Latchis Theatre

Hi, I just bought an old latchis theatre building in claremont new hampshire, although the theatre has been demolished the main building still remains. There were about 15 latchis theatres in the connecticut river valley, does anyone know where they were?
Where can i get theater material to restore the old lobby?

The Colonial theatre in Keene, N.H. is a Latchis theatre. I saw "Return of The Black Stallion" when it was first released along with maybe 25 other people. I'ts a beautiful theatre and I only hope it's drawing more people today. I saw your remaining portion of the theatre just two years ago. Judging from the size of the parking lot, the auditorium must have huge. I believe there is a bicycle store in the remaining portion. If you get to Keene, I know there's another theatre just a block from the Colonial which has been converted into apartments. I believe a local resident told me it was a Latchis' also.

Seating capacity for the Latchis Tehatre is 1200.

Both my data and the web site for the Latchis shows the address as 50 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vt.

The theatre/hotel building is at the corner of Main and Flat Streets, so both addresses make sense.

Some information I have found includes that it opened in 1938,the architect was S.W.Haynes,and the auditorium had constellations painted on the ceiling.
atmos

This is a terrific theater! It is, of course, a shame that the main auditorium has been divided up into additional theaters, but the lobby (and building) are still vintage art deco. The terrazzo floor and stairs are beautifully crafted and look brand-new. Last time I was there, the theater sold real butter for the popcorn. When in Vermont, check this out!

After viewing the unpretentious exterior photo of the Latchis I was surprised to read that it is an atmospheric theatre!

A 1941 view of the Latchis' marquee can be seen on the left hand side of this photo from the Library of Congress.

Wow, I just happen to be traveling through Brattleboro today and came across this theater. I took a few pictures so I hope they are appreciated.

A comment in general about Brattleboro; historic eye candy all over the place!



http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/RolandL/Brattleboro/?action=view¤t=marquee.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/RolandL/Brattleboro/?action=view¤t=ticketbooth.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/RolandL/Brattleboro/?action=view¤t=foyer2.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/RolandL/Brattleboro/?action=view¤t=latchisbuilding.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/RolandL/Brattleboro/?action=view¤t=tickettaker.jpg

Does anyone remember the name of the theatre up the block, at the intersection of Main and High street?

Hello ALL

A couple weeks ago I planned a trip to Vermont and I had the very rare opportunity to have a guided tour of the Latchis Theatre. It is a very impressive theatre and unique in many ways. First it is a dual style theatre being Art Deco on the outside and Greek on the inside. There are many depictions of Greek history and mythology all over. The theatre has asymetric walls and murals. The theatre IS an atmospheric and the ceiling is a play on the 'normal' night sky used in atmospherics. This theatre has Greek inspired constellations (referred to earlier). Upon talking with the theatre tech, he said DID light up at one time. They no longer do now. The Latchis family owned the Hotel/theater until 2003. They cared very much for their theatre and it is in remarkable shape for it's age. It is in need of restoration and there are visible areas in need of attention, but again it is in excellent shape. The Latchis family loved this theatre and it shows. While they must have felt the pinch as any other single screen theatre has, they didn't fully give into the idea of just ramming a wall down the middle of the theatre and/or dividing off the balcony as most other theatres would have done. Instead the theatre was carefully divided UNDERNEATH the balcony thus leaving the entire auditorium still original and for the most part intact. The theatre still maintains its grandeur. The division looks very much intentional and as it was always a part of the theatre. It is VERY tastefully done. While I am not one to be in favor of dividing a theatre, this is without a doubt the best way to do it. So where is the third theatre? Well, the Latchis was fortunate enough to have an unused ballroom opposite the upper level entrance to the balcony. This was converted to the third theatre. The level of artwork in this theatre is a must see. There are plans to convert a rented space to a fourth theatre and the main theatre will be expanded and renovated for the main purpose of showcasing live acts. The seats that were not redone have a really nice pattern to them and I do hope that the owners of the theatre manage to find that same pattern. The balcony is huge and has stadium seating. The orchestra section has regular raked seating. At one time it looked to be that there was an orchestra pit, but now the stage has been increased in size and built out. I could easily tell where the original stage ended and where the new section was built. The original stage had a very nice rounded shape to it. The projection booth does still have most of it's original equipment, but it is pulled out of service and the projectors are a converted platter system. The main projection booth is pretty big. Roland L above shows the pictures of the lobby and front entrance. Most of which is intact. The theatre still has it's outside box office too. There are also plans to build a 'nicer' marquee as well. The tour of the theatre was fantastic and there will be great things to come for this theatre's future. So it looks like there will be a very happy future in the life of this theatre and it will be very much saved.

