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This morning I was talking to my dear Aunt Rosie (today just happens to be her birthday) who lives in Erie, PA. She is 83 and she and her second husband, Jim, whom I love dearly, too, are always a pleasure to talk to. Aunt Rosie and her first husband, my darling Uncle Buddy, were my godparents and my first novel, The Old Mermaid’s Tale, is dedicated to him.

She mentioned that a friend of hers had just read The Old Mermaid’s Tale and was thrilled by the descriptions of downtown Erie (even though I did some re-arranging for the sake of the story) and remembered well a few of the places mentioned, including The Carriage House Restaurant, the French Street Bookstore, and Sullivan’s Tavern. While we were talking she mentioned the Warner Theater which didn’t make it into the book but is one of my fondest memories of my early years in Erie.

The Warner was a fabulous, lavish Art Deco movie house built in the 1930s by Warner Brothers and designed by Rapp and Rapp. My first memory of it is going to see How The West Was Won there with my grandmother. She loved Jimmy Stewart. I think that is when I fell in love with Gregory Peck — right there in the Warner Theater.

Later when I was in college I spent a lot of time at the Warner. I remember my roommate Claudia dragging me to see Funny Girl, a show that she went on to perform in on stage. And I remember seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Five Easy Pieces, Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider and The Lion in Winter (three times) in those lavish surroundings.

The place was faded when I knew it but still fabulous — especially when the lights were low. It was the kind of fabulousness that creates mystique and fascination and a sense that there are wonderous things to be discovered in the world. Sometimes I think I just went there in order to be there.

So I went online looking forinformtion about it and I found some beautiful photos thanks to a guy called RamBear. You can see all of them on his Flickr page. The Warner has been renovated and is now a live theater which hosts the Erie Ballet and Symphony. It is a focal point of the downtown community.

I’m a big lover of the magic of hauntingly beautiful and mysterious places — as anyone who has read The Old Mermaid’s Tale can tell you. Looking at those photos today I can’t help but think the time I spent there as a young woman worked its way into my soul and worked its magic on my writing. I hope so….

Thanks for reading.

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