The Acadia made it into the 1946 Film Daily Yearbook which implies it was still open then. But it wasn’t open. It apparently was leased to the Strand sometime in the 1930s and they closed it. It’s unclear if it reopened, but the MGM agent in 1941 stated that it was open. It was sold to the local VFW in 1942 for use as a clubhouse. Externally, it was a nice-looking theater.
JohnnyC- thanks for the info. Found it. It was never called the “Rumford Opera House”, but was called either Cheney Opera House or just plain “Opera House”. Had stage shows at first, then movies. It made it into the 1946 FDY which implies that it was still open then.
The Acadia Theatre and the Rumford Opera House were both open in the spring of 1941, along with the Strand Theatre. Yet, when the agent for M-G-M/ Loew’s Theatres arrived in town to fill out movie theater report cards, including making a photo for the card, he did so only for the Strand. So there is no card for the Acadia and the Opera House. (The MGM report cards today are in the archive of the Theatre Historical Society).
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Beach Theatre; it’s Card # 469. Address is Beach St. There is an exterior photo dated March 30, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it was remodeled in 1941 and was showing MGM product. It had 450 seats on the main floor and 150 in the balcony. It was open only in the summer. A competing theater was the Harbor Theatre in York Harbor, which dated from 1919, had 350 seats and also was a summer-only operation. The 1940 population was 3,200.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House; it’s Card # 445. Address is “Main St.” (incorrect). There is an exterior photo dated May 22, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1914 abd was showing MGM films. There were 550 orchestra seats and 360 balcony, total 910. A competing theater was the Strand (however, a report was not filled out for the Strand). The 1940 population was 7,100.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Wells Beach Theatre; it’s Card # 460. No address listed. There is an exterior photo taken April 1, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1934, was showing MGM films, and had 381 seats. It was open only in the summer. The 1940 populatin was 2,100.
Was the Bijou later renamed the “Maine Theatre”? The Maine Theatre was also located on Water St. (street number not given) and was about the same size (400 seats), supposedly open by 1926. The Maine Theatre was operating as of May 1941 and was the subject of M-G-M Theatre Report, Card # 457, now in the archives of the Theatre Historical Society. The CinemaData Project has seperate listings for the Bijou and the Maine.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House; it’s Card # 458. Address is “City building”. There is an exterior photo taken Feb. 10, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it was remodeled in 1937 and was showing MGM films. The number of seats is hard to read but it looks like “1,131”.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Haines; it’s Card # 456. Address is 181 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old and was playing MGM product. There were 614 orchestra seats, 522 seats in the balcony, and 16 seats in the loges; total 1,152. The 1940 population was 16,600.
A CT and THSA member has sent me a clipping from a trade publication called “The Film Index” dated August 21, 1909 which includes an exterior photo. The article states that the Olympia Theatre in Lynn, Mass. has reopened after extensive renovation and enlargement. It now seats 1,500. The stage was expanded; more boxes were built on either side of the stage. A steel girder was inserted to carry the weight of the balcony, so that the support posts under the balcony could be removed. New interior paint scheme was maroon and gold. The ventilation and heating were upgraded. A sign outside says “10 Cents- with Free Seat – Your Monies' Worth”. (Some movie theaters in those days had a base admission price, but you had to pay extra for a seat.) The photo of the entrance looks nothing like the outside of the theater as it appeared in, say, the 1930s- 40s. So it would seem that the theater must have been rebuilt and greatly enlarged later.
Rob- Yes, I know that the 2 theaters do not have pages here in CT. I learned that the name was “Acadia”, not “Arcadia” and that it still exists as a fraternal hall. I don’t know anything about the Rumford O.H. – yet!
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Gayety in “Van Buran”; it’s Card # 452. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken April 10 ,1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1937 (perhaps that was a remodeling), that it was showing MGM movies, and had 600 seats. The 1940 population was 5,300.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State; it’s Card # 443. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo made April 17, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1930, was not showing MGM films, and had 973 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Capitol; it’s Card # 442. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Good. The report says that it’s under 15 years old, and is showing MGM movies. There were 550 main floor seats and 450 balcony seats. 1940 population was 14,800.
