Pastime Amusement Company records
Collection Overview
The collection consists of the records of the Pastime Amusement Company of Charleston, South Carolina. Records contain materials relating to Albert Sottile including typescripts and correspondence between Sottile and J. F. Heyer regarding Sottile's biographical sketch in The Story of the South Carolina Lowcountry by Herbert Ravenel Sass, articles written by Sottile, and assorted photographs including an image of Sottile with Veronica Lake. Also included are assorted photographs, clippings, and printed materials relating to Alberta Sottile Long, J. C. Long, and H. George Meyer. There are also assorted exterior and interior photographs of buildings and theaters, including the Princess, Sottile, and Garden theaters, owned by the company on Broad, King, Liberty, Market, Race, and Romney streets as well as several West Ashley properties, including the Ashley Theater. The collection also includes several scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings re the opening of the Riviera Theater, assorted Dock Street Theatre plays, "Lady Shoppers Movie Matinees," and a Theatre Owners Association convention held at the Hotel Fort Sumter. There are also miscellaneous materials relating to the Pastime Amusement Company centennial anniversary celebration, minutes, and financial materials.
Dates
- Creation: 1890s, 1918-2011
Creator
- Pastime Amusement Company (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
Language of Material
Materials in English
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Historical Note
Formed in 1908, the Pastime Amusement Company originally owned and operated the Majestic, the Wonderland, and the Theatorium movie and vaudeville theaters on King Street. From 1911 to 1949 the company built nine theaters in the Charleston area: the Victoria Theater (later The Victory Theater), the Princess Theater, the Garden Theater, the Academy of Music, the Gloria Theater, the Riviera Theater, the American Theater, the Arcade, and the Ashley Theater. The entertainment provided by these theaters included a diverse range of genres including plays, operas, motion pictures, and vaudeville. Today, most theaters have been repurposed, and some, the Victory, the Academy of Music, and the Arcade theaters, were demolished. The Gloria Theater, purchased by the College of Charleston in 1976, was renovated and renamed in honor of Sottile in 1987. Albert Sottile (1878-1960) served as its first president and after his death left the company to his daughter, Alberta Sottile Long, who ran the company along with Vice-President H. George Meyer. After her retirement ownership of the comapny passed onto her daughters, Joyce Darby and Mary Ellen Way.
Extent
1.0 linear feet (2 document boxes, 2 scrapbooks)
Abstract
The collection consists of the records of the Pastime Amusement Company of Charleston, South Carolina. Records contain materials relating to Albert Sottile, his daughter, Alberta Sottile Long, J. C. Long, and H. George Meyer including correspondence, writings, photographs, clippings, and printed materials. Also included are assorted exterior and interior photographs of buildings and theaters, including the Sottile, Princess, and Garden theaters, owned by the company on Broad, King, Liberty, Market, Race, and Romney streets as well as several West Ashley properties, including the Ashley Theater. There are also scrapbooks, materials relating to the Pastime Amusement Company centennial anniversary celebration, minutes, and financial materials.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the folder level.
Acquisitions Information
Materials donated in 2015 by Charles S. Way.
Processing Information
Processed by Joshua Minor, March 2016.
Subject
- Pastime Amusement Company (Charleston, S.C.) -- History (Organization)
- Sottile, Albert, 1878-1960 (Person)
- Long, Alberta Sottile (Person)
- Sottile family (Family)
- Sottile Theatre (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
- Princess Theater (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
- Garden Theater (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
- Ashley Theater (West Ashley, S.C.) (Organization)
- Long, J. C., 1903-1984 (Person)
Source
- Way, Charles S., Jr. (Donor, Person)
Genre / Form
- Black-and-white photographs
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Financial records
- Manuscripts (documents)
- Minutes (administrative records)
- Scrapbooks
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the Pastime Amusement Company Records, 1890s, 1918-2011
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Joshua Minor; machine-readable finding aid created by: Joshua Minor
- Date
- 2016
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)