The late Donald King, author of a recent book about Boston theatres, saw at least one film (“Treasure Island”, he thought) at the Tremont Temple in the 1920s. He wrote an article about it entitled “Boston’s First Movie Palace”. Charles Grandgent, author of a long essay about Boston theatres in 1932, also attended films at the Tremont Temple.It appears that movies were not presented there continuously, week-in and week-out, but rather on a basis of availability. So, a movie would play there for 3 weeks, then the house would go dark for a short period until the next film would come out. The first Tremont Temple was a conversion around 1827 of the old Tremont Theatre. When it burned down, a second church was erected. When that burned down, a third church opened on the same site, and when that also was destroyed by fire, the present Tremont Temple was constructed and opened in May, 1896. All of these churches had a theatre-like facade. The main auditorium, which served as a cinema long ago, is today called Converse Hall, and has excellent acoustics. In recent years, the “Black Nativity” shows have been presented there during the Christmas season.
After the Central Theatre was opened in 1918, J.J. “Jake” Shubert lived in an apartment up over the lobby entrance. In later years, many of the windows up there were covered with ads. I went to a Saturday afternoon movie showing there in the mid-1980s just to get into the place. There were about 100-plus patrons, maybe more. The house was a little shabby, but not too bad. There was a lot of interesting detail to be seen. Halfway thru the film, a big cat came down the aisle, hopped onto the apron of the stage and padded off into the wings at stage-left. Obviously, the theatre’s mouse patrol.
I knew someone who, in the mid-1970s, began grad school studies at UMASS, fresh out of the Army. He rented an apartment above the Amherst Theatre on Amity St. He was approached to work part-time in the theatre as a projectionist. He had no background at all, but he was mechanically-inclined. He took the job and loved it! Certainly, the commute was easy ! He quickly learned how to aid flairs of showmanship to his screenings. As a union member, he also got assignments to help mount professional live shows when they came into the area. One memorable night at the Amherst Theatre occured at a Friday midnight show. Ordinarily, hard-core XXX features were shown, but the management must have taken some flack about it, because it was decided to switch to soft-core X. When the rowdy, boisterious audience realized that the change had been made, they got most indignant! For a moment, he feared for his safety and comtemplated leaving the booth and running for his apartment! He worked there for about 2 years. It was an example of how someone with no showbiz background or inclinations at all can sometimes fall into a job in the field.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Empire Th. on Essex St. in Salem has a photo of the entrance taken in 1941. There was a simple marquee which was really just a rain canopy. There is a banner hanging from the front of the marquee which appears to say “2 Big Features”. There are stores on either side of the entrance and at least one or more floors of offices above. The Report states that the Empire has been a MGM customer for 15 years; that it was over 20 years old; that it was in Fair condition; and that it had 602 seats on the main floor and 291 in the balcony; total: 893 seats. The competition was the Paramount and Rialto, and Salem’s population as of 1940 was 41,200.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Plaza has a facade photo taken in May 1941. There was a narrow entrance in a building which was at least 2 stories high. There was a triangle marquee with , surprisingly, a clock at its apex. (Can anyone name another theatre which had a working clock on its marquee ???) Above the large “Plaza” name appears to be a E.M. Loew logo — I’m not sure of that. The movie playing is W.C. Fields in “The Bank Dick”. To the right of the entrance is a store with the name “O.L. Bown—”; to the left appears to be a restaurant. The Report states that the Plaza has been offering MGM product for over 10 years; that it was built over 15 years ago; that it’s in Fair condition; with 500 seats on the main floor, and 300 in the balcony; total, 800.
I believe that the old Scituate Playhouse was originally a 1920s-era summer theatre, later turned into a single-screen cinema which lasted for many years before being twinned and then quaded. The old building had developed structural problems by 2000, and it was closed. But, as pointed out above, it did unexpectedly reopen for the summer of 2001 for one last fling.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Paramount in Salem has an indistinct photo of the entrance taken in 1941. The Report states that the theatre has been presenting MGM product for 15 years, that it was built in 1927; that it’s in DeLuxe condition; and that it has 1764 seats on the main floor and 423 in the balcony, total: 2187.
The MGM Theatre Reports from 1941 are full of errors – the Zeiterion could not possibly have had 1708 seats. It appears that possibly someone turned a “2” into a “7”.
The Troc is the featured theatre in an article about American burlesque shows which appeared in American Heritage Magazine in the June/July 2002 issue. There is an old exterior photo of it and some history of the building and comments about the shows, including comments about one of the house comics, Billy “Cheese and Crackers” Hagen, who also appeared frequently at the Old Howard Theatre in Boston.
