The Stratford Library continues “Sunday Afternoon Talks”, its series of informative and entertaining talks featuring prominent local guest speakers with photographers/historians Jay Misencik and Geralene Valentine and their presentation, “Poli’s Palace and Majestic Theatres Memories Project”.

The Poli’s Palace and Majestic Theatres Memories Project, created and produced by Jay Misencik and Geralene Valentine, brings to life Bridgeport’s two magnificent and now dormant theatres. In their research the couple interviewed people who shared memories of their time spent at the theatres. Misencik and Valentine photographed former candy girls, usherettes, the last manager of the theatres, women who had their first date at the theatres with the “boy” they would eventually marry and a Stratford resident who play boxed his father on the Palace stage in 1931. They recorded all the stories these people shared about what the Palace and Majestic meant to them and to Bridgeport’s downtown.

In 2017, they published a book about the theatres and it is now a cultural heritage record featuring the social history of magical buildings. Memories hold the history, culture, and heritage of these long shuttered palaces. The theatres are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and 2022 was the 100-year anniversary of the opening of both theatres. Misencik and Valentine will augment their library talk with detailed photographs of the theatres in their glory years.

Date: February 26, 2023

Time: 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Location:
Lovell Room
Stratford Library, 2203 Main Street
Stratford, CT 06615

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