Thhe Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Mutual; it’s Card # 441. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo dated March 5, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1927, was not showing MGM movies, and had 630 seats. 1940 population was 8,600.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 440. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old, was showing MGM films, and had 812 seats. Competing theaters were the Arcadia and the Opera House. 1940 population was 10,200. But no MGM reports were made for the Arcadia and the Opera House.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Waldo; it’s Card # 454. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken March 4, 1941. Condition is Excellent. The report says it opened in 1936 and was showing MGM movies. There were 260 seats downstaira and 187 in the balcony; total 447 seats. 1940 population was 2,497.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 439. Address is 343 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it’s over 15 years old and was showing MGM films. There were 497 orchestra seats and 291 balcony, total 788 seats. 1940 population was 8,800.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the “Branden” Theatre in Presque Isle; it’s Card # 433. But no one filled it out, so there is no info. There is an undated exterior photo. Most of the photos on these cards which have no information on them were taken between 1946 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater as the “New Portland Theatre”; it’s Card # 430. Address is Preble St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old, and was not showing MGM product. There were 500 seats on the main floor and 450 in the balcony. The 1940 population was 73,600.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Empire; it’s Card # 428. But no one filled it out so there is no info, only an undated exterior photo.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 432. Address is Congress St. There is an exterior photo dated March 18, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1919 (incorrect), was showing MGM films, and had 2,026 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State; it’s Card # 431. Address is 603 Congress St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it’s over 15 years old (incorrect), was showing MGM movies, and had 2,041 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Cape Theatre; it’s Card # 446. Address is Cottage Road. There is an exterior photo dated Feb. 20, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1937, was showing MGM films, and had 456 seats. 1940 population of South Portland was 15,700.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater when it was the Bijou; it’s Card # 425. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo dated Feb. 10, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it was remodeled in 1929, was showing MGM movies, and had 510 seats. The 1940 population was 3,300.
The Acadia made it into the 1946 Film Daily Yearbook which implies it was still open then. But it wasn’t open. It apparently was leased to the Strand sometime in the 1930s and they closed it. It’s unclear if it reopened, but the MGM agent in 1941 stated that it was open. It was sold to the local VFW in 1942 for use as a clubhouse. Externally, it was a nice-looking theater.
JohnnyC- thanks for the info. Found it. It was never called the “Rumford Opera House”, but was called either Cheney Opera House or just plain “Opera House”. Had stage shows at first, then movies. It made it into the 1946 FDY which implies that it was still open then.
The Acadia Theatre and the Rumford Opera House were both open in the spring of 1941, along with the Strand Theatre. Yet, when the agent for M-G-M/ Loew’s Theatres arrived in town to fill out movie theater report cards, including making a photo for the card, he did so only for the Strand. So there is no card for the Acadia and the Opera House. (The MGM report cards today are in the archive of the Theatre Historical Society).
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Beach Theatre; it’s Card # 469. Address is Beach St. There is an exterior photo dated March 30, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it was remodeled in 1941 and was showing MGM product. It had 450 seats on the main floor and 150 in the balcony. It was open only in the summer. A competing theater was the Harbor Theatre in York Harbor, which dated from 1919, had 350 seats and also was a summer-only operation. The 1940 population was 3,200.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House; it’s Card # 445. Address is “Main St.” (incorrect). There is an exterior photo dated May 22, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1914 abd was showing MGM films. There were 550 orchestra seats and 360 balcony, total 910. A competing theater was the Strand (however, a report was not filled out for the Strand). The 1940 population was 7,100.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Wells Beach Theatre; it’s Card # 460. No address listed. There is an exterior photo taken April 1, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1934, was showing MGM films, and had 381 seats. It was open only in the summer. The 1940 populatin was 2,100.
