The Movies Arrive in Richland
A local entrepreneur brings the flickering magic of moving pictures to the Randall building, promising a weekly escape for the town.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The second moving picture show given by C. S. Gibbs in the Randall building last Friday evening was a great success. A big crowd turned out, and as all the pictures were of the best and very clear, it is needless to say that they were appreciated by all. A larger screen will soon be purchased and then there will be nothing left to be desired to make Richland have as good a little show as can be found in a town of like size anywhere. As soon as things get to running smoothly, Mr. Gibbs expects to secure some good three-act plays and will put on at least one of these reels every week. In the meantime he is giving his public a good combination of instructive, comic and dramatic film, so that no matter what your taste may be in the line of the movies you can be accommodated at our little local picture theatre.
“No matter what your taste may be in the line of the movies you can be accommodated at our little local picture theatre.”
Before the era of multiplexes, the 'moving picture show' was a nascent social experiment in small-town retail space. This report shows how quickly the 'movies' became an essential, if temporary, pillar of local civic life.
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