JG

Oh, I took loads of pictures of the Latchis. If anyone wants to see them, just give me your Email address and I will send you a picture package :).

JG

Hello ROLLINRCK

The theatre you are referring to is the Hooker-Dunham Theatre. It is in what I would consider a very bad spot. It is all the way done the block and under the Hooker-Dunham building. An out of towner would have a difficult time finding this theatre if they didn't ask. I did want to check this theatre out, but it was not open upon my arrival. It supposed to have about 100 seats and a very small stage. The nice thing is that is has a lobby just as big as the theatre itself and art work is usually presented on this side. There is some sort of deck area right outside the door of the theatre and it does offer really nice views of the river and mountain running right to the east of the town.

Another impressive theatre to check out is the Memorial Hall in Wilmington. It has huge church like windows and the interior is all white. It is very bright inside. VERY elegant. BIG stage. There is a balcony as well, but as the name suggests, it is a HALL and therefore doesn't have raked or permanent seating. There are risers though for regular chairs and they handle the building's needs nicely.

I can go on and on about Vermont theatres as there are many in the state. But if you are ever in Brattleboro the Latchis is a MUST see. Word of advice though...Brattleboro is NOT a very car friendly town. Parking and traffic does get nutty, especially just south of Flat street where the New Hampshire bridge is. Park your car outside of town and walk in or take the MOOver bus into town. You will thank yourself later and enjoy the town much much more. BTW, there is no free parking in Brattleboro, everything is metered or has three hour limits.

Oh! Speaking of the New Hampshire bridge. Just at the foot of the bridge there is a restaurant called the Riverview Cafe. Go there and eat. If it is a nice day, request the roof. The view is to die for. Food is good too!

JG

This is a 2007 night view of the Latchis Theater.

The 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac lists the Latchis circuit as being run by Peter D. Latchis at Flat St. in Brattleboro. The Latchis theatres are: VERMONT: Brattleboro: Auditorium, Latchis; Windsor: Strand, Windsor; Woodstock: Community, Woodstock. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Claremont: Latchis; Keene: Colonial, Latchis; Milford: Latchis, Strand. MASS.: Greenfield: Lawler; Leominster: Plymouth, Rialto. Total: 14 theatres in 1941.

Hello Lost:

I personally had a tour of the Latchis last year and I have lots of pictures...especially of the auditorium(s). If you are impressed with the outside, it is nothing compared to the inside. The architecture on the inside is different. Even though the Latchis building epitomizes the Art Deco style overall. The theatre itself is ancient Greek style. There are many recreations of various temples and other Greek structures that run along the walls. The Theatre is an atmospheric and the stars depict the symbols of the zodiac.

I explained this all in my post above...scroll up. I think one of the things I love about this theatre is the way it is divided. The original owners divided the auditorium UNDER the balcony, thus leaving much of the main auditorium intact.

Did you get pictures of the inside? If so, then you know what I am referring to. It is a beautiful theatre and I am happy to see that it is being saved and it will be undergoing a full restoration and expansion soon that will enable it to do bigger and better live shows.