The “Burley” theatres in Boston during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s,all presented 2nd-run movies in between stage shows, so I assume that the Troc did also. I saw the outside of it, front and rear, a few times; and got inside it in the mid-1980s. What a gem of an old 19th Century theatre !
In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Repertory Theatre is listed as part of the Fred E. Lieberman Circuit. At the same time, the M & P Theatres show the “Esuire” (sic) as one of their Boston theatres. However, the Paramount – M&P summary does not include the “Esquire”. It appears that just as the Almanac was being readied for printing, the theatre must have changed hands.
The Strand in Rockland is listed in the 1927 Film Daily yearbook as having 799 seats, and open 6 days per week. Its competition is the Rockland Opera House which had 500 seats and was open 2 days per week. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Strand has a photo taken April 1941. The facade, which is at least 2 stories high, appears to have been modernized with tile. There is a triangle marquee with 2 lines of black letters on white background. The film playing is “Virginia”. The Report states that the house is less than 15 years old and has been playing MGM product for over 10 years. Seating is 513 Orchestra, and 266 Balcony; total: 779. There was an interview in local media recently with two men in Hanover, both born about 1920, who mentioned that as youths they used to hop a New Haven RR freight train on the Hanover Branch in late-afternoon, early-evening, ride it to Rockland center and drop off there to attend movies at the Strand. No mention of how they got back home !
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Codman Square Th. has a facade photo taken April 1941. It had a distinctive 2-story facade, with one-story shops on either side. There was a handsome marquee with 4 sets of French-style double doors below. To the rear looms the big bulk of the auditorium. The Report lists the seating as Orchestra, 1118; Balcony, 776; Loges, 36; Total: 1930. However, the 1927 Film Daily yearbook lists the house at only 1200 seats. The Codman Square was a M&P/ New England Theatres house. In the mid-1960s, I had occasion to visit the Codman Square courthouse on US Army business, and I do not recall this theatre at all. Does anyone know when it closed?
The seating capacities listed on the 1941 MGM report forms are not to be 100% trusted! Ditto for the seating capacities shown in lists of theatres in the Film Daily yearbooks. They are sometimes very incorrect. “Sam S” and “Park Theatre” – you are both doing a great job of describing the Park in Everett.
The Olympic Theatre is not mentioned at all, as far as I know, in the Boston theatre histories written by Charles Grandgent (1932), Elliot Norton (1978), Douglass Shand Tucci (1978) and Donald King (2005). Don King knew of the theatre but didn’t write about it in his book which suggests that he couldn’t find any mention of it in ads or other copy in Boston newspapers. It is not listed in an 1895 roster of Boston theatres which I have, but it is in a 1921 list. At first I thought it might have been a small house for vaudeville and minstrel shows, but the fact that it’s listed in the 1927 Film Daily yearbook means that it was showing movies then. Possibly, it was an early 1910-era neighborhood movie house. And it was the “Olympic” and not “Olympia”, as pointed out in the posting above. In downtown Boston, there were “Olympia” theatres, both large, in Scollay Square and on lower Washington Street.
The MGM Theatre Photograph & Report form for the Strand has a facade photo taken in May 1941. There’s a boxy marquee with 3 rows of white letters on a black background. Movies are “Pride of the Bowery” and “The Man Who Lost Himself”. To the right of the entrance is a Woolworth’s store. The address is 1363 Pleasant St. The Report states that the Strand has been showing MGM product for over 10 years; that it’s over 15 years old; that it’s in Fair condition; and that it has 1227 seats on the main floor and 270 in the balcony; total: 1,497 seats. The type of patronage is listed as “low income”.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Olympia has a facade photo taken in May 1941. The theatre had a wide entrance, an impressive marquee and a verical sign. Movies playing are “The Bad Man' and "Roar of the Press”. To the right of the entrance was the Olympia Luncheonette. The Report states that the address was 883 Purchase St., that the house had been showing MGM product for over 10 years; that it was over 15 years old; that it was in Fair condition; and had 1284 orchestra seats and 1188 balcony seats, total: 2472 seats. Was this the largest theatre in New Bedford?
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Capitol in New Bedford says that it’s on “Asushmet Street” (he must have stopped off at a local pub before going out to do the report). The little photo is definitely of the same building as in the color photo posted above by Gerry Deluca on April 7 2005. The theatre entrance was at the far right end of that building, right next to the wood-frame house. There was an impressive marquee. “High Sierra” and “Federal Fugitives” where playing when the photo was taken in May 1941. The Report states that the Capitol has been playing MGM product for over 10 years; that the house is over 15 years old, and is in Fair condition; and that it has 1400 seats, apparently all on one floor ??
