Comments about Alcazar Theater in Naugatuck, CT

PaperMemories on May 6, 2012 at 5:52 pm

The building suffered serious damage as the result of the 1955 flood, and had to be taken down. The Route 8 highway goes over the spot where the Alcazar had been.

Joe Vogel on November 8, 2011 at 7:24 am

A book called “History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut,” published in 1918, presents a glowing description of the Alcazar in its early years:

“THE ALCAZAR THEATER.

“The Alcazar theater, conducted by George F. Rabbott, is one of the most attractive amusement houses of Naugatuck and in fact is a most conspicuous monument to the silent drama. It is splendidly housed in a building that was constructed expressly for the purpose in 1913 by F. H. Brothers, of Waterbury, and the new theater first opened its doors to the public on the 30th of August of that year. It is located on North Main street, a few doors from Maple street, and the building is handsomely designed. It is fifty-two by eighty-five feet, two stories in height, and the most perfect ventilation system has been installed. This includes an exhaust fan forty-eight inches in diameter which is capable of renewing with fresh air each cubic foot of space in the building every four minutes. The theater has five exits on the ground floor and there is also a spacious and attractive lobby. The seating capacity of the house, including the gallery, is about seven hundred. A Mirroroid screen has been installed and the projection of the pictures is absolutely perfect, due largely to the use of two of the newest and most expensive type of motion picture projecting machines and also to the skill of an expert operator. Thorough study of the situation on the part of the management has led to the most absolutely perfect results that can be attained. The booth from which the pictures are projected is situated in the gallery and is of steel and asbestos construction, thus being absolutely fireproof. An orchestra of from five to eight pieces furnishes a musical program in keeping with the high class of entertainment provided. The management of the theater has followed the policy of exhibiting only pictures of the very highest standard in which the leading film actors are represented. Many attractive serials have been presented and the production is at all times of the highest grade, such as would prove attractive to the most cultured taste.”

The portion of North Main Street on which the Alcazar Theatre was located has been wiped out by a modern highway. Google Maps places its pin icon a considerable distance north of the actual location of the theater.

Joe Vogel on November 1, 2011 at 5:26 am

The timing and location are right for the following announcement in the “Building News” section of the January 8, 1913, issue of The American Architect to have been about the Alcazar Theatre:

“Naugatuck.—Plans are being prepared by Architects Clark and Beckwith for a new moving picture theater to be erected on North Main St. by Julius Barbario. The new theater will be erected on the east side of North Main St.”

kencmcintyre on March 19, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Here is a photo from a contemporaneous news story in January 1952:
http://tinyurl.com/cjvwws

Alcazar Theater

15 N. Main Street, Naugatuck, CT 06770

15 N. Main Street,
Naugatuck, CT 06770