United Theatre
5 Canal Street,
Westerly,
RI
02891
5 Canal Street,
Westerly,
RI
02891
4 people
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United Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Functions: Live Music Venue, Live Theatre, Movies
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
401.388.8208
Nearby Theaters
The United Theatre opened in 1926 and and was equipped with a Moller organ. It closed down in 1986. It then sat, forlorn and abandoned, despite its location in hip downtown Westerly.
Dr. Carlos Brogna bought this theatre, along with the rest of the block it sits on, in 1996 with a promise to reopen it as a live music theatre by 2000. Four years after the United Theatre’s promised rebirth no work had been done. Supposedly he was in negotiations with a local group to use it as a live performance space. It was reopened in 2014 and by 2021 was programing movies and music events.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 37 comments)
Christmas party for 700 kids at the United Theatre in 1936.
PARTY
Last April the theatre was open to the public briefly, as reported in this article in The Westerly Sun, which includes a photo of the interior. ARTICLE
The United can be seen, briefly, in “Lolita” (l962, directed by Stanley Kubrick). James Mason (as Humbert Humbert) narrates: “…I decided to spend a peaceful summer in the attractive resort town of Ramsdale, New Hampshire.” A shot of Westerly is used to represent Ramsdale. The camera shows a taxi driving down Railroad Avenue, then turning left onto Canal Street. The camera shot follows the taxi, and the United is seen on the left side of the picture. The scene is very brief, at the 12 minute-30 second mark.
What company operated this theater during the early 1980s?
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater, it’s Card # 560. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. The condition is Good. The theater is over 15 years old, and shows MGM films. There were 600 orchestra seats and 375 balcony seats, total 975. The 1940 population of Westerly was 11,100.
The United Theatre has been reopened for quite a while now and should no longer be listed as closed. Their website: http://www.theunitedtheatre.org/
Does anyone remember the boxing ring on the Lower level?
http://www.unitedtheatre.org/
United Theatre returns to life: https://rifoundation.org/stories/a-cultural-icon-of-the-arts-comes-back-to-life
In August 2021 the United Theatre re-opened as a multi-use arts facility for film, theatre, music and more. This all follows a multi-million dollar restoration. https://www.unitedtheatre.org/