Digital Bob Archive

Juneau's first successful movie theater was the Grand, opened by Perry E.
Jackson in the old Juneau Opera House at Second and Seward Streets on June 26, 1910. From that date on, Juneau had at least one movie house and sometimes two or three.

Jackson, described as an experienced picture show man and electrician, arrived in Juneau from Portland, Oregon, in early June, leased the theater portion of the Opera House, but not the saloon, and at once began to remodel it, putting in new seats, a large screen and a projection booth. He also leased the lower floor of the Douglas Fraternal Hall and fitted it up as a movie theater, which he called The Lyric.

It was announced that there would be shows at the Grand on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at the Lyric on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that there would be six to eight films in each show. Most feature films at that time lasted about 30 minutes. Admission was 20 cents for adults, 10 cents for children. The first show was at Douglas on Saturday night, June 25, with the first Juneau show the next night.

Jackson made great use of gimmicks. In August, on the night before the election of a Delegate in Congress, he took a straw vote during the show at the Grand.
Soon after that he announced that each buyer of a ticket would receive a numbered coupon and that once each week there would be a drawing. The person holding the lucky number would receive \"a fine oil painting.\" On the night of the first drawing he hired Juneau photographer W.H. Case to take a flashlight picture of the audience, which was said to have been the largest in the history of the theater.

The prizes in these drawings were changed from time to time: a box of candy, a $5 gold piece, a ladies' gold watch. At Thanksgiving there were two prizes. The first was a turkey, the second a two-pound brick of salt codfish.

The special feature at the Grand and Lyric during the week before Christmas was \"The Passion Play\" and it was followed on the screen each night by pictures of the Burns-Johnson prize fight. In January, 1911, the drawings for prizes were dropped and popularity contests were substituted, such as most beautiful baby or most popular high school girl, chosen by audience vote.

In March, 1911, a fire in the Douglas business district destroyed several buildings, including Fraternal Hall, but Jackson said, \"We saved everything but the lease.\" He then rented the Palm Garden building, a saloon-cafe, and reopened the Lyric Theater in it in mid-April. About the same time he added a five-piece orchestra at the Grand. In July the Grand was showing World Series games from the previous September, and drawing large crowds.

Jackson's last show at the Grand was on July 31, 1912, after which he sold both theaters for $3,000. He and Mrs. Jackson departed for Portland which he described as \"The best city in the West,\" then quickly added, \"But Juneau is the second best.\"