Saenger Theater

The Saenger Theater in downtown Pine Bluff has stood for over 100 years. But for almost half of that time, the old building has sat empty and abandoned. And the accumulated decades of decay, rot, weather and vandals have left their indelible marks on the building.



But despite the abuse the building has taken, it still holds hints to its former majesty. And for the first time in years, there is optimism that the Saenger will be saved and restored to its former glory.



Last month I had the opportunity to tour the interior of the Saenger Theater, along with the talented photographer Matt Howard. The tour was given by Kathy Majewska, who is spearheading the effort to restore the Saenger to its former glory.

The Saenger wasn't the first theater on this site. The first was called the Hauber Theater, which burned down in 1922 (and which can be seen here in one of the creepiest pictures ever). The Saenger opened on November 17, 1924, and was called the "Showplace of the South." It was probably one of the finest and most elaborate theaters in Arkansas. The interior was built with an "Egyptian Temple" theme, and featured marble floors, massive chandeliers, gold leaf, and intricately detailed architectural motifs. While the massive chandeliers and the organ are gone, you can still see signs of the building's distinctive architecture and beauty.



The horseshoe-shaped balcony is typical of the Saenger's movie palace designs, which were all built in the early 1900s. The Saenger company built over 300 theaters across the country, with the Pine Bluff one being considered one of the chain's flagship theaters.



The stage is deep enough that it allowed for both movie screens and plays, and it saw performances from the likes of Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, John Philip Sousa, and the Zigfried Follies.



In the 1950s, the building was converted into a movie theater. And in order to "modernize" the building for the Atomic Age, pink linoleum tiles were placed over the Italian marble in the lobby. The massive golden chandeliers and the pipe organ (which was the largest in the state when it was installed) were removed. The finely detailed Egyptian themed details were painted over and obscured, and the theater box seats were removed to make way for an ungainly looking air conditioning unit.





The Saenger Theater closed in 1975 when new movie theaters and shopping malls began to open up in the suburbs. This was also about the same time that the Hotel Pines closed, along with many other downtown businesses.



The building sat empty and disused until the 1990s, when it became the home for the Pine Bluff Film Festival. But when the festival ended, the building would sit, seemingly abandoned. Holes in the roof led to major water damage, with chunks of the plaster on the wall collapsing onto the balcony. The old orchestra pit and basement were filled with several feet of murky water. Vandals made their way into the building, ripping out and stealing metal and wiring. The city of Pine Bluff became owners of the property, but the old theater wasn't a priority. Enough basic maintenance was done on the building to ensure it stayed standing, but its future was in doubt.



Until last year, when the city decided to restore the theater. They hired Kathy Majewska as a consultant, and now plans are being put in motion. Earlier this year, a 3D digital scan of the building was made, which will help guide architects on the process of restoring and renovating the historic theater.





In the upper balcony you can still see some of the original seats from the 1920s, which include a decorative "S" for Saenger.



We were able to spend a lot of time inside taking pictures. The theater was quiet, except for the sound of the horn from the passing freight trains, which echoed through the building like ghosts.





And here you can see some of the intricate motifs and designs, including this sword that is intwined with garland and leaves and also includes two small birds. There is also some Egyptian-themed motifs above it that are unfortunately obscured by the air conditioning ducts.



And the view from the balcony, which shows some of the damage that occurred from a leak in the roof.



There are only eight other Saenger movie-palace theaters still standing - the others are in Mobile, Pensacola, Texarkana, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Shreveport, and New Orleans. None of those theaters were ever closed or abandoned, and looking at pictures of those theaters shows the potential of what a restored Saenger in Pine Bluff could look like.



















The holes in the ceiling here were caused by water leaking in from the roof many years ago. It won't be easy, or cheap, to restore the building. But it will be worth it.







And one last picture from inside the Saenger, taken from the stage. The same stage where Harry Houdini made a horse disappear a century ago.



It's rare to see abandoned buildings in this part of the state be preserved. So it's absolutely thrilling that the Saenger may not only be saved, but to be restored to its former glory. It would be a jewel, something that the entire state could be proud of. And the money is there to save it. If Arkansas can spend a billion dollars on a prison, then it can find the money to preserve the Saenger. I can't wait to visit the Saenger is a few years and walk through here again when it is returned as it's rightful status as the "Showplace of the South."

