By Robert Harrison and Margaret Badger, Sausalito Historical Societ
As Robert Harrison wrote recently for the website of the Anne T. Kent Room of the Marin County Library:
The swastika is a well-known geometrical and eye-catching symbol. In 1920 Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party hijacked the swastika and it soon became a symbol of evil and hatred. Yet, prior to the 1920s, around the world and in Sausalito, the swastika stood for good luck or happiness.
In western culture the symbol became familiar in the nineteenth century largely because of a growing interest in the ancient history of India and Southeast Asia. By the twentieth century it was extensively used in the design of jewelry and home furnishings in both Europe and America. It became a popular good-luck charm with early twentieth century aviators. The San Francisco Call on November 3, 1907 published an article titled: “The Swastika — The Most Widely Diffused Symbol in the World.”
Over the years there have been many interesting American applications of the swastika in product identity, government and the military. Swastika was a brand name for a “Fine Eating California Fruit.” Coca-Cola distributed a pendant in the shape of a swastika. Brunswick Tires advertised their “Swastika” Skid-Not Treads. The 1873 United States Mint building in San Francisco made use of swastikas in the design of its exterior trim. A United States Post Office operated in Swastika, New York from 1913 until 1958. Because it was popular with the Navajo people, from the 1920s until 1942 Arizona included a swastika on highway markers.
In February 1908 the Marin Journal published an article titled “The ‘Swastika’ Fad,” describing how many products have adopted the swastika as an important good luck sign. The Journal declared, “It is a particularly appropriate design to have on gifts for men, and one of the nicest things to make is a cushion for the den….”
Perhaps the most memorable use of the emblem in Marin was the Swastika Theatre that opened in 1911 at 815 Water Street (now 621 Bridgeway) in Sausalito. That year the Sausalito News in its December 16th addition described the theater as “….the only nightly place of amusement in Sausalito….”
IMAGE FROM WIKIPEDIA
Pearl White was the damsel in distress in Perils of Pauline
On January 20 and 21, 1915 the Swastika Theatre played “The Perils of Pauline” in two reels. The bill on February 2nd included the movie “Brewster’s Millions,” advertised as a film of 5,000 feet in length. Admission on Special Feature nights was 15 cents and 10 cents.
The Swastika Theatre was the scene of a scuffle on March 4, 1915. According to the Sausalito News, “Constantine Brown who is a quiet citizen as long as he is free from liquor, took too much aboard on Thursday, went on a rampage and is now nursing a bruised body and mourning the absence of several teeth.” Diamond Dick, the theater’s cowboy piano player and “oriole,” was verbally abused by Brown until in utter exasperation he landed a punch and the drunk made a hurried departure. Brown later resisted arrest and, following an altercation with the night watchman, spent the night in jail nursing his wounds and sobering up.
The Swastika’s movie business faced considerable competition when the Princess Theatre opened at 668 Water Street (now Bridgeway) on May 28, 1915. According to the Sausalito News, “It is one of the best equipped and most comfortable places of amusement in Marin county….All the modern conveniences have been installed.” One example of the modern facilities was the two electric motor driven projectors. The projector at the Swastika was hand cranked.
After another extensive remodel the Swastika Theatre reopened on June 18, 1915. By 1916 it was clear that competition from the Princess Theatre had taken its toll. In response the Swastika began hosting lectures on such diverse topics as gardening, beekeeping and a one-time lecture on town planning by L. C. H. Cheney, Secretary of the National Conference on City Planning. In 1917 new managers attempted to reopen the theatre for movies. But as the Sausalito News observed on September 1, 1917, “The moving picture show in the old Swastika Theatre opened for 3 nights then closed its doors, finding there was not room here for two.” Over subsequent years the property has seen several uses including the La Vista Bar in the 1950s and Angelino Restaurant today.
The Sausalito Historical Society’s Margaret Badger provided more detail in the Society’s Fall 2012 newsletter:
Most of the Swastika’s well attended offerings were accompanied by a live piano. In March
1914, the management requested permission from the city to build a small balcony or loft in the theater “for men only,” who, it was explained, “like to sit at the back, and not finding seats there, crowd the lobby” and make for congestion on crowded nights.
Meanwhile, at the outbreak of WWI, Adolf Hitler volunteered for service in the German army and joined the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. That might be how he first encountered the swastika, which was the original insignia of the U.S. Army’s 45th Infantry Division, in yellow on a red background
Despite his good record and a total of five medals, Hitler never rose above the rank of corporal. According to the World History project, “Due to his unmilitary appearance and odd personality, his superiors felt he lacked leadership qualities and thought he would not command enough respect as a sergeant.”
More proof that we shouldn’t judge a person — or a symbol — on appearance alone.