My older brother and I used to attend movies at the North Shore during the late-1940s and early-1950s when we spent summers in Lanesville. We saw (I think) “Strangers on a Train” there, and on Tuesday evening, July 29, 1952, we saw Martin & Lewis in “Jumping Jacks”. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the North Shore Theatre lists the seating as: Orchestra, 978; Balcony, 98; Loges, 72; total seats: 1148. I assume that the theatre was probably built around 1915 -25 period. Nearby, on Main Street was the Strand Theatre, which had 975 seats and was run by the Levinson Circuit at one time. The Strand also had the characteristic arch over the entrance like the North Shore. The North Shore was a M&P theatre, as was the Union Hill Theatre somewhere in Gloucester, a house about which I know nothing.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Capitol in Lowell has a facade photo taken in 1941. The theatre was on Middlesex Street and the rather small entrance and marquee appear to be in the middle of what seems to be an apartment block at least 3 stories high. The Report states that the Capitol has been playing MGM product for 10 years, that it’s over 20 years old; that it’s in Poor condition, and that it has 848 seats, apparently all on one floor.
In his 1932 essay “The Stage in Boston in the Last Fifty Years”, Charles Grandgent calls the Comique “the first real motion picture theatre in (Boston).” His essay appeared in the huge book “Fifty Years of Boston” published in 1932 by the Boston Tercentary committee. Douglass Shand Tucci, in his 1977 paper, “The Boston Rialto” (published by the City Conservation League) mentions Grandgent’s essay in his source-notes, but says that the grand old gent was “not entirely reliable on movie houses”. Grandgent also points out that the Comique had “about 350” seats.
In his 1977 book “Broadway Down East” Elliot Norton states that the Bowdoin closed on Friday, May 27, 1955. Norton has very few closing dates in his book, so he must have made a note of this one. If there had been any advance publicity of the closing, I would probably have attended.
Writing in his 1932 essay, “The Stage in Boston in the Last Fifty Years”, Charles Grandgent pointed out that there were “extensive alterations” performed inside the Tremont Theatre following the 1916 fire. From another source I learned that the fire was on January 23, 1916.
The late Donald King, author of a recent book about Boston theatres, saw at least one film (“Treasure Island”, he thought) at the Tremont Temple in the 1920s. He wrote an article about it entitled “Boston’s First Movie Palace”. Charles Grandgent, author of a long essay about Boston theatres in 1932, also attended films at the Tremont Temple.It appears that movies were not presented there continuously, week-in and week-out, but rather on a basis of availability. So, a movie would play there for 3 weeks, then the house would go dark for a short period until the next film would come out. The first Tremont Temple was a conversion around 1827 of the old Tremont Theatre. When it burned down, a second church was erected. When that burned down, a third church opened on the same site, and when that also was destroyed by fire, the present Tremont Temple was constructed and opened in May, 1896. All of these churches had a theatre-like facade. The main auditorium, which served as a cinema long ago, is today called Converse Hall, and has excellent acoustics. In recent years, the “Black Nativity” shows have been presented there during the Christmas season.
After the Central Theatre was opened in 1918, J.J. “Jake” Shubert lived in an apartment up over the lobby entrance. In later years, many of the windows up there were covered with ads. I went to a Saturday afternoon movie showing there in the mid-1980s just to get into the place. There were about 100-plus patrons, maybe more. The house was a little shabby, but not too bad. There was a lot of interesting detail to be seen. Halfway thru the film, a big cat came down the aisle, hopped onto the apron of the stage and padded off into the wings at stage-left. Obviously, the theatre’s mouse patrol.