Pine Bluff

Last week I headed down the freeway and spent the day in Pine Bluff. It's always an interesting place to visit and take pictures, with a large selection of old and historic buildings.









There has been a lot of work done on downtown Pine Bluff in the last few years. There is a fancy new library and playground, and the streets have been modernized and improved. Maybe someday soon there won't be as many of these empty and abandoned buildings here - hopefully they can be preserved and renovated.

Pickens

If you're driving southeast on Hwy. 65, you dive deep into the Arkansas Delta. You pass miles of farms and fields, which are empty and fallow this time of the year. The road passes over several rivers and creeks, which usually have cypress trees growing up in the still waters. The flat lands are occasionally punctuated by silos, or a rusting old and disused cotton gins.





Most of the people speeding down Hwy. 65 probably completely miss the small community of Pickens. This was, at one time, one of the largest cotton plantations in the state. It opened in the 1880s, and eventually contained over 20,000 acres of farmland. Here you can find an old plantation house (which was built in the 1940s, replacing one that had been built in the 1880s). And also the old cotton gin, which sits along a busy set of train tracks.





I drove through the fields around Pickens, eventually making it to the edge of Dumas. I stopped at this old building, which sat by and was nicely reflected in this huge puddle.



And next to it was a spot where a house must have once stood - it's long gone except for this fireplace and chimney.



And from there I headed back towards Pickens. Besides the old house and the cotton gin, there is also an old building that once housed a mercantile store and the commissary. It was quiet when I drove by, but the building is now home to a restaurant serving southern cooking that is so good that it's said that diners from as far as Pine Bluff and Little Rock make the drive to eat here.

Just down the road, I stopped to get a shot of these new silos sitting behind an old and weathered farm building.



The 20,000 acres of the Pickens Plantation were harvested by tenant farmers and sharecroppers. They tilled the lands with mules, and families lived on the land in sharecropper cabins. It's hard to know how many people once lived here, but in the late 1940s there were over 400 houses on the plantation grounds.

But in the 1950s, mechanized farming was introduced to the Delta. Now a tractor could do the work of the sharecroppers, and all those homes were soon left empty as people went off to find jobs elsewhere. Of those 400 homes that once stood here, almost all of them are gone. Only one remains.



Along a lonely and quiet dirt road sits one last sharecroppers house. The wood is worn and cracked, and the metal roof is peeling off and full of holes. 







The sun was setting, and I set up the camera on the tripod. I wanted to get some star trails over the old house, so I waited by the camera as it got dark. But I wasn't alone out there. In the breeze, there was the unforgettable aroma of a skunk. I wasn't sure where it was coming from exactly, and I nervously glanced over at the old house. Could it be the new home of a skunk - one who was not happy about some rude paparazzi getting pictures of its den? At one point I heard something rustling around in the tall grass by the house. I nervously shined the flashlight on it, only to see an armadillo walking around. Thankful I wasn't about to get sprayed by a skunk, I turned off the light and the little armadillo went about its business.

Eventually it was dark enough to start taking pictures for the star trails. The camera sat out there for a little bit over two hours, continually taking photographs of the sharecroppers house and sky above. When I got home later I combined all the shots together, and got this result:

Cedar Creek Trail

It rained heavily the day before, enough to quickly fill up the gutters on our street with water and fallen leaves. Would it be enough to get waterfalls going? I thought so, and drove off to the closest place with good waterfalls – Petit Jean State Park.

As I left Little Rock, the sky overhead was filled with thick gray clouds. Which was perfect, since you need cloudy weather for waterfall photography. What a perfect combination, I naively thought, as I got onto the freeway.

So of course, as I made it to the park I was saddened to see breaks in the wall of clouds above. Blue sky was starting to poke through the clouds, and sunlight was starting to drift across the landscape like a spotlight. I hurried over to the Cedar Creek trail, which runs downhill along a small creek. There are a few small waterfalls along the creek, so I dutifully stopped for a few pictures while there was still good light.





The creek tumbles over this waterfall, before finally emptying into Cedar Creek. I got a few pictures before the last of the clouds drifted away, and bright sunlight washed over the park. I walked along the trail for a bit, but wasn’t able to get any other pictures due to the harsh afternoon light. Oh well, at least it was a pleasant little hike in the woods.