The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Yarmouth Th.; it’s Card # 468. But no one filled it out so there is no data, only an undated exterior photo which was probably taken sometime 1946-51.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Unity; it’s Card # 451. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken “6-22-9”, but it could not have been taken in June because the trees in the photo are bare of leaves. The Condition is Poor. The report says it was over 20 years old, was showing MGM films and had 275 seats. The population of Unity was 900 (as of the unclear date of the photo).
Of the 3 old photos posted, only the second one which shows a small 2-story building matches the photo on the 1941 MGM Theatre Report for the Strand on Elm St. in Southbridge. The big color photo appears to have 1960-era cars in it, with a Strand Theatre at the far left end of the business block. That photo isn’t anything like the 1941 MGM photo.
I got a quick impression that it was State first, then Silver. Joe Vogel, thanks for finding that it’s the other way around. (I’m flyin' blind here, with all these Maine theaters!) It would be nice if there was a Maine-iac fan of theater buildings here in Cinema Treasures who could help us out with first-hand knowledge.
When the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (which was its name then) toured the USA in the post-War era I attended performances at the old Boston Opera House in Boston Massachusetts. I also went to performances of vintage musical shows which were presented from time to time at the theater. The performances I attended were very good and always sold out. I recall the huge orchestra pit there. The only drawback was the walk back to my hotel in Russell Square through dark, creepy streets. I agree with Ian’s post above- it seems to me that the old 1931 theater was demolished prior to building the present venue.
Listed under Calais in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide is the “St. Croix Hall” which is probably this theater. There are no street addreses in this Guide. It had 614 seats and was on the second floor. Gas illumination. The proscenuium opening was 25' wide X 17' high, and the stage was 22 feet deep. There were 6 to 9 musicians in the house band. Hotels for show folk were the Border City and the St. Croix Exchange. Newspapers: Calais Times and the St. Croix Courier. The 1897 population was 15,000.
To answer my question above, the State Theatre was a seperate theater, later called State Cinemas, and was not a renaming of the St. Croix Opera House.
Was this opera house later known as the State Theater? There is a list of Lockwood & Gordon circuit theaters in the 1942-43 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac which lists a State Theatre in Calais, but not the Opera House.
In the 1942-43 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac, the State Theater in Waterville is listed under the Lockwood & Gordon circuit of Boston. They also ran the Opera House in Waterville at that time.
There is an Opera House in downtown Norway which is still standing and is being very slowly restored. It’s a large brick building with a tower. It opened in 1894 and probably served as a movie house at times during the silient era. It was on the second floor of the building, had a balcony and stage, and 640 seats. Located on Main Street. A town report says that the Rex Theater building opened in 1913, and that a brick facade was added later.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater when it was the State. It’s Card # 459. Address is Silver St. There is an exterior photo taken Feb 16, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1932, was showing MGM films, and had 600 seats. I have found street addreses for both 11 Silver St, and 14 Silver St.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Rex; it’s Card # 414. Address is Cottage St. There is an external photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says the Rex was over 15 years old and was showing MGM films. There were 305 seats on the main floor and 34 in the balcony. The 1940 population of Norway was 3,600.
The Bijou Theatre and the Maine Theatre, both on Water Street, are treated as two different theaters in the CinemaData Project database. But it’s odd how the Bijou fades from the scene as the Maine Theatre enters the scene! It’s possible that the Bijou was renamed Maine Theatre, but I’m not sure of that. The CinemaTour list of theaters in Waterville has the Maine Theatre, but not the Bijou.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Sunset; it’s Card # 607 on Page 28 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled the report out, so there is only an undated photo probably taken when it opened.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Avon Drive-In; it’s Card # 601 on Page 28 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled out the form, so there is no information, only an undated photo which was probably taken sometime about 1946-1951.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Bay State Drive-In; it’s Card # 604 on Page 31 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled out the form, so there is no information, only an undated photo probably taken in the late-1940s.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Dartmouth Auto Theatre; it’s Card # 603. But no one filled the report out so there is no information, only an undated photo. Most of the undated photos in these reports were taken between 1945 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Bellingham Auto Drive-In. It’s Card # 602. But the form was not filled out, so there is no information, only an undated photo. Most of the undated photos on the MGM cards were taken sometime between 1945 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Harbor; it’s Card # 470. Address is “York Avenue”. There is an exterior photo taken May 1, 1941. Condition is Poor. The report says it opened in 1919, was showing MGM movies, had 350 seats, and was a summer operation.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 424. But no one filled the form out, although there is an undated exterior photo. The town name is listed as “Phillip”. The CinemaData project file for this theater says it was on Main Street, opened as Wilbur’s Theatre in 1924, later renamed Strand, and had 300 seats. The photo on the MGM report was probably taken sometime between 1945 – 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Gem; it’s Card # 453. Address is Water Street. There is an exterior photo taken June 2, 1941. Condition is Poor. The report says the Gem opened in 1933, was showing MGM films and had 210 seats. The 1940 population was 1,600.
This article highlights the insecurity of old theaters. Just because a theater has been “rescued” by an affluent and sympathetic entity doesn’t mean anything. The 115-year-old Colonial downtown – not safe. The 1920 Boston University Theatre across from Symphony Hall – not safe. The Wang Theatre and the Shubert across the street – not safe. In Quincy MA, just south of Boston, the very last theater left in the city is now facing demolition (Wollaston Theatre).
