Although the Civic Theater itself was torn down, the the Civic Arcade, which served as the lobby to what the Casco Bank Building and an entrance-way to the theater, is about to be restored to its original design. In the 50s-60s, the arcade had two banks, a coffee shop, a Class-D post-office-stamp collector’s shop, a religious articles store, a radio station (WPOR) a pet store (The Dog House), a visiting Santa and Sleigh during the Christmas season, and a maze of music studios on the level below. It also had a flooring and carpet shop and when the Civic was closed in ‘63, the Civic became a storage site for rolls of linoleum and carpeting for the shop.
One thing though, I’ve always been puzzled by the design of the building, the theater, and its relation to the original Keith’s. In the earliest postcards I’ve seen entrances to Keiths NEXT to the Longfellow house on Congress Street, where Days Jewelry store later was. The second entrance was on Preble St and served as a secondary entrance to the theater and the arcade.
It was a great old theater though – I went there lots of times when I was a kid.
Although the Civic Theater itself was torn down, the the Civic Arcade, which served as the lobby to what the Casco Bank Building and an entrance-way to the theater, is about to be restored to its original design. In the 50s-60s, the arcade had two banks, a coffee shop, a Class-D post-office-stamp collector’s shop, a religious articles store, a radio station (WPOR) a pet store (The Dog House), a visiting Santa and Sleigh during the Christmas season, and a maze of music studios on the level below. It also had a flooring and carpet shop and when the Civic was closed in ‘63, the Civic became a storage site for rolls of linoleum and carpeting for the shop.
One thing though, I’ve always been puzzled by the design of the building, the theater, and its relation to the original Keith’s. In the earliest postcards I’ve seen entrances to Keiths NEXT to the Longfellow house on Congress Street, where Days Jewelry store later was. The second entrance was on Preble St and served as a secondary entrance to the theater and the arcade.
It was a great old theater though – I went there lots of times when I was a kid.