RON--The Latchis family sold the theatre and hotel in 2003. So they no longer own the building. However, since they had it so long IS the reason why the building remains in excellent condition. The new owners are very estatic about the building and as you can see, measures are already being taken to fully restore the building. For me it makes me happy to know that this building will be loved and cared for many years to come. It is a 'must see' visit if you are in the area. But be careful if you bring your car into town, parking in Brattleboro isn't the greatest, especially around peak quitting time and a good part of the afternoon. At night it is much better though and the town "quiets down". Most of the parking that is available you have to pay for.

But overall, Brattleboro is a cool town and there is an excellent restaurant by the bridge and you eat on the roof of the building overlooking the river. It is an awesome place. With the exception of the parking, Brattleboro is a great town and they have many historic buildings.

Wilmington and Bellows Falls are also nice historic towns to look at while you are in Vermont. I mention some sights above as well

GEo

Geo1, could you please look into my profile for my email address and send those pictures you have of the Latchis? I cannot find your contact info in your profile.

Hello Geo....I don't have any interior photos of this theater. Do you have a Photobucket account? If not, you can get one at no cost which is the same as Free. :) Then you can host your photos there and post links to those photos here. This is the website if your interested.

Hello Lost, Roland.

Photobucket? Yeah I heard of them...but I have ALOT of pictures. Not just a few. Is there a limit to a free account? I took pictures of the lobby, all three auditoriums, the stage/backstage areas. Projection booth...etc. Lots of good stuff.

Geo

I don't know how many photos you can have in a free Photobucket account Geo. It should be at least a few hundred.

Hello Lost
No I dont have THAT many, but I have quite a few. Some pictures are a bit dark though. Keep in mind I didn't have a pro camera with me. But I have lighted up most of the pictures so you can see some detailing.

The Latchis is a very unique theatre. I would almost say it is up there with the rest of the picture palaces. While not as massive and overpowering as most golden age theatres are, it it rich in character.

Unfortunately the week I went to Brattleboro, the rather boring "A Scanner Darkly" was playing and I didn't go for an actual screening. But the tour was LOADS of fun and I got to see what most people dont.

Vermont has alot of theatres that are a must see. Two I didn't get to see where the Rutland Paramount and Vermont's crown jewel, the Burlington Flynn.

Geo

Hello guys,

Sorry I almost forgot about the pictures.

If you want the pictures for the Latchis, I will send them to you, but I need your email addresses. I am not going to bother with photo bucket. I have ALOT of pictures and I would have to send them to you via many zipped packages. Also you will need high speed internet connection or you will be up all night downloading.

The pictures are full shot 800 by 600 so they will take up quite a bit of space on a hosting site anyway.

Oh! I do have a You Tube and a Yahoo account, but again I am not sure what Yahoo's bandwidth restrictions are and I am not even sure that you tube will handle pictures. I only think they do video.

Geo

An Estey theater organ opus 1849 size 2/12 was installed in the Latchis Theater in 1920 at a cost of $3,800.

Could somebody post some pictures of the interior, especially the atmospheric balcony area?

The Latchis has opened a 4th screen in the store space to the immediate left (south) of the lobby entrance. It is being used for performing arts shows, particularly during the monthly Gallery Walks. Hopefully they will eventually start showing movies there too. The other three screens continue to show first run movies, frequently getting the big releases (Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc.). As part of the greek revival theme, the walls in the inner lobby, staircase and 2nd floor mezzanine are done as plaster stone blocks. The ones in the stairwell and upper area have never been repainted, and still show the skillfull shaded paint scheme which makes them look very realistic (they're still pristine after 70 years, still look brand new!) The ones on the first floor have been painted cream, and it's quite a difference. It shows how much better a restoration would look if they, hopefully, choose to recreate the original color scheme and not just put on a quick coat of paint.

The ceiling is painted blue, could use a new coat as the paint they used to cover cracks does not match. They did repaint the constellations, but I have never seen the stars turned on. The setas in the main auditorium are original and pretty beat up. It would look great when restored.