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Yarmouth Th.; it’s Card # 468. But no one filled it out so there is no data, only an undated exterior photo which was probably taken sometime 1946-51.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Unity; it’s Card # 451. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken “6-22-9”, but it could not have been taken in June because the trees in the photo are bare of leaves. The Condition is Poor. The report says it was over 20 years old, was showing MGM films and had 275 seats. The population of Unity was 900 (as of the unclear date of the photo).
Of the 3 old photos posted, only the second one which shows a small 2-story building matches the photo on the 1941 MGM Theatre Report for the Strand on Elm St. in Southbridge. The big color photo appears to have 1960-era cars in it, with a Strand Theatre at the far left end of the business block. That photo isn’t anything like the 1941 MGM photo.
I got a quick impression that it was State first, then Silver. Joe Vogel, thanks for finding that it’s the other way around. (I’m flyin' blind here, with all these Maine theaters!) It would be nice if there was a Maine-iac fan of theater buildings here in Cinema Treasures who could help us out with first-hand knowledge.
When the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (which was its name then) toured the USA in the post-War era I attended performances at the old Boston Opera House in Boston Massachusetts. I also went to performances of vintage musical shows which were presented from time to time at the theater. The performances I attended were very good and always sold out. I recall the huge orchestra pit there. The only drawback was the walk back to my hotel in Russell Square through dark, creepy streets. I agree with Ian’s post above- it seems to me that the old 1931 theater was demolished prior to building the present venue.
Listed under Calais in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide is the “St. Croix Hall” which is probably this theater. There are no street addreses in this Guide. It had 614 seats and was on the second floor. Gas illumination. The proscenuium opening was 25' wide X 17' high, and the stage was 22 feet deep. There were 6 to 9 musicians in the house band. Hotels for show folk were the Border City and the St. Croix Exchange. Newspapers: Calais Times and the St. Croix Courier. The 1897 population was 15,000.
As the State Theatre, this cinema is listed in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac under the Lockwood & Gordon circuit of Boston.
To answer my question above, the State Theatre was a seperate theater, later called State Cinemas, and was not a renaming of the St. Croix Opera House.
Was this opera house later known as the State Theater? There is a list of Lockwood & Gordon circuit theaters in the 1942-43 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac which lists a State Theatre in Calais, but not the Opera House.
In the 1942-43 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac, the State Theater in Waterville is listed under the Lockwood & Gordon circuit of Boston. They also ran the Opera House in Waterville at that time.
In the list of theater circuits in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Capitol in Hillsboro is listed as run by Lockwood & Gordon of Boston.
There is an Opera House in downtown Norway which is still standing and is being very slowly restored. It’s a large brick building with a tower. It opened in 1894 and probably served as a movie house at times during the silient era. It was on the second floor of the building, had a balcony and stage, and 640 seats. Located on Main Street. A town report says that the Rex Theater building opened in 1913, and that a brick facade was added later.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater when it was the State. It’s Card # 459. Address is Silver St. There is an exterior photo taken Feb 16, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1932, was showing MGM films, and had 600 seats. I have found street addreses for both 11 Silver St, and 14 Silver St.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Rex; it’s Card # 414. Address is Cottage St. There is an external photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says the Rex was over 15 years old and was showing MGM films. There were 305 seats on the main floor and 34 in the balcony. The 1940 population of Norway was 3,600.
The Bijou Theatre and the Maine Theatre, both on Water Street, are treated as two different theaters in the CinemaData Project database. But it’s odd how the Bijou fades from the scene as the Maine Theatre enters the scene! It’s possible that the Bijou was renamed Maine Theatre, but I’m not sure of that. The CinemaTour list of theaters in Waterville has the Maine Theatre, but not the Bijou.
Correction: The MGM report is Card # 604 on Page 28 of the “New England Special Collection”, THSA on-line.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Sunset; it’s Card # 607 on Page 28 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled the report out, so there is only an undated photo probably taken when it opened.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Avon Drive-In; it’s Card # 601 on Page 28 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled out the form, so there is no information, only an undated photo which was probably taken sometime about 1946-1951.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Bay State Drive-In; it’s Card # 604 on Page 31 of the “New England Special Collection”. But no one filled out the form, so there is no information, only an undated photo probably taken in the late-1940s.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Dartmouth Auto Theatre; it’s Card # 603. But no one filled the report out so there is no information, only an undated photo. Most of the undated photos in these reports were taken between 1945 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Bellingham Auto Drive-In. It’s Card # 602. But the form was not filled out, so there is no information, only an undated photo. Most of the undated photos on the MGM cards were taken sometime between 1945 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Harbor; it’s Card # 470. Address is “York Avenue”. There is an exterior photo taken May 1, 1941. Condition is Poor. The report says it opened in 1919, was showing MGM movies, had 350 seats, and was a summer operation.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 424. But no one filled the form out, although there is an undated exterior photo. The town name is listed as “Phillip”. The CinemaData project file for this theater says it was on Main Street, opened as Wilbur’s Theatre in 1924, later renamed Strand, and had 300 seats. The photo on the MGM report was probably taken sometime between 1945 – 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Gem; it’s Card # 453. Address is Water Street. There is an exterior photo taken June 2, 1941. Condition is Poor. The report says the Gem opened in 1933, was showing MGM films and had 210 seats. The 1940 population was 1,600.
This article highlights the insecurity of old theaters. Just because a theater has been “rescued” by an affluent and sympathetic entity doesn’t mean anything. The 115-year-old Colonial downtown – not safe. The 1920 Boston University Theatre across from Symphony Hall – not safe. The Wang Theatre and the Shubert across the street – not safe. In Quincy MA, just south of Boston, the very last theater left in the city is now facing demolition (Wollaston Theatre).