Benita
VanWinkle

Please Remain Standing

"America's Hometown Movie Theaters: Please Remain Standing," (www.baueranddean.com) is the title of my new 608-page book showcasing over 425 theaters inspired by my portfolio, "Please Remain Standing." The title is a nod of recognition to the manager of the Carib movie theater in Clearwater, FL, in the 1970s, and a plea for these important places of community gathering to remain intact. Before every show, Clarence would request over the loudspeaker, "Please remain standing for our national anthem," after which he would play a scratchy reel of the "Star Spangled Banner," turning on the house lights if someone in the audience did not stand. The Carib and Clarence have long passed on, but that theater inspired my journey of photographing movie theaters across the United States, now in its 44th year. A quote from the book "What Time Is This Place" by Kevin Lynch summarizes my intentions: "One danger in the preservation of environment lies in its very power to encapsulate some image of the past; an image that may in time prove to be mythical or irrelevant. For preservation is not simply the saving of old things but the maintaining of a response to those things." Incorporating black and white and color photographs of movie theaters and drive-in theaters built before 1965, I have photographed over 1,150 theaters throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. I hope you will enjoy my attempt to preserve the very essence of spirit and illusion that enamored America with these motion picture palaces. If you have a memory of attending a theater that you would be willing to share, please send me an email through my website at www.busybstudio.com.