I knew someone who, in the mid-1970s, began grad school studies at UMASS, fresh out of the Army. He rented an apartment above the Amherst Theatre on Amity St. He was approached to work part-time in the theatre as a projectionist. He had no background at all, but he was mechanically-inclined. He took the job and loved it! Certainly, the commute was easy ! He quickly learned how to aid flairs of showmanship to his screenings. As a union member, he also got assignments to help mount professional live shows when they came into the area. One memorable night at the Amherst Theatre occured at a Friday midnight show. Ordinarily, hard-core XXX features were shown, but the management must have taken some flack about it, because it was decided to switch to soft-core X. When the rowdy, boisterious audience realized that the change had been made, they got most indignant! For a moment, he feared for his safety and comtemplated leaving the booth and running for his apartment! He worked there for about 2 years. It was an example of how someone with no showbiz background or inclinations at all can sometimes fall into a job in the field.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Empire Th. on Essex St. in Salem has a photo of the entrance taken in 1941. There was a simple marquee which was really just a rain canopy. There is a banner hanging from the front of the marquee which appears to say “2 Big Features”. There are stores on either side of the entrance and at least one or more floors of offices above. The Report states that the Empire has been a MGM customer for 15 years; that it was over 20 years old; that it was in Fair condition; and that it had 602 seats on the main floor and 291 in the balcony; total: 893 seats. The competition was the Paramount and Rialto, and Salem’s population as of 1940 was 41,200.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Plaza has a facade photo taken in May 1941. There was a narrow entrance in a building which was at least 2 stories high. There was a triangle marquee with , surprisingly, a clock at its apex. (Can anyone name another theatre which had a working clock on its marquee ???) Above the large “Plaza” name appears to be a E.M. Loew logo — I’m not sure of that. The movie playing is W.C. Fields in “The Bank Dick”. To the right of the entrance is a store with the name “O.L. Bown—”; to the left appears to be a restaurant. The Report states that the Plaza has been offering MGM product for over 10 years; that it was built over 15 years ago; that it’s in Fair condition; with 500 seats on the main floor, and 300 in the balcony; total, 800.
I believe that the old Scituate Playhouse was originally a 1920s-era summer theatre, later turned into a single-screen cinema which lasted for many years before being twinned and then quaded. The old building had developed structural problems by 2000, and it was closed. But, as pointed out above, it did unexpectedly reopen for the summer of 2001 for one last fling.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Paramount in Salem has an indistinct photo of the entrance taken in 1941. The Report states that the theatre has been presenting MGM product for 15 years, that it was built in 1927; that it’s in DeLuxe condition; and that it has 1764 seats on the main floor and 423 in the balcony, total: 2187.
The MGM Theatre Reports from 1941 are full of errors – the Zeiterion could not possibly have had 1708 seats. It appears that possibly someone turned a “2” into a “7”.
The Troc is the featured theatre in an article about American burlesque shows which appeared in American Heritage Magazine in the June/July 2002 issue. There is an old exterior photo of it and some history of the building and comments about the shows, including comments about one of the house comics, Billy “Cheese and Crackers” Hagen, who also appeared frequently at the Old Howard Theatre in Boston.
The “Burley” theatres in Boston during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s,all presented 2nd-run movies in between stage shows, so I assume that the Troc did also. I saw the outside of it, front and rear, a few times; and got inside it in the mid-1980s. What a gem of an old 19th Century theatre !
In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Repertory Theatre is listed as part of the Fred E. Lieberman Circuit. At the same time, the M & P Theatres show the “Esuire” (sic) as one of their Boston theatres. However, the Paramount – M&P summary does not include the “Esquire”. It appears that just as the Almanac was being readied for printing, the theatre must have changed hands.
The Strand in Rockland is listed in the 1927 Film Daily yearbook as having 799 seats, and open 6 days per week. Its competition is the Rockland Opera House which had 500 seats and was open 2 days per week. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Strand has a photo taken April 1941. The facade, which is at least 2 stories high, appears to have been modernized with tile. There is a triangle marquee with 2 lines of black letters on white background. The film playing is “Virginia”. The Report states that the house is less than 15 years old and has been playing MGM product for over 10 years. Seating is 513 Orchestra, and 266 Balcony; total: 779. There was an interview in local media recently with two men in Hanover, both born about 1920, who mentioned that as youths they used to hop a New Haven RR freight train on the Hanover Branch in late-afternoon, early-evening, ride it to Rockland center and drop off there to attend movies at the Strand. No mention of how they got back home !
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Codman Square Th. has a facade photo taken April 1941. It had a distinctive 2-story facade, with one-story shops on either side. There was a handsome marquee with 4 sets of French-style double doors below. To the rear looms the big bulk of the auditorium. The Report lists the seating as Orchestra, 1118; Balcony, 776; Loges, 36; Total: 1930. However, the 1927 Film Daily yearbook lists the house at only 1200 seats. The Codman Square was a M&P/ New England Theatres house. In the mid-1960s, I had occasion to visit the Codman Square courthouse on US Army business, and I do not recall this theatre at all. Does anyone know when it closed?
Note that the nearby Palace Theatre is also on the 1895 map, at Sudbury and Court streets, east side.
The seating capacities listed on the 1941 MGM report forms are not to be 100% trusted! Ditto for the seating capacities shown in lists of theatres in the Film Daily yearbooks. They are sometimes very incorrect. “Sam S” and “Park Theatre” – you are both doing a great job of describing the Park in Everett.
