Maurice Baum

1883 – 1956

Timeline

1883 – Birth

BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Maurice Baum was born on June 14, 1883, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Abraham Baum and Mary Anspach Baum, both of whom were originally from Germany. He had twelve siblings: Alfred Baum, Jacob Baum, Hilda Baum Reisman, Rosa Baum Hassel, Simeon Baum, Ferdinand Baum, Selina “Sally” Baum Katz, Fannie Baum Metz, Lena Baum Monash, Freida Baum, Isadore “Israel” Baum, and Harry Baum.

1915 – Marriage

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, USA

Maurice married Catherine O. Edwards of State College on April 6, 1915, in Baltimore, Maryland.

1956 – Death

VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Maurice died from a stroke on February 10, 1956, in Villanova, Pennsylvania. He was 72 years old.

1956 – Burial

BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Maurice was buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on February 13, 1956.

Family Tree

Parents

◦ Abraham Baum (1835-1918)*

◦ Mary Anspach Baum (1838-1902)*

Spouse

◦ Catherine O. Edwards Baum

Children

◦ Dorothy Baum Gunning

◦ Elizabeth “Betty” Baum

Siblings

◦ Alfred Baum (1865-1934)*

◦ Jacob Baum (1866-1945)

◦ Hilda Baum Reisman

◦ Rosa Baum Hassel (1870-1922)*

◦ Simeon Baum (1872-1936)*

◦ Ferdinand Baum (1872-1919)

◦ Selina “Sally” Baum Katz (?-1945)

◦ Fannie Baum Metz

◦ Lena Baum Monash

◦ Freida Baum (1880-1946)*

◦ Isadore “Israel” Baum (1881-1960)

◦ Harry Baum (1887-1925)*

* = Buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery (click the name to view their biography)

Residences

1890 Census

SOUTH WARD, BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Abram (49, father), Mary (38, mother), Alfred (23, brother), Hilda (20, sister), Rosa (19, sister), Simeon (18, brother), Ferd (18, brother, Sallie (15, sister), Fannie (14, sister), Lena (12, sister), Isadore (9, brother), and Harry (3, brother).

1900 Census

117 EAST BISHOP STREET, SOUTH WARD, BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Abraham (63, father), Mary (61, mother), Alfred (35, brother), Simeon (28, brother), Isadore (19, brother), Harry (14, brother), Frida (20, sister), and Selina (25, sister).

1910 Census

NORTH SIDE OF EAST BISHOP STREET, SOUTH WARD, BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Abraham (74, father), Alfred (45, brother), Simeon (36, brother), Freda (30, sister), Morris (26, brother), Harry (24, brother), and Nora Frey (45, servant).

1920 Census

SOUTH ALLEN STREET, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Catherine Baum (24, wife) and Sarah Thomas (68, servant).

1930 Census

115 RIDGE AVENUE, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Catherine Baum (34, wife), Dorothy Baum (7, daughter), Mary Wallace (34, maid), and Harriet Mills (40, maid).

1940 Census

FERGUSON, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA

Lived with Catherine Baum (44, wife), Dorothy Baum (17, daughter), Elizabeth Baum (9, daughter), Luther Owens (30, hired hand), and Irene Owens (33, servant).

Profile

Click here to view a PDF version of Maurice Baum’s biography.

Maurice Baum was born on June 14, 1883, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Abraham Baum (click here to view his biography) and Mary Anspach Baum (click here to view her biography), both of whom were originally from Germany. He had twelve siblings: Alfred Baum (click here to view his biography), Jacob Baum, Hilda Baum Reisman, Rosa Baum Hassel (click here to view her biography), Simeon Baum (click here to view his biography), Ferdinand Baum, Selina “Sally” Baum Katz, Fannie Baum Metz, Lena Baum Monash, Freida Baum (click here to view her biography), Isadore “Israel” Baum, and Harry Baum (click here to view his biography). On April 6, 1915, Maurice married Catherine O. Edwards of State College, in Baltimore, Maryland. He and Catherine had two daughters, Dorothy Baum Gunning and Elizabeth “Betty” Baum.

According to the 1890, 1900, and 1910 census records, Maurice lived with his parents and sibling in the South Ward of Bellefonte on East Bishop Street. After marrying Catherine, he lived in State College. According to the 1920 census, Maurice and Catherine lived on South Allen Street and according to the 1930 census, they lived at 115 Ridge Avenue. In the 1940 census record, Maurice is listed as a resident of Ferguson Township and on his World War II draft registration card from 1942, his address is listed as Buckhout Street in State College.

