From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennnial History, 1888-1988:
The second playhouse [after the Laurier] to open during the 1920’s was the Stadium Theatre at Monument Square. The most palatial theatre ever erected in Woonsocket, it was formally dedicated on September 26, 1926, when the movie Padlocked, starring Noah Beery and Lois Moran, was shown.
One of the most eleborately furnished and decorated playhouses in New England, the Stadium had an auditorium 120 feet long and 90 feet wide, with a seating capacity of 1,000. Its foyer, 80 feet long and 20 feet wide, was artistically designed with an arched and vaulted ceiling and an ornamental fireplace flanked by recessed fountains. The theater was equipped with a concert organ.
Speakers at the dedication of the Stadium included Mayor Adelard L. Soucy, former U.S. Congressman Ambrose Kennedy, and Arthur I. Darman. Mr. Darman was president and treasurer of the Stadium Realty Corporation which owned the new building housing the theater.
The first lessee of the Stadium Theatre was Publix Theatres, controlled by the Players-Lasky Corporation, which operated nearly 100 theaters in New England at the time. In April, 1933, the theater was leased for $24,000 per year to Stadium Theatre, Incorporated, upon condition that it present only first-class motion pictures, vaudeville, legitimate drama, and concerts.
The Aidco Corporation, headed by Arthur I. Darman, took over operation of the Stadium Theatre in 1956. The playhouse was extensively rennovated and a grand reopening was held August 24, 1956. Despite stiff competition afforded by drive-in theaters and home television, the Stadium survived.
From Preliminary Survey Report – Town of West Warwick, 1987:
MAJESTIC BLOCK (1901): Dominating Arctic Square from its prominent site within the “V” formed by Washington and Main Streets, the Majestic Block is a large, 5-story, brick and concrete block, triangular-plan structure. The first bulding on this site, erected in the late 19th Century and known as Joseph Archambault’s Block, burned on November 3, 1900. Its replacement, built by Archambault and called the Majestic Hotel, contained a movie theatre in the heart of the building, with rooms on the exterior walls, a bowling aley in the basement, and a bar and drug store at street level. The largest commercial building in Arctic and the commercial and urban focus of this small central business district for many years, the Majestic Block was renovated in the mid-1980s. […and subsequently torn down.]
Gladys W. Brayton wrote of the origins of the Palace Theatre on the website of the Cranston Historical Society, even though the theatre is geographically just over the border in Providence:
In 1916 Abraham A. Spitz, a veteran theater man and owner of a number of theaters in Providence and elsewhere, opened the Palace Theater at 1520 Broad Street. His manager for twenty-two years was Charles H. Steadman who had supervised the building of the theater. It has a seating capacity of 1000. His license was but $25 at the time, but by the end of year was changed to $1 for each performance. The price of the seats went up a bit, too. Reserved seats in the balcony were fifteen cents.
The Edgewood Library Civic Club gave a play there soon after it was
opened. Occasionally concerts and entertainments took place there. On Saturday mornings a children’s program was offered with three chaperones in attendance. The popular “Wizard of Oz” was featured at one of these sessions.
In 1920 the Palace offered its patrons a special feature, a midnight who at which the elections returns were given, for there were no televisions in those days to keep up to date on the news.
The current vacant lot to the left of what was the Star Theatre is where Odd Fellows Hall used to be. To the right of the Star building today is the Greenwich Hotel, formerly Updike Hotel. The Main Street location is near the intersection with Church Street and across from legendary Jigger’s Diner.
Gladys W. Brayton wrote of the Auburn Theatre origins, on the website of the Cranston Historical Society:
…Town Councilman Alfred Barolet built the Auburn Theater on Park Avenue near the corner of Elmwood Avenue. In February of 1913 he was showing “Motion Pictures and Illustrated Songs.” Admission was five cents, reserved seats ten cents. Pictures changed three times a week and the current program consisted of “The Ranks,” “The Burning Brand,” and the “The Vengeance of Fate.”
The same year the Edgewood Theater was advertised to open at Firemen’s Hall, but due to a misunderstanding of insurance laws this project fell through.
