|
Author
|
Topic: Reminiscing: Film collecting in the Nations Capital
|
James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003
|
posted November 09, 2005 08:20 PM
All this talk about the Willoughby/Peerless stores in New York City, takes me back to that era in the mid-seventies.....
Washington DC had many small, independently owned camera stores back then. Just about all of them carried some sort of super 8 movies. Usually, a small stack of films was kept on shelves behind the counter. Mostly a few Disney, a couple of cartoons, and always plenty of Star Wars 200 footers (after '77).
Then, one day, I struck gold when I walked into Penn Camera Exchange in downtown D.C. I could'nt believe all the super 8 400 footers! I did'nt even know there were 400 foot digests made. Half way down the store, to the right, a huge glass case, just filled with the celluloid. It was there, that I bought my first 400 foot color, sound digest- "The Posiedon Adventure". It took me over a month to save for it, but if anybody ever got there money's worth out of a movie, it was me with that one. I showed it in the school auditorium plenty of times. I took it to all my relative's houses during the holidays that year. It was the beginning of many more.
Penn Camera carried the largest supply of KEN and COLUMBIA digests, but no Universal 8. Then later, I discovered another store, Embassy Photo, further uptown. They sold mostly only Universal 8, and had almost everything U-8 put out!
Then, an even stranger discovery. I found a camera store that had tons and tons of super 8. Rows and shelves jammed full of 200 and 400 foot films. Sound, silent, color, b/w, everything. I almost fainted when I walked in ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
But-here's the catch.........
Everything was SPORTS! ![[Mad]](mad.gif)
No cartoons, no digests, no comedies, NOT EVEN A PRINT OF 200 FOOT STAR WARS!( and when I asked the man behind the counter if he had a copy of Star Wars, he looked at me and kind of chuckled- "Star what?"
Needless to say, I never went back in there again.
Well, I guess nothing we had here in DC really compares to a Willoughby/Peerless, or a Derann, but it was like Disney World to me ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) .
Nick.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003
|
posted November 11, 2005 02:15 PM
Gary- I know the exact store you are talking about! I used to live right around the corner from it. I think it was called "The Nickleodeon" or something like that. It was in the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, in the heart of Captal Hill, across the street from the Hawk 'N Dove bar/resturaunt (which is still there). They had the happy/sad masks up outside somewhere. I remember walking around the corner to go in and look at all the neat stuff. I think I remember the owner telling me that they ran 16mm movies in the parking lot next door at night during the summer, but I was still too young to venture out by myself at night (I was 9), so I never got to witness this.
I only had a few silent 50 foot movies at that time, since I had to depend on Christmas and birthday gifts for films at that time. By the time I started my paper route and could earn my own money, the store was gone (like you said, only open a year or two) ![[Frown]](frown.gif) . Then it was a book store, and now, a bank, I think. Brings back good memories, though !
Nick.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
