The SENATE Theatre: Entrance Doors & Electic Eye

PHOTO: "Lost Reflections" by Ross B. CARE
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FIRST in a Series of REFLECTIONS on the LOST Movie Theaters of HARRISBURG.

The DOORS of PERCEPTION..........

A classic Golden Age Art Deco cinema, the Senate was once centrally located on Market Square in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

This is a detailed shot of the beautiful entrance with two sets of mirrored doors and an electric eye device which automatically opened the doors on the right. My Kodachrome color transparency is dated March 1978.

You can also see a reflection of the stand-alone ticket kiosk in the mirrors to the right. On the back of the kiosk was a display window for 8x10 black-and-white movie stills from current and coming attractions.

On the other side of these doors was a small vestibule where tickets were taken and beyond that a modest lobby and the interior of the theater.

The Senate was razed around 1988. I was told that the mayor of Harrisburg took an ax to these classically beautiful Art Deco doors.

A generic big box Hilton Hotel now stands where this unique and historic venue once screened the films of Universal, RKO, Disney, and 20th Century-Fox.

The Senate was the last of the original downtown movie theaters left standing.

So much for historic preservation in Harrisburg.......

See also, Cinema Treasures:
cinematreasures.org/theater/16592/