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Spreckels Theatre, Downtown San Diego, 1965

Spreckels Theatre, as it it appeared in 1965. The Spreckels opened Aug. 23, 1912 -- with George Broadhurst's "Bought and Paid For," imported directly from Broadway for the occasion -- as the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi. It was -- and is -- one of the most handsome theaters in America. Its stage was one of the largest: 82 feet by 58 feet. Old-timers tell about the night "Ben Hur" was staged at the Spreckels, with actors and horses rushing out the Second Avenue stage entrance and racing back onstage through the First Avenue entrance.

 

The building still stands to this day.

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Uploaded on February 27, 2009
Taken on February 27, 2009