I was passing through last week and it looks like Spectrum did a great job of describing what I saw. I had always seen pictures of atmospheric theatres but to be inside one made me so elated and sad and humble. The seats were beat up but some were newer looking. The tile inlay in the lobby, the outside ticket booth, shiny floors, murals, large wooden poster holders and statues were very memorable -especially the zodiac in the lobby on the floor. The kid working had no idea about the place or what atmospheric meant until I explained it to him. He answered phones very uncaringly.

Facing the stage on the left corner under the Roman arches was a lifesize old man ticket taker behind a podium. Perhaps this was a former owner? Since there wasn't an adequate source of lighting in the center of the ceiling (although the house lights were on), I couldn't get a good picture of the proscenium but the zodiac above was beautiful.

The other 2 theaters were strangely placed, as I've never seen theaters do that before. One was placed behind the statue in the lobby facing down to the left. Apparently, they moved the wall back and got rid of many of the rows of seats from the back of the auditorium and it slopes down under the lobby. The other theater upstairs was across from the balcony in the former hotel space. The balcony was intact through the windows but it wasn't open.

Outside of the theater, from the bridge on the other side of the river, there were mini-murals in the boarded up windows, depicting inside theatre scenes. On the top was a window that read, "Latc Now Sh Latchis For The" and continued on the other window to its right continued with, "his Owing Center Arts." I thought that was cute. To the right of that on a separate piece of building was another pair of windows, much closer together that said "Latchis Theater" and below were the lobby doors. Above that were 2 more windows which depciting 3 sections of auditorium seats with the proscenium and blue background behind the proscenium. The last mural above that was 3 windows close together depicting the statue from the lobby with the curtains raised above it.

Saps, I took over 20 pics and would be happy to email you some of them! Email me at shoeshoe14@yahoo.com

Hello shoeshoe14

I had the "Grand Tour" of this theatre when I was first up in Vermont. It is a very unique theatre and it was one that always stuck in my mind. First the unique atmospheric design and second in the placement of the 2nd and 3rd screens.

The Latchis theatre also had a ballroom at one time (when it was just a single screen. The ballroom was upstairs and across from the theatre. This is what is now theatre 2 and explains the odd positioning of that theatre.

The Latchis family obviously love their theatre and strived to keep it's beauty intact. So they took a unique approach to dividing the theatre's space. The result of their efforts is remarkable and it is something I will ALWAYS keep in my mind for a way to split a theatre while retaining much of it's historic integrity.

Back in the 70's and 80's when theatres realized that they had to split them to show two (or more) movies at once to cover costs, they did anything to attain that goal. So many old theatre's were tastelessly split down the middle, or at the balcony level (or both). This method utterly destroys the original integrity of the theatre. But the Latchis family was VERY smart. They figured that they could reduce the main theatre's excessive seating, gain functional additional space (in the form of another screen), AND still keep 85% of the theatre still intact. The result, make use of the otherwise dead space below the balcony. Now that was just one facet, but how the plan was implemented was sheer genius at work. If you were not told that the Latchis was split, you would come to the quick conclusion that the theatre was designed that way. That is how seamless the division is and it doesn't hurt the main space as the grandeur of the full balcony and the atmospheric theatre's ceiling remain fully intact.

Listen up to all you theatre restoration experts. If you need space THIS is the RIGHT way to divide a theatre.

For this reason alone the Latchis will always remain in my mind as a prime example of a very smart decision on a balance between obtaining more usable space without botching the historic appearance of a classic theatre.

So the Latchis theatre will always get a double thumbs up for this move.

Geo

Not to be redundant, but yes again. It dumbfounded me to see the way they split it up. I cocked my head in disbelief when I saw the auditorium intact and when I saw the balcony off limits with no movie showing, I was confused until I heard a movie and turned and saw it across from the balcony upstairs. Very strange and very nice.

