A life-sized metal statue once stood on the marquee of the Royal Theater, 301 West First Street, but this bit of Pacific history seems to be gone without a trace.
When the Royal was young, gargoyles were all the rage on big buildings, especially movie theaters that were being built in towns and cities across the U.S.
I came across a photo of the metal sculpture on the Royal marquee when I was researching the Royal for its latest incarnation as a city event venue.
It is uncertain when the statue was placed on the theater marquee.
It stood very close to the front of the marque and from photos appears to be made of metal, reminiscent of the tin man from the classic movie Wizard of Oz, who lamented that he could be human if he only had a heart.
The photo was dated 2001. That is about the time that flooring contractor Dave Brengard was restoring the historic building as a tile, wood and carpet showroom. He repainted the red brick facade in a bold pumpkin and white design that accentuated its art deco lines
It is not known if the statue was on the marquee when Brengard bought the building.
The current Royal building was constructed in 1929 to replace an earlier, smaller movie theater that dated to 1913. Builders Lorenz Leber and Henry Hirth hired a famous architect who copied the art deco trend of giant movie palaces being constructed across the U.S. More than 400 movie theaters were built that year.
Early movies in Pacific placed Leber and Hirth in the 1946 Motion Picture Showman Biography list of people who had been in the movie business for more than twenty years.
The Royal was still showing movies in 1985 when Terry and Joanne Graham bought the building and began producing live shows there. The 2001 date would seem to place the statue on the marquee when the Graham’s ran the theater, but it is by no means certain.
Some local citizens I talked with didn’t remember the statue ever being there but others did recall it. One man said it was a knight in shining armor. Another resident said he thought he had seen it on display some time after it was taken down from the marquee but couldn’t recall where he had seen it.
To me, a close look at the head, in the soft focus photograph, seems to reveal two faces, one looking toward the west and one toward the east. The face looking west appears to be smiling, which is reminiscent of the theater comedy and tragedy busts, beloved by Greek and Roman sculptors that were adapted to adorn art deco theater buildings in the years that hundreds of movie houses were built, including the Royal. But one can’t be certain.
The Fox Theater in St. Louis, which was built the same year as the Royal, has a huge marque on its filigreed facade that boasts two bronze winged lion gargoyles, which were evidently added in the 1980 restoration of the Fox. They are no gargoyles on the marquee in 1978 photos when the Fox closed as a movie palace.
There is a renaissance going on among vintage theater buffs to revive the history of pioneer movie marquees. One blogger has posted a virtual musuem of 33 historic theater marquees on www.atlasobscura.com. So I was motivated to ask readers if there are any photographs around of the Royal when the sculpture was on the marquee, or if anyone knows what happened to the metal gargoyle.
Very interesting article indeed. I was a patron of the Royal early 70’s and do not remember anything even remotely resembling a statute on the outside of that building. Must have been there ahead of my time.
I am starting some research work on this and have some irons in the fire. Hopefully will have some useful findings to report soon!
I visited the Royal often in the 1970s and don’t remember a statue at all. The person to ask would be Bill Hirth.
After looking at the photos more and thinking about this, I have seen this or a similar statue somewhere recently in Eureka or Pacific in a business. The giveaway for me was that the sword is not of uniform width. I will have to think more about where I saw it.
My parents, Ken and El Hirth owned the Royal Theatre. They inherited it from my grandfather and his brother in law, Lorenz Leber. That statue was not on there until after it was sold to the new owner, Terry Grahm. Maybe he can answer the question. I have photos going way back and there was never any evidence of gargoyles placed on the theatre.
Thanks, Georgia. That was my guess. A couple of people have told me that they have seen it in a store but they can’t recall which one. I was hoping for a better picture of the statue but none have shown up.