Comments from rsalters (Ron Salters)

Showing 3,076 - 3,098 of 3,098 comments

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Quintree Drive-In on Oct 26, 2005 at 8:24 am

I believe it dates to about 1950 or so. It was on the right side of Quincy Avenue as you drove south, going uphill after crossing the railroad track just outside the Shipyard. There was a typical drive-in sign at the edge of the street. You turned right into the property, bought a ticket and selected a place. The refreshment counter and restrooms were built into the same structure which housed the projection booth. I went there a few times in the early 1950s, but never drove there myself. I can’t remember when it closed, but am going to guess about 1960. The Quintree Mall, a strip mall, went into the space, and I have a vague memory that they may have re-used the old drive-in sign, but I’m not sure of that. Today, the site is occupied by Quirk Chevrolet, and the overall property is now larger than it was then. The screen was down in back where the Quirk buildings are— their building containing their waiting room, and a dry-cleaners is an original Mall building. I don’t believe that the DriveIn theatre had an exit out onto the street in back of the property as the Quirk operation has.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Thompson Square Theatre Info? on Oct 22, 2005 at 7:24 am

The Thompson Square Th. was included in the MGM 1941 “Theatre Photograph and Report” project. There is a large selection of these report cards in the THSA archive in IL. The info in these reports is not always accurate, so beware ! This one indicates that the theatre was showing MGM product., that it had 650 seats in the orchestra and 250 seats in the balcony. The photo, which is a Xerox copy, shows that the entrance was at the north end of the building.There were 3 double doors. An upright support for the elevated railway structure comes up from the sidewalk and passes right thru the marquee ! In the storefront to the right of the theatre entrance is what appears to be the
Movie Spa and Grill featuring Croft ale, but I’m not sure of that name. The report indicates the theatre opened about 1915, and that it is a “Nabe”. The front of the marquee proclaims “E.
M. Loew’s Thompson Sq.” while there are 3 rows on the side of the marquee to post the attraction. This small photo unfortunately is the typical washed-out Xeroxed photo, and is hard to make out.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Wollaston Theatre on Oct 21, 2005 at 8:39 am

Here are a few more facts about the Wollaston, from notes written by the late J. Paul Chavanne: Architect was Edwin H. McEwan. It opened on Sept 5, 1927, with 2 movies and a singer on stage. It had a 2-manual Wicks organ which is still there. The name of the stock company which was in residence there was Al Luttringer’s stock company. There were about 1100 seats, all on one floor.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Wollaston Theatre on Oct 21, 2005 at 8:33 am

When the Wollaston first opened, it was home to the Al Lurtringer stock company on stage. I went there occasionally in the 1940s and 1950s, it was a well-patronized Nabe in those days. Sometime in the 1960s there was a live booking- “Vaudeville Revue” starring George Jessell and Tiny Tim. Also, occasional “Amateur Nights” on stage,plus lots of 2nd-run films. It closed in March 2003. It’s a short easy walk from Wollaston Station on the Red Line. Parking in the area is a real problem. There used to be a huge free lot across from the theatre’s south sidewall, but it’s full of buildings now. Too much development there ! I, too, think that it once was an ATC house. The Regent Theatre was nearby, on the east side of Hancock Street, half way between Wollaston Theatre and the North Quincy High School. It closed in the mmid- or late- 1950s and the building was converted to commercial use. The Quintree Drive-in was on Quincy Avenue halfway up the hill as you head south from the shipyard. Quirk Chevrolet is there now. The screen was about where their buildings are, and you parked on the slope between Quincy Avenue and the screen. Saw a few flicks there as a kid.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Academy of Music on Oct 21, 2005 at 8:10 am

The Academy of Music opened on May 21, 1891 (or possibly May 23 – I have seen both dates). It was designed by William Brocklesby and built by Edward Lyman, local tycoon, who donated it to the town about a year after it opened. So it became a municipal theatre. During the 1940s it was operated by Rifkin Theatres, and in those years it was known locally as “the Academy”.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Calvin Theatre on Oct 21, 2005 at 7:53 am

The Calvin was designed by the firm of Mowll and Rand. It opened on April 17, 1924. In the 1940s, it was part of Western Massachusetts Theatres. The 1998 refurbishment work was supervised by Northampton architect Thomas Douglas. The Calvin’s website contains seating charts and a rough count of the seats which I made totalled about 1,350. With the smaller seat widths in the “old days' and closer pitch between rows, the original seat-count in 1924 could have been over 1700.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Paramount Center on Oct 19, 2005 at 7:50 am

The THSA convention in Boston-Providence-Worcester is scheduled for late-June of 2006, not 2005 as stated above. The Paramount will be viewed during the downtown walking tour.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Paramount Center on Oct 19, 2005 at 7:45 am

to Ian Judge: I’m glad to know that the facade panels which I saw being applied to the front of the theatre are the original pieces and not replicated material, as I thought at the time. Yes, I attended the late Bob Viano’s lecture from the stage of the Somerville Th. during the THSA convention in July 1983. Bob spoke for a good 10 minutes with considerable warm feeling about the history of the theatre, which his family owned. I was on the THSA Conclave committee (4 persons), so I attended almost all of the events that July, 22 years ago! THSA is having a convention centered in Boston in late-June 2005, and I’m on that committee, too. I know that the attendees will enjoy the Paramount’s facade.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Puritan Theatre on Oct 16, 2005 at 8:31 am

