Loew's College Theatre
262 College Street,
New Haven,
CT
06510
262 College Street,
New Haven,
CT
06510
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The Moving Picture World of October 4, 1912, reported that the Hyperion Theatre had begun its final season as a legitimate house. It was to be operated by the Shuberts until May 1, 1914, when the lease would expire, and then be taken over by S. Z. Poli, to be operated as a movie and vaudeville house (the new Shubert Theatre opened in 1914.) The Hyperion’s career as a stage house was not entirely over, though, as I’ve found references to a repertory season being presented there by Poli in 1920.
Here is a fresh link to the 1951 Boxoffice item with photo that Gerald DeLuca linked to earlier. The item says that the seating capacity of Loew’s recently-remodeled Poli-College Theatre had been reduced from 1,400 to 1,250.
Thanks for the boxoffice photo Gerald.
Boxoffice magazine, August 7, 1961, has a photo of the interior.
View link
In New Haven 1960s you only needed three theaters [four, if you include the POST DRIVE-IN] to get the best out of ‘60s movies: the CROWN, LAWRENCE and LOEW’S COLLEGE, so named because it was on [surprise !] College Street which itself was named for Yale, which was a half-block away. We lived on Lake Place, back of the Payne-Whitney Gym, so I could walk to the COLLEGE and did, often. LOEW’S COLLEGE was THE REAL DEAL for getting the goodness from '60s movies, here’s just a few that I can remember seeing in this biggest/best downtown theater [the Paramount, around the corner was bigger, but its bookings could NOT compare]:GOLDFINGER, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, A STRANGER IN TOWN, STRANGER RETURNS, DEVIL DOLL, BURN !, CROSS & THE SWITCHBLADE, WHERE’S POPPA ?—-the term “eclectic” does not do justice to the canyon-wide variety of the COLLEGE’S offerings. Now, I’m not a sentimental man: I never go back, it’s not healthy. But I had some family business which took me back to New Haven for the first time in decades. Not only had they closed the COLLEGE, they’d turned the lobby into an Organic Health Food store [hawk-ptoo]—-with lots of activist/advocate posters, flyers, etc. And hipsters ! In my theater lobby ! [ Question: Why do these health-food characters always look like they’re in the final stages of some fatal wasting disease ? ] I hadn’t carried a gun in years, but I thought, “Me and my M-16, oh yeah, this is worth jail.”
I like the name.
NY Times September 4, 1977
HARTFORD: THE DECISION by Loews Theaters, New York, to shut down the College Theater in downtown New Haven for the ump teenth time while determining the movie theater’s future, points up the markedly winnowing away of what was once a firmly entrenched element in Connecticut entertainment—downtown motion picture theaters.
If you look at the map link in the introduction, Yale University is several blocks from the site of Loew’s College. In the map at least, Yale appears to be to the north of the theatre.
Was this theater located near Yale University? This is a 1998 story about the collapse of a Hyperion Theater. “The accident occurred when a loose truss beam gave way inside the Hyperion Theater, a turn of the century opera house and later movie theater”.
There’s a picture of the Hyperion in Images of America: New Haven on page 12.
I checked out this theater in the City Directories and it goes back to 1880. It seems this theater as well as 2 others were the first theaters which then showed vaudeville and silents years later.
I am trying to figure out where this photo of a “Hyperion Theater” is. Is this the Loews College, former Hyperion in New Haven? The only other Hyperion I can find on the site is in Corona, NY, and I doubt that is the Hyperion in this photo:
Here’s the photo:
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If this first opened in 1880, it must have been a Loew’s take-over. Marcus Loew was only ten years old in 1880!
Right. Maher, forgot to add that. That’s actually a Middle Eastern name, but whatever. The building next door reminds me of Hansel and Gretel architecture of the witches' house, doesn’t it?
The building above, now an Irish gift shop, was the lobby of the Loew’s College. The auditorium was demolished after it was announced that it would be turned into condominiums. If you look at the picture, the building to the immediate right (currently boarded up) looks MUCH more ‘theatrical’ than the Loew’s building. I’m guessing the lobby building of the theatre existed before the auditorium, as the letters “MAHER” appear on the top, just above the windows.
I was there yesterday but the street number advertised on this site doesn’t match what it is today. The one next to it was what I presumed it to be but it was boarded up for some future work. If you go behind this row of buildings I couldn’t tell if it was a theater or not. I’m guessing the auditorium was torn down if it was of that variety.
The Loew’s College Theatre seated 1411 people.
Please note that the photo you show as the College Street Cinema in New Haven is incorrect. It is the front of what was the Loews College Theatre (Hyperion) The College Street Cinema was located in the Roger Sherman Office Building that was to the left of the Loews College in the picture. Access to this theatre was through the commercial building lobby.
The Palace Theatre ( Roger Sherman) was also in this building with its own entrance. I worked as an usher at the Loews College when I was a teen.