Was the Bijou later renamed the “Maine Theatre”? The Maine Theatre was also located on Water St. (street number not given) and was about the same size (400 seats), supposedly open by 1926. The Maine Theatre was operating as of May 1941 and was the subject of M-G-M Theatre Report, Card # 457, now in the archives of the Theatre Historical Society. The CinemaData Project has seperate listings for the Bijou and the Maine.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House; it’s Card # 458. Address is “City building”. There is an exterior photo taken Feb. 10, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it was remodeled in 1937 and was showing MGM films. The number of seats is hard to read but it looks like “1,131”.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Haines; it’s Card # 456. Address is 181 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old and was playing MGM product. There were 614 orchestra seats, 522 seats in the balcony, and 16 seats in the loges; total 1,152. The 1940 population was 16,600.
A CT and THSA member has sent me a clipping from a trade publication called “The Film Index” dated August 21, 1909 which includes an exterior photo. The article states that the Olympia Theatre in Lynn, Mass. has reopened after extensive renovation and enlargement. It now seats 1,500. The stage was expanded; more boxes were built on either side of the stage. A steel girder was inserted to carry the weight of the balcony, so that the support posts under the balcony could be removed. New interior paint scheme was maroon and gold. The ventilation and heating were upgraded. A sign outside says “10 Cents- with Free Seat – Your Monies' Worth”. (Some movie theaters in those days had a base admission price, but you had to pay extra for a seat.) The photo of the entrance looks nothing like the outside of the theater as it appeared in, say, the 1930s- 40s. So it would seem that the theater must have been rebuilt and greatly enlarged later.
Rob- Yes, I know that the 2 theaters do not have pages here in CT. I learned that the name was “Acadia”, not “Arcadia” and that it still exists as a fraternal hall. I don’t know anything about the Rumford O.H. – yet!
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Gayety in “Van Buran”; it’s Card # 452. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken April 10 ,1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1937 (perhaps that was a remodeling), that it was showing MGM movies, and had 600 seats. The 1940 population was 5,300.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State; it’s Card # 443. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo made April 17, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1930, was not showing MGM films, and had 973 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Capitol; it’s Card # 442. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Good. The report says that it’s under 15 years old, and is showing MGM movies. There were 550 main floor seats and 450 balcony seats. 1940 population was 14,800.
Thhe Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Mutual; it’s Card # 441. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo dated March 5, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1927, was not showing MGM movies, and had 630 seats. 1940 population was 8,600.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 440. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old, was showing MGM films, and had 812 seats. Competing theaters were the Arcadia and the Opera House. 1940 population was 10,200. But no MGM reports were made for the Arcadia and the Opera House.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Waldo; it’s Card # 454. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo taken March 4, 1941. Condition is Excellent. The report says it opened in 1936 and was showing MGM movies. There were 260 seats downstaira and 187 in the balcony; total 447 seats. 1940 population was 2,497.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 439. Address is 343 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it’s over 15 years old and was showing MGM films. There were 497 orchestra seats and 291 balcony, total 788 seats. 1940 population was 8,800.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the “Branden” Theatre in Presque Isle; it’s Card # 433. But no one filled it out, so there is no info. There is an undated exterior photo. Most of the photos on these cards which have no information on them were taken between 1946 and 1950.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater as the “New Portland Theatre”; it’s Card # 430. Address is Preble St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it’s over 15 years old, and was not showing MGM product. There were 500 seats on the main floor and 450 in the balcony. The 1940 population was 73,600.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Empire; it’s Card # 428. But no one filled it out so there is no info, only an undated exterior photo.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 432. Address is Congress St. There is an exterior photo dated March 18, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1919 (incorrect), was showing MGM films, and had 2,026 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State; it’s Card # 431. Address is 603 Congress St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it’s over 15 years old (incorrect), was showing MGM movies, and had 2,041 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Cape Theatre; it’s Card # 446. Address is Cottage Road. There is an exterior photo dated Feb. 20, 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened in 1937, was showing MGM films, and had 456 seats. 1940 population of South Portland was 15,700.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater when it was the Bijou; it’s Card # 425. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo dated Feb. 10, 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says it was remodeled in 1929, was showing MGM movies, and had 510 seats. The 1940 population was 3,300.