Palace Theatre

Joe Vogel on March 11, 2011 at 3:36 am

In its issue of July 24, 1915, trade journal Moving Picture World mentions both a Palace Theatre and a Park Theatre operating in Bangor. It mentions Mr. Allen being the manager of the Palace, so that must be this theater on Exchange Street. The Park Theatre must have been the one at the corner of Park and State Street that Roger Katz mentions in his comment above.

The July 12, 1913 issue of Moving Picture World has an item about Mr. Pope McKinnon and his plans to build a new Palace Theatre in Bangor to replace the house of the same name he was then operating. At first I thought I’d discovered the source of the name confusion, and that the old Palace was the house on Park Street, and the new Palace was this house on Exchange Street, and when it opened the old Palace was renamed the Park, but then I found a later Moving Picture World item which suggests that Mr. McKinnon opened his new house as the Star Theatre, and the old Palace remained the Palace, at least for that time. Here’s the July 12, 1913 article:

“Mr. Pope McKinnon, a real estate dealer, and owner of the Palace Theater, a photoplay house, of Bangor, Me., is finding business very good. On this account McKinnon hns decided to give the Bangor photoplay fans a new house that will be modern, up-to-date and thoroughly fireproof. Plans have been made and accepted by McKinnon, calling for a house to seat 1,500 people, built on a lot of land 60 by 174 by 41. The new house will be known as the New Palace and should be ready for its opening by September 15. Arthur Allen, who has been running the Palace Theater so ably in Mr. McKinnon’s interests, will have charge of the new house. Vaudeville and moving pictures will be the policy. Bangor can easily stand a modern theater and the New Palace has every chance to be a money-making proposition. Manager Allen is very popular with his patrons, as he always tries to deliver the goods In the shape of good programs. The New Palace will cost about $50,000.”

And here is the January 17, 1914, Moving Picture World item about the opening of Pope McKinnon’s Star Theatre:

Contrary to the general announcement, the new Star Theater, Bangor, Me., did not open on December 24, for the simple reason that It was not possible to complete it In time. The house seats 1,600, and putting on the finishing touches proved anything but an easy task. A large force of workmen rushed the 1,600 odd seats in, but it took a long time to drill them into the concrete floor. The house opened on Christmas Day, with Mutual films, two singers and a six-piece orchestra. The Star is spacious and comfortable, as the seats are placed far apart, and give a perfect view of the screen from every part of the theater. The walls are light green and the celling is white. A modern system of ventilation is one of the features. Pope McKinnon, formerly owner of the Palace Theater, is the proprietor, and has secured as manager, Howard F. Atkinson, formerly in charge of the Nickel Theater, at Bangor. The entire 1,600 seats are on the ground floor, and good business is anticipated.“

So there’s a puzzle. There is no Star Theatre in Bangor listed at Cinema Treasures, nor any Bangor theater with Star listed as an aka. What became of these three theaters? Which of them had which names at which time? Where in Bangor was the Star Theatre located? I haven’t found the Star mentioned after 1914, so maybe McKinnon soon decided to name it the Palace after all, and it is this house on Exchange Street. I haven’t found the Palace mentioned after 1915. I found a single mention of the Park on Park Street in 1919. Thats as far as Ive been able to get. Maybe somebody else will be able to find out more. Right now Bangor is giving me a headache.

I’ve been unable to find either the Palace, the Park, or the Star mentioned in any issues of Boxoffice. It’s possible that one, two, or all three of them might have been either closed or renamed before the issues of Boxoffice currently available in their online archive (1936 and later) were published.

lostmemory on July 7, 2009 at 5:01 pm

Here is some fluff from 1915:

Manager Allen of the Palace Theater, Bangor, Me., pulled off the “giving away a baby” stunt with success during the past week, as did Mrs. Imogene Pettengill, proprietor of the Strand Theater, at Ellsworth, Me.

I heard of giving away dishes but this sounds a little silly. I don’t know if they actually gave away a baby or not. Times sure were different in 1915. :)