Marion Theatre

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 89 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, heavy showers in the afternoon

We spent most of the day visiting with Carolyn's mother. After lunch, I went to the old courthouse square in the center of downtown Ocala so I could take some pictures of where the old courthouse was. We received our marriage license there in 1963, and the building was torn down in the name of progress in 1965. I have a feeling that if the town had the decision to make again, they would have left the courthouse in place for the sake of posterity and tourism. The community does have a nice park in the center of town. Below is a picture of what the park looks like now.




When I was kid, I spent a lot of time on Saturday afternoons in the two local movie theaters, The Ritz Theater and The Marion Theater. The Ritz was torn down many years ago, and although the Marion is still standing, it is not being used for showing movies. To give an idea how long ago this was, I could go to the Ritz on Saturday for $.25, and only $.09 of that was for the ticket. The rest of the quarter was for popcorn and a Coke. The Marion was the high priced theater, costing $.25 for the movie. At the Ritz, for that $.09, I could see two features, a cartoon, a serial, and previews of the the coming attractions. All of this was before we had TV. Ahh, the good old days. Here's a picture of the Marion Theater as it looks now.




The Marion Theater will always have a special memory for me. When I was about five years old, my mother and I went to the Marion with my Aunt Velma to see Gone With The Wind. The thing that stood out about seeing the movie was when Atlanta was burning. When we came out of the theater, I thought we had entered the movie, because it seemed like all of downtown Ocala was on fire. Several buildings burned that night. Imagine what that was like to me as a five year old child. It seemed like the whole world was on fire.

Both of us have been suffering with sinus headaches since we arrived here. As a result, we haven't felt like doing much. On Saturday, we're driving down to Lakeland to visit my sister Janie and her husband Wayne. I've already asked her to have the biscuits warmed up.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - San Francisco, California: San Fran

Not all who wander are lost.