DISASTER STRIKES ON APRIL 16, 1995 Written by Dave Smith for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald 4-17-95 A large portion of the Mamo Theater’s roof collapsed yesterday afternoon minutes after one of the building’s tenants walked through the area.  Tomas Belsky, who has a second-floor art studio in the front of the aging theater, said he had gone into the affected area 10 minutes before to retrieve some tools.  Fire Capt. Desmond Wery said no one else was believed. to be in the building when the section over the seating area collapsed. The entire building was barricaded following the collapse. Civil Defense Administrator Harry Kim ordered all utilities serving the building, such as electricity and a gas line, disconnected. He declared the building off limits until engineers could have an opportunity today to determine whether the remainder of the building was safe. Kim said a preliminary look indicated termite damage in the wooden building with walls and roof covered with roofing metal. Belsky works in the studio to prepare posters and promotional T-shirts for the Hilo Community Players.  Hilo Community Players spokesman Paul Mark Clark said the theater group has a long-term lease on the building. Holding subleases on the ground floor of the building are a barber shop, magazine store and diner.  None were apparently occupied when the roof gave way.  Clark said the building —built in 1923 — had its last showing of movies in 1983. “A rolling thunder” was how Belsky described the collapse, which he said occurred without warning.  He said he realized a large portion of the roof had given way when he “saw sky where I should have seen wall.”  While some winds were occurring in Hilo yesterday, Belsky said he didn’t believe that caused yesterday’s collapse. He said that it was known that the building believed built in 1923 had become rickety over the years — several studies had been commissioned by Hilo Community Players with hopes of renovating the building — but no one thought it would deteriorate that quickly. Belsky said the state Legislature had appropriated funds toward fixing up the building in the past but the monies were never released. He said it was a strong possibility that the theater may now have to be demolished although he hoped that wouldn’t be the case.  “It will be hard to replace,” he said.

MAMO THEATRE

All of these photos from the collection of Bob Alder. CLICK ON PHOTO FOR FULL SIZE VIEW

Looking towards the projection booth in 1990. The object hanging from the ceiling is one of three vents for the 1937 vintage Carrier Air Conditioning system.

A 1990 view of the auditorium.  The Cinemascope screen frame had been built downstage of the proscenium in the early 1950s.  This auditorium was a shell built within the structure of what had been the Yura-Kwan Theatre.

The Mamo had been closed for six years when these photos were taken in 1990.  Roof leaks had caused some of the Canek panelling to collapse.

Right:  The projection booth had been stripped of its Century projectors/soundheads and Strong carbon arc lamphouses, but was mostly complete in 1990.  The two Motiograph projector pedestals were salvaged for the Palace Theatre in 1995 and are still in use.

Above:  These auditorium wall lighting fixtures were the most attractive part of the decor.

Above: looking at the stage house.  A portion of the movie screen can be seen inside the opening. Above right: Looking towards the front of the building. Right: From across Mamo Street.  The building was razed a few weeks later.  The property is now a vacant lot used for a community market on weekends.

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When built as the YURA-KWAN, in 1921, this theatre had a level seating area in the original auditorium.  When it was remodeled into the MAMO, the seating was extended into the original stage area, a new smaller stage house was built on the back end, and a stadium seating section was constructed at the rear of the auditorium.  Click on the drawing (at right) to see a clearer view.