Warner Theatre
343 State Street,
Bridgeport,
CT
06604
343 State Street,
Bridgeport,
CT
06604
No one has favorited this theater yet
The Warner was on State Street near where Housatonic Community College is now located. The Warner Theatre, one of several built in Connecticut, seated 1336 when it opened on August 17, 1938.
Closed in May 1963, it has been demolished.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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 9 comments)
I show the Warner as also being known as the Cameo at one time.
One of the best days I ever spent as a kid was attending a double feature here of “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” with “The Lost World”, then spending the rest of the day at Pleasure Beach. What more could a kid ask for?
I should mention that, through most of the fifties, the “WARNER” was tied in with the “MERRITT” on Main street in the North End, both showing the same double-bills.
There was an ad for Warner-Merritt in the 11/18/47 edition of the Bridgeport Telegram. The feature was “That Hagen Girl”, a creepy film starring Ronald Reagan and Shirley Temple. At the end of the movie, you can’t figure out if Ron is her father or her boyfriend.
Opened 17 August 1938 and the architect was John Eberson.
The seating capacity was listed in the Film Daily Yearbooks;1941 & 1943 editions as 1,415. They also list it as being operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp., as was the Merritt Theatre in Bridgeport.
This was in the Bridgeport Telegram on 5/30/63:
Theater Sold by Warner
The Redevelopment agency announced yesterday it has acquired the Warner theater building, 343 State Street just east of Lafayette Street, in the “core” area of the State street urban renewal project. A deed on file In the town clerk’s office listed the purchase
price at $160,000. James H. Tobin, manager of the theater (and also of the Merritt theater on upper Main Street) said the Warner will close its doors after the final film presentation on Sunday night. A co-feature of the presentation is “The Last Sunset.”
Personal equipment, such as projectors, sound equipment and office furnishings, will be removed from the Warner theater within a month after the closing on Sunday, it was indicated. Purchase of the Warner theater, announced by Redevelopment Coordinator Joseph M. Dearborn, was made from the Connecticut Theatrical corporation, formerly the Warner Brothers Theaters, Inc.
Any photos?
I remember seeing “The Ten Commandments” at the Warner-had to sit in the balcony it was so crowded. Also, for a Vincent Price thriller they strung a line from the balcony down to the orchestra with a skeleton moving up and down!
One of the last movies I saw there was “It Happened in Naples”, with Clark Gable and Sophia Loren.