I went into the Puritan one rainy afternoon after lunch in the early 1960s. I was surprised to find almost a full house. Although I don’t think that the balcony was open. You went straight in from Washington St. The orchestra floor was very steeply raked. I always assumed that it had run under a different name originally, because “Puritan” sounded like an EM Loew update! But it was always the Puritan. The elevated railway went right by it, and you could see it very well from the right side of a train to Northampton Station and Forest Hills. It had a rather fancy facade which was a light gray color. There was an elevated stage house in back. I would estimate that it had about 1000 seats or so, and was in good condition when I went into it. I seem to recall that after the fire which damaged the interior, it did not remain standing very long afterward. The Columbia Th. is a completely different theatre and was also located in the South End, on the opposite side of Washington Street, the east side, just south of the big cut which contains today the Mass Pike and the Amtrak and MBTA rail lines. The elevated railway (later Orange Line) to Forest Hills also ran past the Columbia. I first noticed it circa 1952, but never went into it, alas!

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Stuart Theatre on Oct 16, 2005 at 8:11 am

I went to the Stuart a number of times in the 1950s and 1960s. It had a flat floor and an asymmetrical middle aisle – I think that the right side of the aisle had more seats than the left. It was really sort of an old Nickleodeon, and had been constructed in an existing building. The restrooms were on either side of the screen. The admission circa 1960 was only 25 cents for 2 last-run double features. It smelled like a horse-stable inside. I don’t believe I ever saw a woman in there, although there was no “Men Only” sign out front! Young males, especially teens who were alone, were “prey” in there. The outside right wall, along Stuart St., was solid brick and had 2 double fire doors, painted red. I don’t believe that it was ever open 24 hours, like the Rialto in Scollay Square. When it was taken over and renovated into the Pussycat, I assume they got rid of the stable odors! Around 1990 it was converted into a McDonalds. All traces gone, even the right brick wall with the 2 firedoors is gone. It was orignally the Unique, then Stuart, then Pussycat. Interestingly, the only other downtown Boston theatre to be converted into a restaurant is right next door, the Globe/Center/Pagoda. (Or, I should say, converted in recent years, because the old Keith’s just north of the Paramount became the Normandie ballroom and bar in the 1930s.) along

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Paramount Center on Oct 16, 2005 at 7:48 am

The Paramount often showed films day-and-date with the Fenway uptown in the 1950s. It was in good condition back then, and even up into the 1960s. Back around 2001, when the marquee was disassembled and the vertical was removed so that they could be rebuilt and rewired, the facade was stripped down, the 2 medallions were removed also.Then the facade was replicated using panels of some sort of material which were applied one by one. The 2 medallions were then put into place, but I don’t know if they are original or replicas. After this work was done, the restored vertical was reattached and relit, followed by the marquee in the spring of 2003. The marquee doesn’t look quite “right” to me, but is better than nothing ! It was a nice place to see the latest flicks and drew good houses, even in the afternoons when I went there after classes. I was shocked when I got inside it in 1983 with a THSA group— the place was in shambles after being closed for about 7 years.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Loew's State Theatre on Oct 7, 2005 at 8:46 am

When I was a kid in late-1940s and 1950s, the State was Loew’s uptown house. It often played films day-and-date with the Orpheum downtown, so one thought of them as “Loew’s State and Orpheum”. When the Royal Ballet performed at the State in October 1957, I was sent to the stage door to pick up a publicity packet for the student radio station at which I was a volunteer. The stage door was at stage-right off the street in the rear. I was surprised at how cramped it was backstage at that theatre. The Royal Ballet was there because the old Boston Opera House on Huntington Avenue had been closed and was due for demolition in Jan-Feb 1958. In mmid-1959, the theatre was sold to the Boston Archdiocese and renamed Donnelly Memorial Theatre, and later, Back Bay Th. As for the word “decadent”, I have seen it used before, usually meaning “over-decorated”. Some restaurants even refer to very rich desserts on their menus as “decadent”. Some of the Movie Palaces of the Twenties certainly could be considered by some as “decadent” !