Mr. Barolet, being a public spirited man, allowed use of his theater on off nights for benefits of various kinds, including such affairs for the Fire Companies of the city. It was advertised as “The Small Theater with the Big Features,” In 1915 it was showing “The Political Feud” (two reels), “Giddy, Gay and Ticklish” (a Keystone production), “Two Kisses,” “The Old Maid” and “Mabel’s Flirtation.” On Saturdays it featured “Tess of the Storm Country” with Mary Pickford as the star.
The building that was the original Star Theatre of East Greenwich still exists. The Star was located next to Odd Fellows Hall on Main Street. Odd Fellows Hall had been completed in 1878. It was a building with stores at the ground level and a social hall on the second floor. Over the decades , as a community hall, Odd Fellows Hall was used for theatrical performances, concerts, lectures. As the “East Greenwich Opera House” in 1902 and 1903 it presented first class drama, minstrels and vaudevilles. The life of the hall continued until 1946 when a fire that broke out on April 15 completely destroyed the building. A photo of the place in flames, in a 1991 issue of The Packet, a periodical about East Greenwich history, shows what is identified as the Star Theatre next door. The Star Theatre building was not affected by the fire and survives to this day. There are apartments as well as a ground-level Chinese restaurant called Taste of China in the three-floor structure. Here is a photo of the place now.
The co-hit is advertised as “Willed for Ransom,” which is a mistake. What they meant was World for Ransom, which was directed (uncredited) by Cranston-born director Robert Aldrich of later What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? & The Longest Yard fame.
And for you Laurier fans, here is a history of the theatre from Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
To meet Jazz Age demands for additional public entertainment centers, two new theaters and a new ballroom were erected in Woonsocket in the 1920’s. The first of the new playhouses to be opened was the Laurier Theatre, located on Cumberland Street near Social Corner. Named in honor of Sir Wildred Laurier, the first French-Canadian to be elected Premier of Canada, the theater was established to promote French culture in the city.
The first attraction to be presented at the Laurier was the opera “Carmen” on April 19, 1920. Directed by Professor Chambord Giguere, it featured a cast composed mainly of French-Canadian talent from the city. Nearly every seat was filled for the performance. The Laurier Theatre was operated by the Social Amusement Company, and was the site of the first New England appearance of the celebrated Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra on May 14, 1922. A capacity audience of 1,200 people attended the performance sponsored by LaRoe’s Music Store.
For a time, top vaudeville acts and several of Canada’s most popular stock companies and comedians were featured at the Laurier, but eventually it fell upon lean years and was converted into a second-run movie house. The theater was badly damaged in the flood of the Social district in August, 1955, and was razed three years later.
The second playhouse to open during the 1920s was the Stadium Theatre at Monument Square.
A child is lost after movies at the Central Theatre!
From: “A Family’s Enduring Love” by Thomas A. O'Connell:
The story begins sometime after Christmas, the end of May and early June to be precise. The year was 1931. On that warm Saturday afternoon, Michelina Terranova gave her son Albert, 6, permission to attend the movies at The Central Theatre on West Broad Street, Pawcatuck, with his three friends. Before he left the 64-½ Oak Street home his sister Nancy, 12, gave him two nickels. Nancy’s recent tonsillectomy had garnered her some get-well money. She wanted to share her good fortune with her little brother. Mrs. Terranova knew the ways of little fellows and so she wrapped the two coins in a clean handkerchief. She tucked the little parcel into his pocket for an extra measure of security.
So off they walked Albert and his pals James Strafach, Albert Servidio, and Charles Pendola down Oak Street, onto High Street, and into the downtown Westerly business district. A right turn over the Pawcatuck River Bridge brought the boys almost to the movie house’s entrance next to Higgin’s Pharmacy.
That day Albert saw the movie twice, Nancy recently attested. By 6 p.m. he was hungry. Spying his older sister Josephine 17, at the show, he let her know of his desire to be fed. She apparently asked his three pals to bring him home and give him his favorite food, a banana.
Albert and his comrades probably talked some more, forgetting Josephine’s request. Soon Albert wandered away on his own. The boys must have thought that he’d left the place with his sister. However, Albert had plans. The three foot six inch lad thought himself capable of finding the home under his own power. So he walked out of the front door, took a right, and headed for home.
Later that evening, the three friends arrived back home. Mrs. Terranova, noticing Albert was not with them, asked of the child’s whereabouts.
