Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Gould Cinemas - Part 2

Have you ever felt sick over just the memory of a nasty smell? I'm feeling it right now as I recall the disgusting funk that permeated the Gould Cinemas, the most whacked out movie theater in the history of San Jose. Ugh.

I don't think the air conditioning system was ever serviced in all the years the Gould was in existence. The stink would envelope you as soon as you stepped into the one of the three screening rooms. You'd hope it would fade into your subconscious, but trying to ignore it was absolutely futile.

Here's the crazy part...as reported by the San Jose Mercury News, on March 21, 1993 a "mysterious gas" emitted during a screening of Leprechaun sent nine Gould patrons to the hospital. Firefighters responded to reports of mass coughing and figured that kids dropped smoke bombs or stink bombs. One customer likened the smell to roach spray. Harry Davis, the owner of the Gould, was philosophical when asked about the pranksters..."You know what they're going to do."

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