ROBERT FRANCIS SMITH:

Robert F. Smith was born December 5, 1901. He was the son of Joseph A. and Mattie Smith, of Minneapolis. The elder Smith was a teamster who died February 19, 1919. Mattie Smith died on June 28, 1931. Both are buried at Hospers, Iowa.

Robert F. Smith apparently began his career as a motion picture projectionist in March 1918 at age 17 at the Family Theatre, Hospes, Iowa. In October 1919 he worked at the Princess Theatre, Fargo, North Dakota. He worked for many years at various Minneapolis theaters, including the Liberty (1920s), the Grand (to 1935), the Century (1935-), and the Uptown (1950s). He also performed electrical and other maintenance work at the theaters and on the projection equipment. Smith was apparently a member of Motion Picture Machine Operators Local 219. In the 1930s and 1940s he operated a printing press in his home, and became an avid model railroader. For many years Smith apparently shared his home with his mother, with Harold Smith (evidently his brother), and with Ethel Smith (evidently his sister).

Robert spent the last years of his career as a projectionist at Minneapolis' Uptown Theatre, and retired in the early 1970s. He died in July 1982.

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The diaries include regular references to the theaters Smith was working at and which motion pictures he was showing there. They follow Smith's daily routine: sleeping late, going to work, eating out, home to read and bathe and then to bed at perhaps 3 a.m. There is information about visits with friends, walks, going to shows, playing pinball, trips to Chicago and elsewhere, his attempts at being a writer, his basement printing press, train watching at Minneapolis' Great Northern and Milwaukee depots, and his intense and passionate work on his model railroad layout in his basement. There are references to friends, to girlfriends, and to relatives, including Harold, Ethel, his mother, and women identified only as Ruth and Bess. There are references to the many movies, plays, and burlesque productions that Smith attended in various theaters. At many times in his diaries, at least until he took up model railroading, Smith frequently expressed the sentiment that nothing of much importance or consequence was happening in his life.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Robert Francis Smith Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,572

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, December 2000

Catalog ID number: 09-00322352

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Hobbyists -- Minnesota.

Motion picture projectionists -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Motion picture theaters -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Motion pictures.

Printers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Railfans -- Minnesota.

Railroads -- Models -- Minnesota.

Places:

Chicago (Ill.) -- Description and travel.

Organizations:

Century Theatre (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Grand Theatre (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Types of Documents:

Diaries.

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