City of Fallon Mayor, Ken Tedford was on hand for the Centennial Celebration of the Fallon Theatre last week, naming December 30, 2020, as the “Fallon Theatre Centennial Day.”
The open house celebration was nothing like what the Fallon Theatre organization had envisioned back in January a year ago: They had planned a huge, exciting, and over-the-top red-carpet-Roaring-20s gala. Instead, attendees were welcomed through the rooms in a trickle of social distancing.
“The theatre has seen worse,” said the Fallon Community Theatre in a message on social media, “In a century of existence, here it still stands, solid and steadfast and as symbolically representative of Fallon as anything could be.”
One hundred years ago, on December 30th, 1920, the excited owners of the newly compelted Fallon Theatre were putting the finishing touches on their grand opening in which celebrities, politicians, and dignitaries were invited. The silent film, Humoresque, by Cosmopolitan Productions, was projected on opening night and was rerun for the community to experience last week during the centennial event.
The Fallon Theatre was the dream project of John Walton (J.W.) Flood and his wife, Maebelle. They were performers engaged by some of the better-known vaudeville circuits of the era and were part of their own well-equipped roadshow that traveled through the west before they ventured into theater ownership. The pair performed in Fallon on numerous occasions where their company was well received. During a visit to Fallon, Flood became familiar with the Newlands project and believed in what the project would bring to the area. Soon after, Flood sold his traveling roadshow and bought the Rex Theater on South Maine Street, which was built in 1911.
The Flood’s wanted to build a new vaudeville performance venue and silent movie house. Mr. Frederic DeLongchamps, a prominent Nevada architect, was commissioned to rebuild the theatre. No expense was to be spared. The Flood’s were determined to build “the finest theatre in Nevada.” There was one common bond between the Floods and DeLongchamps; both were living in San Francisco on April 18, 1906, when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook the city for 42 seconds. As the story is told, the Floods used their traveling big top tent to shelter some of the homeless for a time. As an architect, DeLongchamps had a hand in rebuilding the city after the earthquake.
Flood brought in the finest seats available for his dream project. Everything was done to enhance the public’s viewing pleasure. Additionally, he spent nearly $20,000 on a pipe organ, which in today’s economy would be a couple hundred thousand dollars. A Steinway piano and the organ sat on stage and was played during silent films and vaudeville acts. Ground broke on the project on March 6th, 1920, with the grand opening held on December 30, 1920. Every seat in the house was sold, with several dignitaries in attendance including Lt. Gov. Maurice Sullivan and U.S. Senator-elect Tasker L. Oddie.
During the Fallon Theatre Centennial event, board members became tour guides and were stationed throughout the theatre sharing the history of the iconic Nevada theatre. Tours were given of the lower supply room, upper theatre, on the stage, under the stage, the lower theatre projection booth, and the upstairs apartment. Glen Perazzo shared the theatre’s rich history along with the lengthy undertaking that has been underway over the last few years to restore the theatre to some of its iconic glory.
Dr. Stuart Richardson, who should be credited with “Saving the Fallon Theatre”, said he was very happy with the celebration. Ironically, January 1st marks the 5th anniversary of his purchase of the theatre, which then led to the transfer of ownership to Fallon Community Theatre in 2017. “The theatre board of directors was extremely pleased with the public turnout to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Fallon Theatre,” said Richardson. Champagne, birthday cake, and tours of the historic downtown theatre were enjoyed by all. Richardson and The Fallon Theatre wishes to thank everyone who joined in the celebrations, stating, “May 2021 bring brightness and blessings and a deep appreciation for all we’ve ever taken for granted.”
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