Elm Theater
924 Quaker Lane South,
West Hartford,
CT
06110
924 Quaker Lane South,
West Hartford,
CT
06110
8 people
favorited this theater
The Elm Theater was built in 1947 and had seating in orchestra and balcony levels. It was twinned in the 1980’s or early 1990’s. After years of success, operated by the Perakos chain, the Elm Theater was felled by competition from new megaplexes built in the 1990’s and finally closed in 2002.
Despite protests from local citizens, the theater was gutted and converted into a Walgreens in November and December of 2004.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 66 comments)
This is a 2009 close-up view.
Jamie, don’t go inside the Walgreens, you’ll be sad. Dropped ceilings, florescent lighting, vinyl tile floors – nothing left of the theatre interior. The Elm sign and a few other bits of memorabilia are just inside the vestibule. Like stuffing and mounting one’s kill after a hunt. Creepy.
Here is another photo of the Walgreens:
http://tinyurl.com/ko7a55
How would you like it if other people raided your Photobucket?
The projection equipment from the Elm is now located in the Belding Theatre two of the Bushnell Performing Arts Centre Theatre. ED Glazer
I am looking for information on who might have owned the Elm Theatre around 1955-1960. When I was a kid during that period I had a friend (Maureen) whose family (an uncle perhaps) was connected with the theatre. She and I would go to the saturday mats. free. It was a huge treat for me since that was the only chance I got to go to the movies. I’m trying to reconnect with Maureen. Does anyone know who might have owned the Elm during this period.?
An ad for Anemostat air diffusers in Boxoffice of May 7, 1949, featured a picture of the Elm’s auditorium. The caption says the theater was designed by New York City architect E.C. Bullock.
I remember going to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it first came out in the 1970’s there. That was my first time there, unfortunately. While the movie was great, what I mainly think of is the theater. I’ve seen alot of films in theaters in the past 30 or so years, but this one sticks with me. I managed to see a few more films there in the subsequent years, but I didn’t live in the area so it was hard.
I worked here as a teen in the early 1960s. Only one screen when I was there. We played Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm twice a day, every day for months.
The Perokas theater chain had 13 theaters and the chain was headquartered at the Palace theater in New Britain.
I took my girlfriend there to see Sound of Music. We had reserved seats, as I recall. Liked the movie, the theater, and the girl.