Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square,
Somerville,
MA
02144
55 Davis Square,
Somerville,
MA
02144
20 people
favorited this theater
Opened on May 11, 1914, with 1,100 seats, this neighborhood movie palace was home to plays, opera, and vaudeville before going movies-only. Ray Bolger danced here live, and Busby Berkeley directed plays here.
The non-theater part of the building housed an old ballroom, that, along with some storefronts, was demolished in the 1980’s to make way for four smaller screens to complement the big original theater, which has a huge balcony, screen, and a lot of style. By 2012, a 31-seat micro screen had been added.
Many concerts happen here, in addition to the current slate of movies. This is a well-maintained and well-loved theater.
Contributed by
Andy Blesser, Loewlife
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Recent comments (view all 161 comments)
Did the Somerville Th. in 1976 have signage at the right end of the building which overlooked the Boston & Maine RR line thru Davis Square? There is a nice photo, taken in 1976, in the new 3rd edition of the book “Lost Railroads of New England” by Ronald Dale Karr (Branch Line Press, Pepperall MA) which seems to show the edge of a theater marquee. The photo caption merely says “Davis Square, Somerville, 1976” and illustrates the B&M freight line which was obliterated by the extension of the MBTA Red Line. I can’t tell if the photographer was facing east or west (probably east). The track crosses the street, protected by gates and flashers; the “SOM—” sign is up on the extreme right- there is space for 6 lines of lettering. Across the street is a 2-story brick RR signal tower and beyond it is another grade crossing. Where was the Somerville Theatre is relation to this track back then?
The track ran across Holland Street right where the Red Line entrance is now, through what’s now the plaza in the middle of Davis Square, and across College Ave. right where that Red Line entrance is now (then down what’s now the busway and Community Path going east).
Here are a 1956 photo and a 1976 photo for comparison — note that the attached jewelry shop (now demolished) is in both photos.
Yes, Ron that has to be us. The tracks passed within a few yards of the side of the building, and you would indeed have seen the old signal tower in the middle of the square if you were facing that direction.
If you can log in to Facebook, you will find more photos of old Davis Square (including the theatre and the railroad tracks) here and here.
Thanks for your responses. I now know that the 1976 photo is facing east toward Boston. This rail line was used only for freight trains to and from the west; however, I rode over it on an excursion train many years ago. The train was behind schedule and it was getting dark; we raced down the line and Davis Square was just a blur!
According to John Roderick, who provided the Facebook photo sets, the rail line through Davis occasionally saw passenger trains when the Fitchburg main line was closed due to flooding or construction.
Some small commercial buildings that used to be attached to the railroad side of the theatre were demolished for the Red Line. One of them contained a Mexican restaurant called La Pinata.
In the 1918 edition of the Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, under “Theatrical Supply” there is an out-of-town firm listed: O.L. Story Scenic Company Inc., 21 Tufts St. in Somerville. It seems probable that the Somerville Theatre may have been a client of this company.
Last night, the Somerville Theatre and much of surrounding Davis Square were closed to accommodate a Hollywood film crew. They shot a scene for the forthcoming Mark Wahlberg movie TED, in which Mark attends a May 19, 1999 midnight premiere of STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE at the Somerville Theatre.
The marquee and poster boards were changed to reflect this imaginary event. The red SOMERVILLE THEATRE sign over the marquee had its RVILL letters turned off during the shoot. Whether this was done on purpose, I don’t know.
In real life, a Star Wars premiere could never have happened here in 1999, as the Somerville was strictly a second-run house back then.
This is a lovely, exceptionally well-run cinema. In addition to the lovely main auditorium it now (in July 2012) has five screens: Screen 2 – 129 seats, Screen 3 – 194 seats, Screen 4 – 120 seats, Screen 5 – 186 seats and a new screen, called the “Micro”, with 31 seats. In a nice, quirky touch, the ‘Museum of Bad Art’ is housed beneath the original circle!
We have added digital projection to our screens; however we have retained 35mm film projection alongside the digital projectors in houses 3 and 4, and of course in the main theater as well, which can now present 35mm, 70mm, and now digital content. While we would have preferred to remain with film alone, it is clear that the film studios are not supporting that format. However we do intend to book film when available and certainly for classics series, etc.