a lot of things.”
Hiring help made running the theater easier. They have a full-time manager and an arsenal of trained high school kids, ones that write and visit long after they’ve left Graham. It’s a good thing, too, because in addition to night screenings, The National provides matinees for busloads of school children, even drawing school children from other towns. People within a 60-mile radius are regular moviegoers.
“We’ve survived TV, VCR, pay-for-view, DVD and Netflix,” said Scott. “When the theater started in 1919, it was the sole means of entertainment.”
The Scotts can never rest on their laurels because of the nature of the movie industry — it’s always changing.
“It will cost $80,000 to 100,000 going to digital film, and the movie industry is pressuring 35 mm film theaters to change over to digital film,” said Scott. “We hope the price comes down first. Eventually there will be no 35 mm film at all.”
Scott said movie attendance had actually increased since the recession. People return to the escape of a good movie and a crowd of friends and acquaintances.
“You either come to the movies all the time or not all — people love to watch movies on big screens, and it’s very much a social thing,” Scott said.
Scott said last week she recognized a lady whom she remembered came every week many years ago but suddenly quit coming. The lady told Scott she had nine strokes and hadn’t been back in eight years.
“But now she was so happy to be back, and it was so good to see her come back ... to see what being here meant to her,” Scott said.