Yes, for me it was a vision of pure genius at work there and at that point I had not seen it before. It was something so simple yet almost always overlooked. Nowadays I always use the Latchis as a reference for anyone that wants to restore an old theatre that has a balcony, but they need more functional space to make the project a worthwhile (meaning profitable) venture.

I know the purists would disagree and most want to have a theatre bolt for bolt nut for nut restored. But what many purists do not realize is that any theatre project MUST function as a business or else it will cease to exist. And that is the story for most of the glorious picture palaces that were lost.

So it is a constant war going on between historical accuracy, restoration and operation as a business.

Going multi-functional is always a sure fire way to keep an old theatre in business, but extra space is always a major consideration.

The idea behind the Latchis and it's under balcony theatre is pure genius at work, by more so it proved that the Latchis family was thinking about the historical significance of their theatre and everything they possibly could to keep it running while maintaining it's historical integrity.

So this is a message that goes out to all "would be" theatre restorers. Go to Brattleboro Vermont and closely examine the Latchis Theatre. There are many many many construction ideas there that can be put in a classic structure while still maintaining much of it's historic integrity.

It does go without saying the Latchis is one of my favorite theatre buildings. Outside of it's unique design it also has a very unique auditorium. The wall murals and structures are asymetric and the ceiling depicts constellations as opposed to just stars. Sadly, when I was there the ceiling wasn't operational, but they do intend to make it as such as the theatre is slowly undergoing a restoration.

Geo

Here is a recent photo of the Latchis Auditorium:

http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/latchis.jpg

Unfortunately it does not show most of the great murals and plasterwork on the sidewalls that evoke the outdoor greek scene, or the top of the greek pediment on the proscenium. Also, the statue of the ticket taker was not at the left of the proscenium when the photo was taken (He's there now; still don't know who he is). It actually loooks a lot bigger when you enter the auditorium than in this photo. Once the auditorium is restored it will look quote impressive. It's a very classic look considering it was built in 1938. The theatre even retains that distinctive smell (old plaster and buttered popcorn) that can only be enjoyed in the few remaining old theatres that still show movies.

The THSA lists the opening date of the Latchis in Brattleboro as Sept. 22, 1938, 1200 seats.

1983 photo of the Latchis Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c45%2c3%2c-1&ProductID=34735

Here is another 1983 photo.

Here's a nice gallery of photos:

http://www.brattleboroarts.org/galleryext.html

On behalf of Brattleboro Arts Initiative, the non-profit organization which owns the Latchis, it is wonderful to read the inspiring comments on Cinema Treasures comments pages. Please allow me to bring you up to date with some of the Latchis' recent endeavors.
The Latchis Theatre is currently campaigning to raise funds for a new marquee and a fourth theater. One of the Cinema Treasures comments mentions the "unpretentious" facade. That is polite way of describing our marquee. A new marquee would relate the facade of the building much better to the wonderful interior art-greco style of the theater and add a real spark to bustling downtown Brattleboro. I also see a comment relating to our new performing arts room. BAI has designed a new, cutting edge, multi-use theater in this room. It has the original terrazzo floor and its own access to Main St. It is time to start building. We have raised money to begin but we need more for completion. If anyone knows of organizations or individuals who might be interested in helping, please let us know!
Recently, an interesting article was written in Northampton's Valley Advocate. It also included several wonderful panoramic photos of the building. Check out http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9854 .
Thank you for you enthusiasm! Please feel free email (gail@brattleboroarts.com) or drop by 50 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 anytime! Thank you, Ben James, BAI President

Re: the Marquee and incorrect spelling of Theatre: The Latchis Theatre was always spelled ending "re" not "er". When this marquee was ordered the sign printing company thought they were correcting a misspelling, and they changed it to Theater. A correct sign was never ordered and the wrong one remains. Be assured that any new Marquee will have the correct spelling.

This is another 1983 photo.