Crystal Theatre
27-31 Colony Road,
Meriden,
CT
27-31 Colony Road,
Meriden,
CT
2 people
favorited this theater
The Crystal Theatre in Meriden was originally called the Merry Widow. It was open from the early 1900’s through the 1930’s at 27-31 Colony Road. The vacant building that stands on that spot states that it was built in 1885. Therefore, it seems likely, slthough not a 100% certainty, that this building did in fact house the Crystal Theatre many years ago.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
This would be very, very easy to research. The Meriden Library has a terrific and complete collection of back newspapers, either in paper or microfiche. Some records go back to colonial times. Fascinating stuff.
I grew up in Meriden, but I don’t recall ever hearing about the “Crystal Theater.” I’ve been by this particular building thousands of times; it has been largely vacant since the mid-1960s.
As I said above, it closed in the 1930’s, so unless you are quite elderly you wouldn’t have heard about it. I’m not sure if it was a storefront theatre or if an auditorium was carved out of space inside this building or what.
If anyone in Meriden wishes to contact the local newspaper editor, I’m sure he/she would be interested in the work being done online through Cinema Treasures. Meriden and it surrounding towns at one time had many, many theaters and drive-ins. Now, all gone but still remembered. This is a news feature story that could capture interest and make for additional online submissions about these theaters.
I was in my home town, Meriden, recently, and noticed that this building has been demolished. Don’t know if there was a fire, or if it had been condemned. I do know this was a late 1880s/1890s structure that probably hadn’t had a paying tenant for its upper floors in probably 50 years. Meriden used to be a thriving industrial town. What’s left is a ghost town. Very sad that the one town voted in WWII as America’s “Ideal War Community” ended up like this.
Yeah, sadly this was demolished a few years ago.