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Park Theatre on Oct 7, 2005 at 8:21 am

The Park became a live theatre in early or mid-1980s, still using its original name. I recall reading in the newspaper that a large forestage had been constructed out in front of the proscenium. I also have a memory that it was to be the winter home of the Provincetown theatre company, but I seem to recall that they didn’t last a full season there.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Park Square Cinema on Oct 7, 2005 at 8:12 am

The name was changed from Telepix to Park Square sometime in the early 1960s. It was across from the old Greyhound bus station in the Park Sq. Bldg. There was a small plain sign outside, rather inconspicuous.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Park Square Cinema on Oct 7, 2005 at 8:10 am

The name was changed from Telepix to Park Square sometime in the early 1960s. It was across from the old Greyhound bus station in the Park Sq. Bldg. There was a small plain sign outside, rather inconspicuous.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre on Oct 7, 2005 at 7:50 am

A friend went by there in August 2005 and says it was open. He thinks the “For Rent” message refers to a space in the building. Their section of Ogunquit’s website currently shows one movie show for Sept., and one in late-October 2005.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Palace Theatre on Oct 5, 2005 at 7:43 am

Check out the photo on page 155 of the new “Theatres of Boston” book by Donald King. At the extreme left side, lower half, of the photo can be seen the right edge of the Palace facade. The dormer window with the curved top is where the Alexander Graham Bell telephone laboratory was located. Of course, Bell worked there before the theatre entrance was installed below. This attic has been preserved and is (was?) in the lobby of the phone company building on the south side of Post Office Square. Enter the lobby and take a sharp right. They made a neat little museum out of it. You look out thru the window and see the facade of the Old Howard in the distance. With the security concerns today, I’m not sure if the little museum is still there in the building lobby, but it is a little bit of the Palace which lives on. In its last years, the Palace showed Italian films, including Italian talkies. Demolished Spring 1931. The Palace was across Scollay Square from the big Olympia Theatre.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Old Howard Casino Theatre on Oct 4, 2005 at 8:06 am

Yes, there were 2 seperate theatres, and both showed movies. Both were primarily live Burlesque houses. The Casino was built in 1910 and was designed by Clarence Blackall. It was operated by Charlie Waldron, local Burley producer. He had been affiliated with the Palace Theatre, just across from the Olympia, and also with the Gaiety on Washington Street. The Casino had 2 balconies and boxes on the sidewalls. A unique feature was a staircase right in the middle of the orchestra floor that led down to basement lounges. At the age of 13, a 9th-grade friend and I got into the Casino at a Saturday evening performance. Had to sit in the 1st balcony, as the main floor was full. (the 2nd balcony was permenently closed by that time.) We loved the show. Funny, lowbrow comedy, and beautiful girls. I got into the Casino many times, in spite of being under-age.At the 12 noon show, you could see a 2nd-run movie, plus a stageshow over an hour long, with a 5-piece band in the pit, all for about 65 cents circa 1960. The theatre closed in the spring of 1962 and was demolished that summer. Victim of Urban Ruin-all. The rear portion of the JFK Building is about where it was.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Old Howard Theatre on Oct 4, 2005 at 7:52 am

As a high school and college student in the 1950s, I was a fan of “Burley”. I went to the Casino on Hanover St. many times, but never got into the Old Howard. It was indeed closed by court action in November 1953, and never reopened. The fact that the Casino started calling itself “Old Howard Casino” has confused many memories. A suspicious fire in June 1961 badly damaged the Howard’s interior. A March 1961 proposal to turn it into a theatrical museum is in the THSA archives in Elmhurst IL. After the fire, the rubble was cleaned off the street, but the demolition did not take place until the Spring of 1962. I visited the site at least twice during the demo process. The crew worked from back to front. It was an unaltered mid-19th century playhouse and was on the 2nd floor. 2nd-run movies were shown inbetween stage shows right up to the end.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Strand Theatre on Oct 2, 2005 at 7:20 am

Don King’s book was based mostly on research he did at the Library of Congress (he lived close by it) thru Boston newspaper files. So, if the first mention of the Strand occured in the papers in 1930, then he would have used that date. Many small houses did not advertise in the newpapers, appealing instead to walk-ins. I don’t know why this cinema was opened — there were already inexpensive 2nd-run and last-run houses in the Scollay Sq. area. The cinema was converted to a nightclub at which Sally Keith starred, and it appears that the club utilized the Strand’s marquee. The operation was down at basement level.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Strand Theatre on Oct 2, 2005 at 7:11 am

I saw movies there both before and after the name change from Strand to Capri. It was about halfway between the BPL and Symphony Hall, on the same side of Huntington Ave. You went in from the street and then turned left into the rear of the auditorium. It had a balcony, and no more than 800 or 900 seats, certainly not 1800. The 1968 demo year is probably correct, but I’m not sure when it closed prior to that year. The nearby Uptown, a beautiful house, was also razed about 1968.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Music Hall on Oct 2, 2005 at 7:02 am

The architect was William Ashe and it opened on January 29, 1878. It was also known as the Portsmouth Theatre and the Civic Theatre. The Arcadia Press book mentioned by Gerald DeLuca has a great deal of info and lots of photos.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) commented about Thompson Square Theatre Info? on Oct 2, 2005 at 6:57 am

It was an EM Loew theatre,and was built into the side of the hill, just like the branch library on the site today. The Elevated railway ran right in front of it. I once saw an aerial photo which showed it down below, and it had a stagehouse. Donald King, author of the recent book on Boston theatres, worked for EM Loew from late-30s to early 50s, and told me that upstairs at that theatre was a storage room for the EM Loew circuit, where you could get items like spare alphabet letters for your marquee, etc.