Parkway Plaza Theatre
Bradlees Plaza,
Chelsea,
MA
02150
Bradlees Plaza,
Chelsea,
MA
02150
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Through the Sixties a first run movie house, then in the late Seventies, became a porn theatre.
Contributed by
Jeffrey Swartz
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
The Parkway Plaza was the successor to the Olympia Theatre which was located on Broadway in Chelsea.. It was a first run theatre run by M & P and susequently by New England Theatres when M & P was broken up …… Eventually they closed the Olympia and built the Parkway Plaza
What was the name of the theatre on broadway in chelsea? You can still a sign on the building that says “cinema” and a theater entrance as well.
there’s a bakery in the space now. Was it the strand?
it was the strand
Just as an aside..Broadway Chelsea had 4 theatres,, The Olympia, The Broadway, The Strand and the Chelsea
The Parkway Plaza Theatre did indeed close in 1987. The city tore it down due to concerns over safety and a huge tax bill owed by the owner.
The plaza around the former theatre does well despite it’s “inconvenient” location. It’s actually very convenient from Rts. 1, 16, 107 and is off of two major MBTA bus routes so it’s drivable and reachable. There was a five year gap between the closing of Bradlees and the opening of Home Depot that was a low point for the plaza but it has rebounded nicely and should be expanding in the near future with a new renewed enthusiasm from the city, residents, customers, and the new owners.
Regarding the former Chelsea cinemas:
The Broadway was torn down, it’s now partly a public alley and partly a pub.
The Strand was torn down too, it’s now a parking lot.
The Olympic is abandoned and empty, it’s hard to tell it was ever a theatre as it’s masked by the cheap restaurants below.
The theatre that houses a bakery below is called the Hawthorne is housed in a former Masonic temple. The exterior was recently renovated but it is unclear whether the theatre has been renovated as well or if it lays abandonedTheatre and is house
I went by the site today and to my surprise part of the marquis for the Strand is still standing, it’s attatched to a pole as part of the parking lot but it’s shape is clearly the same as the old marquis…never noticed this until now and I pass by it all the time.
Has there been any movement to revive, renovate, re-open the theatre on Broadway?
I’m not sure which one you mean, but if you have information about any other theatres in Chelsea, please add them to this site (as separate entries).
Seating was around 800. Architect was Henry George Greene, and the original owner was New England Theatres, Inc. Originally, the theater was to be named through a contest, but it would seem that never happened. Opened around fall of 1963.