Maurice graduated from the Bellefonte high school in 1900 and according to the Directory of Bellefonte, PA., 1901-02, he worked as a clerk. Maurice worked with his brother, Simeon, in both the clothing and motion picture business. In 1912, Maurice started managing the Sim the Clothier store in State College. In October of 1914, he began his career in the motion picture business with the leasing of the Nittany Theater, located at 114 South Allen Street, in State College. Later, in June of 1916, he began leasing the Pastime Theater, located at 116 South Allen Street, in State College. As the manager of both theaters, and the president of the Nittany Theater Company, Maurice had a monopoly on the motion picture business in State College until he sold the Cathaum Theater and his Nittany Theater lease to Warner Bros. in 1930.

Penn State Alumni association historical marker outside of Kish Bank on South Allen Street.

Nittany Theater Building Historical Site Marker Located at 114 South Allen Street. Photo by Casey Sennett.

On March 2, 1920, a deed transferred land, “On the North by West College Avenue and fronting thereon a distance of seventy two (72) feet, more or less; on the East by property of the Nittany Real Estate Company; on the South by Calder Alley and on the West by property of the First National Bank” from Anna M. Hunter of Boulder, Colorado, to Simeon Baum of Bellefonte and Maurice Baum of State College.

Maurice continued to serve as the manager of the Sim the Clothier store in State College until December of 1920, when he turned the store over to H. L. Long of Karthaus. According to the Democratic Watchman, the news was not made public, however, until the beginning of 1921, when he announced his desire to build a new theater in State College. The Democratic Watchman reported Maurice wanted to dedicate all his time to the motion picture business and to create a new theater because the expanding town had outgrown the two theaters he ran. A deed from December 7, 1921, transferred Simeon’s part of the land on West College Avenue purchased in 1920 to Maurice. On December 16, 1921, a notice in the Democratic Watchman announced the dissolution of the business partnership between Simeon and Maurice regarding the Sim the Clothier store. According to the notice, Simeon Baum was to continue the business under the same name.

In 1924, Maurice hired Hodgens & Hill, two Philadelphia architects, to design the Cathaum Theater at 114 West College Avenue and F. D. Bever & Co. of Tyrone to building the theater. The building cost roughly $200,000 to build. The second floor of the building was used for offices and Stark’s Clothing Store opened at one end of the building and a stationary store by Mr. William Keller was opened at the other end. The theater was named for Maurice’s wife, Catherine Baum, by combining the “Cath” of her first name and the “aum” of her married name. On April 8, 1926, the Cathaum Theater opened and showed Beverly of Graustark. At the theater’s first showing, tickets cost 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. On the theater’s opening night, patrons began arriving as early as 5:00pm for the 6:30pm showing. The Cathaum Theater could seat 1,080 people, had air-conditioning, had 225 electric lights in three different colors, and was one of the first theaters to install Vitaphone sound systems when the talkies began in 1928. On May 30, 1925, Maurice purchased the Pastime Theater, but he dismantled it as a playhouse before the opening of the Cathaum Theater in 1926.

On May 26, 1930, Maurice Baum retired from the motion picture business in State College with the selling of the Cathaum Theater to Warner Bros. The company also took over Maurice’s lease at the Nittany Theater. According to the Democratic Watchman, Maurice sought to retire to “…have a bit of leisure and then be able to give more time to helping with the development of State College.” The Cathaum Theater was in operation until 1976, when Sidney Freidman converted the top half of the theater into the Gatsby’s nightclub and the lower half into McLanahan’s Drug Store. The basement was also converted into a disco called Mr. C’s. Gatsby’s, which closed in 1989 and Penn State took over the space and created the Scott Building, an annex for the English department. The former Cathaum Theater building is now largely inhabited by CVS Pharmacy and the Basement Nightclub on West College Avenue.

Cathaum Theater and First National Bank Building, c. 1925. From the Penn State University Archives.

After Maurice retired from the motion picture business in State College, he continued working in the real estate business. In the 1930s, he was involved with the Fairview Heights Development project. According to the Historic District Walking Tour of the Holmes-Foster Neighborhood in State College, Maurice built one of the largest single-family homes in the borough at 905 Robin Road. At the 700-block of West Fairmount Street, he also created the only boulevard in State College. Originally called Baum Boulevard, the center island continues to be maintained with different trees, shrubs, and flowers by residents who live on the street.

