Colonia Theatre

35 S. Broad Street,
Norwich, NY 13815

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Showing 26 - 34 of 34 comments

Karen Colizzi Noonan
Karen Colizzi Noonan on November 29, 2006 at 5:34 pm

This theater was part of the Schine chain at one point. Just FYI
: )

roberttoplin
roberttoplin on August 8, 2006 at 12:02 am

KenRoe: W.M. was the name printed in the Evening Sun of Norwich. It stated …of New York, so most probably it was a typo and they are one in the same. Sorry for the confusion.

strawberry
strawberry on April 20, 2006 at 1:57 pm

There is a small picture of the Colonia in 1998 at
http://www.nshs1968.org/pictures/Town/Colonia.jpg
and an even smaller one at View link.

In the 1988 book * Hollywood on Main Street – the Movie House Paintings of Davis Cone by Linda Chase there is a watercolor painting of the Colonia on page 10. Judging by the movies on the marquee in the painting (All of Me and Thief of Hearts*) it looks like the watercolor shows what the theater looked like in late 1984. At that time, the marquee was blue and the trim was yellow. The original 1986 watercolor measures 13 by 16 inches and is in the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.

You can see some of Mr. Cone’s later work at View link. He also has a more recent book from 2001 called Popcorn Palaces: The Art Deco Movie Theatre Paintings of Davis Cone.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on January 25, 2006 at 4:10 am

RJT; Architect W.M. McElfatrick, any relation to William H. McElfatrick (already listed on Cinema Treasures Architect’s database) or could they be the same person?

roberttoplin
roberttoplin on January 24, 2006 at 11:39 pm

The “Colonia”, on South Broad Street and American Avenue, opened on the evening of December 23,1914. It was designed by W.M.McElfatrick and the Decorations were by Edward J. Murnane and Brother. It was still a theatre when I was there in 1998. You can check the Norwich Sun of the above date for the Grand Opening.

teecee
teecee on October 15, 2005 at 10:42 am

Both good questions but no information is given.

deleted user
[Deleted] on October 9, 2005 at 6:53 pm

Which church was the organ moved to? Is the organ still in existence?

teecee
teecee on August 29, 2005 at 5:27 am

A Wurlitzer organ, opus 1618, was installed in the Colonial Theater on 4/19/1927. In 1970, it was moved to a local church.