Picture Perfect
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The Price of Liberty

Picture Perfect, also, The Price of Liberty. . , Picture Perfect , 1904. Somerville gained its first motion picture theater when confectioner Arthur Pearson opened Pearson's Perfect Pictures at 318 Broadway, Winter Hill. In his words, early shows were "every crude. The two [motion] pictures consumed about ten minutes and illustrated songs about one half-hour. The price was seven cents and each child received a bag of candy." Today, Davis Square boasts one of the few "old time" movie houses around: the Somerville Theater, built in 1914 for vaudeville shows. Featuring a classic 900-seat auditorium, complete with balcony and four smaller screens, it offers both first-run movies and live music of every kind. , ( photo caption ) , , Photograph coutesy of the Somerville Museum , ( back ) , The Price of Liberty , World War II. February 1945.To defeat Japan, the US desperately needed the island of Iwo Jima as retreat for crippled bombers. Riddled with tunnels, "Iwo" was manned with Japan's toughest fighters. On Feb. 19, thousands of U.S. Marines waded ashore. Three bloody days later, a U.S. patrol seized Mt. Suribachi, the island's looming volcano. With five comrades, Sergeant Henry O. Hansen of Somerville raided the first U.S. flag over Iwo, an inspiration for the troops. Hours later, a larger flag was raised in its place, now immortalized in Joe Rosenthal's photo. After 36 brutal days, US forces took the island, though it cost the lives of 6,800 Marines, including 27-year-old Hank Hansen. But their sacrifice made possible America's victory in the war six months later. , ( photo captions ) , , Photograph from the American Heritage Poblishing Cor. June 1964. volume VX, No. 4 Hansen stands to the left holding the flag. , , AP Photographer Joe Rosenthal’s famous shot of the second flag-raising