Cabot Street Cinema Theatre
286 Cabot Street,
Beverly,
MA
1915
286 Cabot Street,
Beverly,
MA
1915
5 people
favorited this theater
Belying an elegant lobby and sizable interior, the Cabot Street Cinema’s facade doesn’t do justice to this local gem. The Cabot Street is one of a handful of early-20th century theaters that is still showing movies in an area known more for its megaplexes.
The Cabot Street has been open almost continuously since 1920, and was only closed briefly in the 1970’s before the Le Grande David magic troupe bought and refurbished the theater for their magic shows. The famous magic troupe continues today and the theater also shows a large mixture of films to compliment the stage acts.
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
PS from ASONGBIRD…
….or —of course —-anyone else who has info on the early Salem theatres (after 1896).
thanks
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre has an exterior photo dated May 1941 when it was the Ware Theatre. There was a rectangular marquee with “Ware” in huge letters on the front. There was also a vertical blade sign above. The attraction is “Virginia”. The Report states that the theatre was at 286 Cabot St., that it has been playing MGM product for over 10 years; that it’s over 15 years old, and is in Good condition. There are 750 seats on the main floor and 450 in the balcony, total: 1200 seats. The patronage is “Class” (meaning “high-class”). A competing theatre in Beverly is the Larcom Th. The 1940 population of Beverly was 25,500.
The Boston Sunday Herald of Feb. 18, 2007 has an article titled “Le Grand David’s spectacular longevity no illusion” by Lauren B. Falcone which states that the matinee performance of Feb. 18th at the Cabot Street Theatre will mark the 30th anniversary of the Le Grand David magic shows on stage. There are Sunday matinees at the Cabot St. while a different show plays on Thursdays at the Larcom Theatre nearby.
Here is a recent close-up view of the Cabot Street Cinema.
This is another photo of the Cabot Street Cinema.
A few more photos are here.
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/q4nkj4
The name given on this theaters website is Cabot Street Cinema Theatre.
Opened Dec. 8, 1920.
Cesareo Pelaez, who played Marco the Magi in the Le Grand David company, died March 24 after a long illness. He was 79 and appeared in shows on stage in Cuba as a youth. He founded the Le Grand David magic shows in the 1970s and purchased the Cabot Street Cinema, and later, the nearby Larcom Theatre in Beverly. He is survived by his godson, David Bull, the “David” in the troupe’s name. Obit from the Boston Herald, 3-28-2012.