President Program, 1930

By 1928, the Garrick was a short-lived experiment as a burlesque house, and was then leased by a New York-based actor named Bronson, who re-christened the venue The President, with initial plans to stage musicals 2 days a week. Actress Frances Dale (who had a small part in the movie "King of Kings" in 1927) was headliner and spokesperson--in the pamphlet, she encourages patrons to leave feedback on a small coupon in the back pages.

Among performers who trod the President's boards: Ed Wynn, W.C. Fields, Fred and Adele Astaire, Sarah Bernhardt, Lewis Stone, Leo Carillo, Sophie Tucker, and the Marx Brothers.

Check out the map on the right--the hotel on the same block is still called the Majestic (the President's original monicker), and in the lower left, the late institution that was the downtown Younkers can be seen.

The President enjoyed a decade-long run, closing and being demolished in 1938, to make way for a parking lot.