Maxwell Blade knew he would come back one day. Blade, who has starred in a magic show in downtown Hot Springs since 1996, called the Malco Theatre home from that first Spa City performance until 2008 when the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival decided to go it alone in the building.
Blade moved north to 121 Central Ave. and leased a former antiques store for a 100-seat theater. Now he's back at the Malco following a major renovation. A recent tour of the theater brought back memories of time I spent watching movies there when I was a high school and college student at Arkadelphia. One of the best things about getting a driver's license was being able to visit Hot Springs for movies at the Malco and Central theaters.
The site of the Malco at 817 Central Ave. was the home of the Princess Theatre from 1910 until a Christmas Eve fire in 1935. It was rebuilt and became the Malco Music Hall as World War II came to a close.
A November 1939 story in the Sentinel-Record at Hot Springs noted: "Definite announcement that Malco Theatres Inc. will proceed with construction of a modern new theater and music hall on the former site of the Princess, which was destroyed by fire several years ago, was made yesterday by M.S. McCord of North Little Rock, secretary and treasurer of the amusement company, which also operates the Paramount, Central, Spa and Roxy theaters in Hot Springs. Preliminary work on the first three units comprising the project was begun several weeks ago, but Malco officials made no announcement of their plans at that time. They revealed two years ago that a handsome new theater was planned to replace the Princess, but construction had been delayed pending improved business conditions."
The war delayed completion for several more years. When the Malco Music Hall opened in February 1946, it declared itself to be the "Showplace of the South." It had 1,140 seats and the most advanced projection and sound equipment in the region. There was an entrance on Central Avenue along with separate entrances on Broadway for blacks and whites. Blacks were relegated to the balcony until the 1960s. Another renovation occurred in 1962. The Malco later was divided into small twin theaters in a futile attempt to survive as downtown declined and development moved south toward Lake Hamilton.
When the current revitalization of downtown began to take off, developer Rick Williams of Summit Properties bought several buildings, including the Malco. Blade shared Williams' vision for the theater. Blade and a group of dedicated preservationists spent the next 15 months working on the building. He proudly shows me the lobby mural that was painted in the 1940s by John Antonio, who was a Hot Springs High School student at the time. The mural was discovered when wallpaper was removed adjacent to the spiral staircase that leads to the balcony. The mural was sealed to protect it from additional damage.
"We had to install new air conditioning and heating systems, and we put in carpets that I found in Las Vegas," Blade says. "We would spend 15 hours here some days working on this place. I wanted to make sure that everything from the restrooms to the dressing rooms were perfect. We took the wall out that had divided this into two theaters. Now it looks much like it did in the 1940s."
Blade's choice of carpeting, lights and furniture indeed gives the Malco a 1940s feel. He reduced the number of seats downstairs to 310 so there would be more room for people to spread out. A small bar has been added to sell beer and wine. When there are no magic shows scheduled, Blade hopes to offer the Malco for musical performances, comedy shows and the like. Blade often had several shows a day at the smaller theater. Because he now has three times the number of seats, he will perform just one show a day at the Malco.
"The pace of development in downtown Hot Springs right now is unlike anything I've ever seen," Blade says. "I wanted to be a part of that. I was determined to make the Malco a gem again, and I think I've achieved that. I spent more than $100,000 just on the lighting and the sound systems. When this project was finished, I went home and slept for 20 hours straight one Saturday."
Blade was born in January 1962 at Fort Smith. He became interested in magic after watching comedian and magician Mark Wilson on television. Blade began learning magic tricks while also playing the drums and piano in local bands. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1980 and joined the rock band Exit Five. He toured for several years with the band, which later changed its name to Shark Avenue.
"I was a rocker in the 1980s," Blade says. "I later decided to do magic shows instead."
He performed at clubs in Northwest Arkansas, often as the opening act for local bands. His first large show took place Aug. 4, 1994, at the King Opera House in Van Buren. The show was dedicated to his mother. She died a week later from ALS. In 1995, Blade and his family came to Hot Springs on vacation and fell in love with the place. He decided that people visiting downtown Hot Springs needed additional entertainment options.
"This building was in bad shape, but I decided to clean it up," Blade says. "I did that first show on Aug. 28, 1996. For the longest, it seemed as if I couldn't sell more than 33 tickets a night. I was a painting contractor during the day to pay the bills. I did whatever I had to do to sustain the show. The show became popular, and it remains so."
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 12/16/2017