Since the beginnings of the town of Andalusia from the early 1840s, when inhabitants of Montezuma located on the banks of the Conecuh River moved up the hill to higher levels, there has always been a passion for entertainment following hard work. It wasn’t long before the Opera House to be constructed downtown. Shows that traveled arrived in town according to advertisements in old newspapers including dancers, songsters magicians, jugglersand comics. Saturday afternoon matinees for women were frequently presented and were well-liked.
Around 1920 around 1920, the first motion pictures (silent films) was released in the historic Opera House by a businessman who was dubbed”the “pioneer in the film industry” in Andalusia”Mr. Z. D. (Zachariah Daniel) Studstill. Later, the show was moved into the Prestwood building, and later moved to Fox Theatre located on East Three Notch Street in an adjacent building to WAAO which has a parking area that is now situated on the intersection of Central Street and Three Notch.
Mr. Sidney Waits recalled wooden folding chairs that were in the Fox movie house, as well as Mrs. Prestwood who was the pianist for silent film programs.
The Studstill family relocated to Andalusia in the year 1901 from Brantley where he worked as an agent for the newly formed Central of Georgia Railroad Company. Studstill was interested in everything related to the development and growth in Andalusia. Studstill was a City Clerk under his Mayor Henry Opp administration and as a City Councilman under his Mayor Trammell Henderson’s Administration. In 1906, Studstill was elected the mayor of Andalusiafor an 5 year term.
It was published by the newspaper The Andalusia Star in the 1930s that ” Studstill was a person of likable character among his vast circle of acquaintances and was a highly respected businessman, skilled accountant who maintained the watch of his enterprise.”
The headlines in the September 9, 1930 issue of the Andalusia Star read, “STUDSTILL has developed some of the finest theaters here – Operated to satisfy the diverse patrons within this section and to show the very best of what the current film world can offer to the public The Studstill Theaters within Andalusia, Brantley, and Opp have a substantial and significant part in community’s life by providing healthy entertainment for the masses.”
Studstill began his theater career in the year 1920 (maybe just a bit prior to World War I) at the Royal located at “the lower” (South Cotton Street) which is where Sullivan’s Furniture was later located. Studstill opened a second Royal in Opp at the same as. Conscient of the necessity for an up-to-date house for shows and also with the introduction to the “talkies,” He also ran at the Paramount located in at the Sentell structure (present site in The Hester Law Firm). Each of the shows were up-to-date talksatoons and news reels and hilarious comedy with programming that changed every three days.
In 1933, Studstill declared the launch of the Fox Theatre in a structure that was “sound-proof.” It was in 1935 “the doorways of the New Paramount were thrown open for the general public to see. During that over 800 people watched May West in the movie “Going To town.'” (Who wouldn’t not want to see May West?)
New Paramount was a theater that New Paramount was affiliated with the R. E. Martin Theaters which was located in the former site at the Andalusia Dry Goods Company on the northwest end of Court Square “ideal from the viewpoint of parking facilities. hundreds of cars could be parked within a short distance of the theater.”
The theater was in construction for a few months and featured the most modern Western Electric sound system as well as an cleaned air cooling system. Its the interior had been constructed under the direction from interior decorators from Atlanta with curtains and luxurious carpets.
The control room was constructed to be fireproof and comfortable. Its screen is referred to as the daylight type, reflected images created by the brand new film machines. The ticket booth located at the entryway was adorned with glass that was filled with colorful lights. Businessmen and merchants advertised in a special newspaper that wished congratulations to the managers and owners of the brand new show house.
Five images were shown every during the week in Paramount brand new Paramount as well as two images were shown were shown at Paramount 1. older Paramount.
In 1931, a newspaper reported, “PARAMOUNT MANAGER IS OPPOSED to show drinking scenes on screen – Z. D. Studstill has taken immediate action to stop the projection on movie screens of photographs depicting drinking scenes. Mr. Studstill protested this by terminating his deal with producer” who refused to listen to his demands.
In September 1937 the late Mr. Z. D. Studstill passed away at his residence (succumbed to an heart attack) located on East Three Notch Street. (His residence was in the same spot as Sonicis currently.) In his obituary, he said the fact that he had been a faithful and committed participant in the First Methodist Church as well as 32nd degree Mason as well as an Shriner and an Rotarian. Funeral service was held at the residence of his with a huge crowd of people who paid tribute to the admired citizen. After the service, he was laid to rest at Magnolia Cemetery with Benson and Company acting as the funeral directors.
A few years following the time of Mr. Studstill’s demise in the year 1940, an fire took place within The Paramount Theater located on the square. The February 1940 fire was believed to be due to it’s heater. Martin. Martin was believed to be a partner with Mr. Studstill at the time, therefore I’m assuming that the proprietor at the time was that of Mr. Martin who later changed the name of the theater following the fire, changing it to Martin Theater. Martin Theater.
The Fendley Drive-In or the Midway Drive-In has been made in this article. It’s another story to come back to later.
100 years after the fact, we have the central film theater, the Clark Cinema, and this Remember the Time column is hopefully helping us in tracing and recollecting the story of the creation of cinemas in our town. Cowboys as well as Indians, vampire tales horror stories, science fiction horror serials, love stories and cartoons Where are we without Hollywood films?
There are a lot of Studstill descendents throughout Andalusia as well as Alabama. Perhaps we can learn more about their family history. Andalusia is blessed to have a hardworking man come to town around the turning point of the century thanks to his hard work and eventually his dream of bringing theaters to offer entertainment to our citizens. Studstill’s legacy is still alive.
In closing I’ll leave you with this message of excitement and encouragement, “Let’s go on a Trip to the Movies!”I look at the prospect of ordering from the concessions stand popcorn and a soft drinkand sugar Babiesjust as I used to do in The “picture spectacle” each Saturday during my early days . How about you?
Sue Bass Wilson, AHS Class 1965, was an ex-choral music instructor and real estate broker in the area. She is a long-time member of the Covington Historical Society and can be reached at [email protected].
The article Remember When: Pioneer in the theater business was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.
