This cache pays homage to the first midnight movie I saw as a goofy, clueless, weird, nerdy teenager at the old, iconic Star Theater in Downtown Covington, alongside which the container is hidden. It is placed with permission from the owner. "Heavy Metal" was, I believe, one of the first R-rated animated movies released. Here is the synopsis from IMDB:
"A glowing green orb - which embodies ultimate evil - terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror."
Many Friday nights were spent here by friends and me, munching popcorn and watching regular-time movies such as "E.T.", "Poltergeist", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Raiders of the Lost Ark". "Conan: The Barbarian", "Star Wars: A New Hope" and other midnight movies such as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Pink Floyd - The Wall". Sometimes we'd be asked for i.d. to see the R-rated ones but mostly not. The rules were much more lax back then.
Just peeking through the front window of the box-office now incites an overwhelming flood of nostalgia for myself but the history of the theater goes way farther back than the 1980's.
Here is a brief history:
Source: Tammany Home
The theater first opened on April 25, 1942, in the midst of World War II. It was built by Warren J. Salles Sr., who operated several theaters in New Orleans before coming to Covington. He first thought of building a theater in Covington around 1940, having enjoyed a summer home here for many years prior to that. For the new show, he bought the property formerly occupied by Badon's Garage. but before he could start the project, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and war was declared.
World War II was both a help and a hindrance to building the Star. During the war, it was impossible to get steel. Mr. Salles had to get special permission from the federal war department to get the steel necessary to complete the building. The trusses and the steel for the projection room were a critical need, since at that time projection rooms were built like bank vaults.
On the day the theater first opened in 1942, congratulatory telegrams arrived from around the nation, many of them coming from movie stars. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Lionel Barrymore, and several other MGM stars sent their best wishes. At the time it was built and for many years thereafter, the theater was the largest motion picture theater in St. Tammany Parish.
In 1997 the theater was extensively renovated with new sound, movie poster cases, concessions area and the marquee. There was a major tornado that hit Covington that same year but I don't believe it did much damage to the theater. Since then , however, at some point it has obviously ceased operation. It would be so awesome if it were to be restored to it's former glory and once again opened for business. Until then, I suppose all we have are happy memories of a simpler time...and a cache. 😁