Bellevue Theatre
536 Dexter Street,
Central Falls,
RI
02863
536 Dexter Street,
Central Falls,
RI
02863
1 person
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A long-defunct neighborhood theatre in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
Any information about this theatre would be appreciated.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 31 comments)
The red brick building is the Bellevue Theater. The parking lot is where Najarians 5 & 10 was.
Mr. P, thank you very much. Sometimes you can loook at an old builking and say to yourself, “This was a theatre,” because of some external evidence like a scenery tower. Here there is nothing evident. Do you know about what year the Bellevue closed? I never went to the Bellevue and am from Johnston. I have a keen interest in old RI theatres. Here you can see my FLICKR SET of pictures on that topic.
I would guess that it closed in the fifties. I moved to Cumberland in 1948 and it was still going strong. I’d have to say around 1955.
Well, of all places to get some photo opt. I recently bought a magazine commemorating the soldiers and shipmates from the Pawtucket/Central Falls area.
Keep in mind that it was published in June of 1921. One can then deduce that the Bellevue had to run the very early flickrs and silents.
For the non French among us, the wording reads Compliments of Bellevue Theater, Walter J. Cooper, owner-manager, Dexter Street, Central Falls, RI.
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Item in Boxoffice magazine, October 9, 1954:
“Melvin Safner of the Safner circuit has taken over the Bellevue Theatre, Central Falls, R.I. on a long term lease. This theatre has been operated for many years by the late Phil Marget and now makes the second house in that city to be operated by the Safners, who have the Lafayette Theatre there.”
Operators of various theatres in the Pawtucket-Lincoln-Valley Falls area in 1951, gave their opinions on ways to combat the effects of TV on their theatres. Written as a report for the Pawtucket Times, the results were also reported in Boxoffice magazine in the issue of January 27, 1951:
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This theatre was part of the September 1923 6th Paramount Week. In this advertisement from the (Providence) Evening Tribune, September 1, 1923, we see a fascinating list of Rhode Island area theatres, many long-gone and long-forgoten, or even unheard of, as well as what they were showing during that week. CLICK HERE and move image to see all theatres.
“Scratch house”
Reminiscence of the Bellevue Theatre by Lester C. Boyd as noted in the Providence Journal of September 26, 1985:
“Speaking of Central Falls, some readers may recall that a few weeks ago I reminisced in this space about the Bellevue Theater. The other day Norman Shorrock, who was one of the gang that used to walk from Saylesville to Central Falls on Saturday afternoons to go to the Bellevue, dropped in the office to remind me that our name for the theater was ‘The Scratch House,’ the implication being that you were likely to encounter creatures that would set you to scratching. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.”
Announcements of what’s playing at Pawtucket and Central Falls movie theatres in November, 1921:
LISTINGS IN PROVIDENCE NEWS
A 1919 Providence News article reported on certain Central Falls and Valley Falls theatres violating the state prohibition on Sunday film exhibition. READ ARTICLE HERE