The Gem Theatre exclusive colored theatre sign, Waco, Texas – Vintage Wall Art
(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: The Gem Theatre exclusive colored theatre sign, Waco, Texas, preserved in this historic image. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
The Gem Theatre exclusive colored theatre sign, Waco, Texas
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The Gem theater sign advertised an "exclusive colored theater" in Waco, Texas, a phrase that was once a routine part of commercial life in the segregated South. Under Jim Crow laws, Black audiences were typically barred from white theaters or confined to balconies and back entrances, so theaters built for them were both a necessity and a source of community pride. Such venues often showed films and hosted live performances that Black residents could not see elsewhere. The lettering is worth a close look, because it shows how openly segregation was once advertised.
| Original scan | 1,945 × 2,377 px · prints to 6 × 8 in at 300 dpi |
|---|---|
| Reference | 00225u |
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