City of Jamestown Historian Ashley Senske gives the history of the Winter Garden Theater at the ceremony unveiling the city’s 78th Historic Marker.

Historic Marker unveiled at the former Winter Garden Theatre site (September 30, 2022)

The City of Jamestown unveiled its 78th Historic Marker at the site of the former Winter Garden Theater in downtown Jamestown.

City Historian and Historic Marker Committee Chair Ashley Senske described what the Winter Garden Theater looked like when it opened on December 25, 1913, “They’re showing ‘Beauty Unadorned’ for 10-cents a ticket. You attend the grand opening and head to this site here on North Main Street where you are greeted with a grand facade and a marquee 12-feet high in the air. Greeting you at the top of the steps of the entrance are six pairs of folding doors. Your first steps through the entrance take you into the lobby, finished in green oak with ivory furnishings and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.”

Senske said the theater was the first in Jamestown to premier “talkie” films such as “The Jazz Singer” and “Lights of New York” in 1928.

After multiple owners over the decades, the Winter Garden Theater closed for good in the early 1990s.

Senske said a study by the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation determined the cost to renovate the building would be $2.3 million dollars, which led to the decision to go with a different renovation plan, “Redevelopment included restoration of Mechanics Alley as well as the creation of a public courtyard. The courtyard we find ourselves in today. The DJDC, along with others, decided turning it into a public plaza would be a better solution before the building became too hazardous, as the costs to renovate were skyrocketing.”

The book with all of Jamestown’s Historic Markers can be found online at https://www.jamestownny.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Historical-Marker-Book_March-2022.pdf

City Historian Ashley Senske said the Empire Worsted Mills was in operation at that location from 1896 to 1955, “They specialized in turning untreated wool into finished articles of men’s suit wear and women’s garments. They were the third largest worsted milling firm in Jamestown during the late 19th and 20th centuries, employed hundreds of people, mostly English immigrants. And when the mill closed in 1955, this facility spanned 5 to 6 acres in Jamestown’s industrial corridor along the Chadakoin River here.”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the now Gateway Center currently houses the Mental Health Association of Chautauqua County, Saint Susan’s, and Community Helping Hands, “As we move forward over the next few years, this wonderful building will be transformed into the Gateway Lofts. And I am happy to say that the adaptive reuse of one of the largest buildings in Jamestown is both a huge undertaking but a massive boost to the city. And will provide affordable housing and direct access to services for those who need it.”

The former Empire Worsted Mills building was named to the National Registry of Historic Places in January 2020.

Parks Commissioner Russ Diethrick, Historic Marker Committee Member Art Osterdahl, Historic Marker Committee Member Karen Livsey, Mayor Eddie Sundquist, City Historian Ashley Senske, Historic Marker Committee Member Traci Langworthy

JAMESTOWN – The City of Jamestown has unveiled a new historical marker honoring local and national Suffrage Leader Edith Ainge. The City’s 76^th marker is located on the corner of Fourth and Pine Streets near where Ainge was living during the final years of the suffrage struggle.

Edith Ainge immigrated from England to the U.S. with her family when she was 10 years old, becoming involved in the suffrage movement in 1914. Her family lived adjacent to her father’s accounting firm on East Fourth Street in Jamestown.

Ainge chaired the Jamestown branch of the Women’s Political Union. She took part in demonstrations organized by the National Women’s Party in Washington D.C. in 1917 where she was arrested several times during peaceful protests. After her first arrest, she was sentenced with other women to serve 60 days in a workhouse in Virginia.

Ainge was elected treasurer of Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party in 1922 and continued to serve on the organization’s National Council until at least 1930. As part of the NWP’s inner circle, she helped promote what became known as the Equal Rights Amendment, which Paul first proposed in 1923.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist thanked the Marker Committee for their work in selecting and researching the site, “This summer our country celebrated the 100^th Anniversary of the adoption of the 19^th Amendment. It is timely and appropriate to be unveiling this marker that recognizes a local woman’s efforts to work toward making the right to vote more of a reality for women.”

City Historian Ashley Senske said, “I thank former Mayor Sam Teresi, who supported the marker’s selection before he left office. We have a rich history in Jamestown and the marker program plays a role in bringing it to residents and visitors in an accessible way.”

Ainge continued to make her home in Jamestown into the 1930s. When she passed away in 1948, her death was noted in the New York Times as well as the local papers. She was laid to rest in Jamestown’s Lake View Cemetery, alongside her parents, William and Susanna, and six of her siblings.