Gould Cinemas - Part 1

And here we have a 1997 snapshot of the Gould Cinemas in San Jose. You can just barely see the ghost of the sign letters along the wood siding. At the time the space was being used by the local Democratic Party as a campaign headquarters, and I can only assume it's now vacant.

Hard to believe that from 1979 to 1996 operated a movie theater with disco lights, restrooms painted completely black, throngs of teenagers with no regard for the posted schedule, and the world's hugest pickles bobbing in a jar.

The Gould was a 3-screen movie theater tucked away at the ass-end of the Gould Shopping Center. Probably the worst location for any business, let alone a movie threeplex. I'm sure the residential neighbors weren't happy with loudmouth moviegoers loitering and honking and spilling toxic popcorn in the parking lot.

Despite the filth, the ridiculously sticky floors, and the deadly stink, it was fun for us kids. I remember watching these movies...

The Principal, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Believers, Angel Heart, Ghoulies, The Golden Child, Raw Deal, My Science Project, Splash, Ice Pirates, Red Dawn, Dreamscape, Terminator, Johnny Dangerously, Space Hunter, Yor, Metalstorm, Brainstorm, Nate and Hayes, Krull

The last movie I saw at the Gould was Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. About halfway through the show I turned to see that my friend Dave was as far forward he could possibly be on his seat without falling off, and I realized that he had the right idea.