Bayside Theatre
767 Nantasket Avenue,
Hull,
MA
02045
767 Nantasket Avenue,
Hull,
MA
02045
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The Bayside Theatre was located on Nantasket Avenue, the main street in Hull, an oceanside community to the southeast of Boston. The theatre occupied a large wood-framed structure and was operated by M & P Theatres, a Paramount affiliate. Further information welcomed.
Contributed by
Ron Salters
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The Bayside was included in the MGM Theatre Photograph and Report project. There is an exterior photo taken April 1941. The theatre was in a wood-frame structure which resembles a dance hall or roller rink. The main building has clapboard siding and a peaked roof, with a hip-roofed headhouse in front. There was no marquee, only a billboard on the side. The Report states that the theatre is at 767 Nantasket Ave., that it has been showing MGM films for over 10 years; that it’s over 15 years old, in Fair condition, and has 600 seats, all on one floor. The Report indicates that it is a summer operation. The competing theatre is the Apollo, and the 1940 population of Hull was 2,100. In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Bayside is listed under M&P Theatres, a Paramount affiliate; in Hull/ Allerton. ( This info replaces previous data which was somehow deleted from this page).
The Bayside in Hull is mentioned in the Introduction to a new book “Boston’s Downtown Movie Palaces” by Arthur Singer and Ron Goodman (Arcadia Publishing- Images of America, 2011). Author Singer grew up in Boston and spent summers in Hull. He was a frequent patron at the Bayside. He confirms that it was indeed only open in the summer. He says there was a refreshment stand on the sidewalk and that the theater was an “Upstairs House”: one walked up a flight of steps to a second-floor lobby where tickets were purchased. He said that the Bayside had only 150 seats which is less than what was listed on the 1941 MGM Theatre Report. There was a small projection booth presided over by “Meyer the Projectionist”. Twice a week the ushers changed the movie title lettering and the posters. They wore white shirts and blue pants. Later, at age 14, he became an usher there himself.