York Theater
469 Main Street,
Athol,
MA
01331
469 Main Street,
Athol,
MA
01331
1 person
favorited this theater
Opened on September 12, 1930 and listed as operating after 1950, the York Theater building is currently used as a bowling alley and a bar/lounge.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
This building is for sale. Details can be found here. Photos included.
In the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook there are no less than 3 movie venues listed under Athol MA: the Lyric Theatre with 800 seats, the Opera House with 1100 seats, and the YMCA Auditorium with 250 seats. (in the 1897-98 Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide, the Athol Opera House is listed with 800 seats, so perhaps it was the Lyric which had 1100). All of these must have been considered obsolete, so that’s why the York was opened.
The Theatre Historical Society of America has some info about Athol theaters compiled by long-time member the late Brother Andrew Corsini. He wrote that the York Theatre was opened on Sept. 12, 1930, designed by Albert J. Smith, with 1200 seats. There was also a Capitol Th. in Athol, designed by Mowl & Rand, and opened in Feb. 1930 with 1225 seats. The Lyric Theatre was originally the Academy of Music,had 750 seats and was open from 1907 to 1933. The Athol Opera House, later the Athol Theatre, had 676 seats and was open from 1897 to 1929.
Still for sale. Here is an updated link.
The website now shows the building as no longer available. Hopefully it means it has been sold. The page describes the building as 20,900 square feet, with the auditorium, its balcony and the italianate decor intact. The building includes a bar which is currently operating. a town-owned 200 car parking lot is immediately behind the building.
Just got the following note from a friend of mine in MA: “I was at Michael’s class reunion on Saturday. It was at the old York theatre in Athol, MA. They are remodeling it and have made part of it a candlepin bowling alley and another part a bar/lounge. The rest is the gutted theatre. They said it is registered as a historical theatre. This was their first special event and the grand opening was the following day. The have done a great job with the remodeling to date. For instance they took 3-4 months to designing the bar. The curve of the bar matches the circular pattern in the original ceilings and they found fixtures in old storage rooms and cleaned them up and installed them.”
I am hoping to find more info on this.