The Benn Theatre - SW Philadelphia `1950's

About the time Richard Nixon rolled up Woodland Avenue in southwest Philadelphia trying to gather votes for Dwight Eisenhower, I was working at the old Benn Theatre on that same boulevard. In the mid to late 50's it was a sometimes crowded, sometimes unsafe street depending on the day or night, how much you've had to drink or who was carrying a gun within a 20 foot radius of you.
     

At 16, I was as tall as I am now at 75 so, they put me on the gate as usher/security. Give you an idea of what the neighborhood was like, management gave me a choice of weapons to carry for protection. It reminded me of an old Arizona joke amongst bar tenders: coming in to their bar, they frisk you for weapons. If you don't have one, you get one. 

During my time here, "Rock around the Clock " debuted here to sold out crowds and two riots, a gang fight involving knives, me and the police. I won. Hopalong Cassidy dropped by. He became my personal hero. Nixon rolled by the front door, as did JFK. In those days, after 6 pm, the crowds went " to the theatre" dressed in suits, just like they did when traveling on airplanes. The manager's name was Kessler who dropped out of sight. Years later I saw him again when he booked passage in 1962 when he left for France on the S.S.France, the flagship of the French Line. The picture above was taken in 1960. It was a gentler time then. Black was black, white - white. Very few shades of grey, we asked questions back then and got straight answers, not like now when everything we hear is mush. The sad part of today is the air is so filled with meaningless words, we can't see the sky anymore. 

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