On February 23, 1933, the Centre Reporter recorded Maurice’s $55,000 purchase of the Clifton Theater in Huntingdon.

Maurice was involved in the State College community as a director of the First National Bank throughout the 1930s and as chairman of the Rationing Board in State College, located at 124 East College Avenue, in 1942. Both he and his brother, Simeon, in 1923, helped sponsor a boy in the Boys’ Potato Club, which helped young boys gain agricultural skills and grow potatoes for a demonstration to the Centre County Teachers’ Institute at the first annual potato day on Thursday, October 25th. Maurice sponsored Glenn Strouse of Pine Hall from the Boys’ Potato Club. He was also a sponsor for Penn State boxing in both 1930 and 1931 and he was a member of the Y.M.C.A.

About a year prior to his death, he moved to Philadelphia with his wife and daughter, Dorothy. According to his obituary in the Centre Daily Times, Maurice died in Villanova, Pennsylvania, at the age of 72 on February 10, 1956, from a stroke. He was buried at the Rodef Shalom Cemetery in Bellefonte on February 13, 1956.

Miscellaneous Stories

On September 4, 1908, Maurice overtook a man suspected of being Alexander Rosenbloom, a man wanted in Windber for the murder of his father. Maurice found the man on the road from State College to Bellefonte and brought him to Bellefonte. Based off the description and photograph of Rosenbloom, the man was determined not to be him and let go.

On April 24, 1914, the Democratic Watchman reported Maurice Baum was in a car accident with his nephew, Joe Katz, while traveling to Bellefonte. At the bridge over Spring Creek, west of Lemont, Maurice almost collided with a wagon. He swerved and the car went over the side of the bridge and into the creek. Maurice suffered some bruising and a cut on his leg and his nephew suffered some bruising and cuts on his face. The car was not badly damaged.

On January 21, 1916, the Democratic Watchman reported Maurice broke his right wrist in two places while cranking his car to go to a fire in State College.

In mid-February of 1918, both the Democratic Watchman and the Penn State Collegian reported on tensions between Maurice Baum, proprietor, and Ralph Edmunds, manager, of the Nittany Theater and students at Penn State. Under the management of Linn Blackford, the predecessor to Ralph Edmunds, the first showing each evening at the Nittany Theater was allotted for Penn State students and they were allowed to “josh” the movie actors and actresses, eat peanuts and throw their shells on the floor, and be rowdy. Under the new management, however, Edmunds and Baum sought to eliminate this behavior and crackdown on property damage. After hearing rumors that some students might “rush” the theater in February, Maurice requested state police be stationed at the theater. Some students left after seeing the police officers, who arrived in their uniforms, not plain clothes like Maurice requested, and the next day, various signs appeared on campus calling for a boycott of the Nittany Theater. Some students also defaced the storefronts of downtown businesses. Sensing danger to not only the Nittany Theater, but other downtown businesses, Maurice sought the arrest of three students involved in the boycott. The charges against the students were later dropped, and Maurice agreed to pay all the prior property damage, if the students agreed to promote order in the theater and not organize anymore boycotts. On February 14, 1918, the Student Board at Penn State met and passed a resolution condemning the illegal activity of certain students and disapproved the posting of boycott signs around campus.

On January 27, 1928, the Democratic Watchman reported Maurice and Catherine were to “…join the Centre county colony in Florida very soon” in hopes the warmer climate would help their daughter, Dorothy, who was not well. Catherine was to stay with Dorothy in Florida until spring, while Maurice was to come back to Pennsylvania after a few weeks.

On August 29, 1930, the Democratic Watchman reported Maurice was gradually improving after he went to Philadelphia two weeks ago and suffered from appendicitis. He was taken to the St. Joseph’s hospital and operated on.

Photos

Baum Family Portrait

Photographed in late July of 1890 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, by the photographer Shaffer. According to the August 1, 1890, edition of the Democratic Watchman, this was the largest family photo taken in Bellefonte. The photograph includes Abraham and Mary Anspach Baum and all of their thirteen children. Photo via Tara Mianulli U’Ren, the great-granddaughter of Simeon Baum (son of Abraham and Mary Anspach Baum).

Baum Family Portrait with Names

Photographed in late July of 1890 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, by the photographer Shaffer. Photo via Tara Mianulli U’Ren, the great-granddaughter of Simeon Baum (son of Abraham and Mary Anspach Baum), and captions by Casey Sennett.