The Olympic Theatre is not mentioned at all, as far as I know, in the Boston theatre histories written by Charles Grandgent (1932), Elliot Norton (1978), Douglass Shand Tucci (1978) and Donald King (2005). Don King knew of the theatre but didn’t write about it in his book which suggests that he couldn’t find any mention of it in ads or other copy in Boston newspapers. It is not listed in an 1895 roster of Boston theatres which I have, but it is in a 1921 list. At first I thought it might have been a small house for vaudeville and minstrel shows, but the fact that it’s listed in the 1927 Film Daily yearbook means that it was showing movies then. Possibly, it was an early 1910-era neighborhood movie house. And it was the “Olympic” and not “Olympia”, as pointed out in the posting above. In downtown Boston, there were “Olympia” theatres, both large, in Scollay Square and on lower Washington Street.
The MGM Theatre Photograph & Report form for the Strand has a facade photo taken in May 1941. There’s a boxy marquee with 3 rows of white letters on a black background. Movies are “Pride of the Bowery” and “The Man Who Lost Himself”. To the right of the entrance is a Woolworth’s store. The address is 1363 Pleasant St. The Report states that the Strand has been showing MGM product for over 10 years; that it’s over 15 years old; that it’s in Fair condition; and that it has 1227 seats on the main floor and 270 in the balcony; total: 1,497 seats. The type of patronage is listed as “low income”.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Olympia has a facade photo taken in May 1941. The theatre had a wide entrance, an impressive marquee and a verical sign. Movies playing are “The Bad Man' and "Roar of the Press”. To the right of the entrance was the Olympia Luncheonette. The Report states that the address was 883 Purchase St., that the house had been showing MGM product for over 10 years; that it was over 15 years old; that it was in Fair condition; and had 1284 orchestra seats and 1188 balcony seats, total: 2472 seats. Was this the largest theatre in New Bedford?
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Capitol in New Bedford says that it’s on “Asushmet Street” (he must have stopped off at a local pub before going out to do the report). The little photo is definitely of the same building as in the color photo posted above by Gerry Deluca on April 7 2005. The theatre entrance was at the far right end of that building, right next to the wood-frame house. There was an impressive marquee. “High Sierra” and “Federal Fugitives” where playing when the photo was taken in May 1941. The Report states that the Capitol has been playing MGM product for over 10 years; that the house is over 15 years old, and is in Fair condition; and that it has 1400 seats, apparently all on one floor ??
My older brother and I used to attend movies at the North Shore during the late-1940s and early-1950s when we spent summers in Lanesville. We saw (I think) “Strangers on a Train” there, and on Tuesday evening, July 29, 1952, we saw Martin & Lewis in “Jumping Jacks”. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the North Shore Theatre lists the seating as: Orchestra, 978; Balcony, 98; Loges, 72; total seats: 1148. I assume that the theatre was probably built around 1915 -25 period. Nearby, on Main Street was the Strand Theatre, which had 975 seats and was run by the Levinson Circuit at one time. The Strand also had the characteristic arch over the entrance like the North Shore. The North Shore was a M&P theatre, as was the Union Hill Theatre somewhere in Gloucester, a house about which I know nothing.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Capitol in Lowell has a facade photo taken in 1941. The theatre was on Middlesex Street and the rather small entrance and marquee appear to be in the middle of what seems to be an apartment block at least 3 stories high. The Report states that the Capitol has been playing MGM product for 10 years, that it’s over 20 years old; that it’s in Poor condition, and that it has 848 seats, apparently all on one floor.
And I should add that Grandgent also points out that the Comique closed “only a few years ago.” (He was writing in 1932).
In his 1932 essay “The Stage in Boston in the Last Fifty Years”, Charles Grandgent calls the Comique “the first real motion picture theatre in (Boston).” His essay appeared in the huge book “Fifty Years of Boston” published in 1932 by the Boston Tercentary committee. Douglass Shand Tucci, in his 1977 paper, “The Boston Rialto” (published by the City Conservation League) mentions Grandgent’s essay in his source-notes, but says that the grand old gent was “not entirely reliable on movie houses”. Grandgent also points out that the Comique had “about 350” seats.
In his 1977 book “Broadway Down East” Elliot Norton states that the Bowdoin closed on Friday, May 27, 1955. Norton has very few closing dates in his book, so he must have made a note of this one. If there had been any advance publicity of the closing, I would probably have attended.
Writing in his 1932 essay, “The Stage in Boston in the Last Fifty Years”, Charles Grandgent pointed out that there were “extensive alterations” performed inside the Tremont Theatre following the 1916 fire. From another source I learned that the fire was on January 23, 1916.