The whole story can be found on this page of the Westerly Historical Society.
From an article in The Providence Journal on December 18, 2003:
“In May 1999, authorities announced with great fanfare that they had cracked one of the biggest of the unsolved cases, the 1996 Christmas Day fire that destroyed the Odeon Theater. They charged a local man with first-degree arson; the charge was eventually dropped for lack of evidence.”
When Fellini’s The Nights of Cabiria had its U.S. premiere here in October of 1957, the film was known simply as “Cabiria” for a short while. Here’s the ad.
Not this season…if I am to believe the absence of newspaper ads. And I intended to post that the arrival of this multiplex was responsible to a great degree for the demise of the Narragansett Theatre in nearby Narragansett, as well as the Campus Cinema in Wakefield, which is also in South Kingstown.
Here is an ad that appeared in the 1911 Pawtuxet Valley business directory for the Royal Theatre, William Brown, proprietor. I am confused by this, because the ad says Natick, whereas the listing on another page is coded “RP” -which means Riverpoint-, and the address is given as Main Street, “next to Iron Bridge,” Daily’s Block. Could Riverpoint have been considered part of Natick? Was this Royal the same as the Star? Different? In the same spot? Was Providence Street ever known as Main Street? Was “Iron Bridge” the bridge over Providence Street in what is now Natick or does it refer to the one on Main Street in Riverpoint? (Providence Street didn’t seen to be a street name at the time.) If it was in Riverpoint, why would someone have built a movie theatre just a few doors down from Thornton’s?
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
World War II years at Woonsocket theatres
Throughout the war years, local movie houses supplied war-weary citizens with much-needed entertainment. At that time the city boasted six theaters: the New Park and the Stadium at Monument Square, the Bijou on lower Main Street, the Olympia and the Rialto in the Market Square area, and the Laurier in the Social district.
Movies not only boosted patriotism and morale, but they also were instrumental in raising millions of dollars in war bonds. Theatergoers were constantly reminded on newsreels and by screen actors that there was “a war on.”
These same movie houses were also used for bond rallies which included live stage acts. One such rally was held at the Stadium Theatre on June 13, 1944. Billed as the Fifth War Loan, the spectacle included a local war hero, Captain John T. Godfrey, and Woonsocket’s young Eileen Farrell, who music critics claimed was on the verge of a “brilliant operatic career.”
The most impressive of these bond rallies was that of September 9, 1943. This “Salute to Our Heroes” dinner was sponsored by the local theater managers headed by Benjamin Greenberg.
1950-1960
Those seeking an evening, or even an afternoon, at the movies had their choice of six movie theaters in 1950. The Olympia, Rialto, Bijou, and Stadium on Main Street; the New Park on North Main Street; and the Laurier on Cumberland Street. Most of these had matinees as well as evening performances, and all featured two movies—the double feature.
Competition for customers, plus the beginnings of competition by television, led theater owners to add inducements to their movie billings. At the Olympia, viewers could play “Honey” for cash prizes, while the New Park featured Silver Dollar Nights. At the Laurier, management appealed to the distaff side by offering china and silverware as gifts. Those who sought family entertainmnet could travel to the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence to enjoy the Ice Capades for a price ranging from $1.25 to $3.80.
From Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennnial History, 1888-1988:
The second playhouse [after the Laurier] to open during the 1920’s was the Stadium Theatre at Monument Square. The most palatial theatre ever erected in Woonsocket, it was formally dedicated on September 26, 1926, when the movie Padlocked, starring Noah Beery and Lois Moran, was shown.
One of the most eleborately furnished and decorated playhouses in New England, the Stadium had an auditorium 120 feet long and 90 feet wide, with a seating capacity of 1,000. Its foyer, 80 feet long and 20 feet wide, was artistically designed with an arched and vaulted ceiling and an ornamental fireplace flanked by recessed fountains. The theater was equipped with a concert organ.
Speakers at the dedication of the Stadium included Mayor Adelard L. Soucy, former U.S. Congressman Ambrose Kennedy, and Arthur I. Darman. Mr. Darman was president and treasurer of the Stadium Realty Corporation which owned the new building housing the theater.
The first lessee of the Stadium Theatre was Publix Theatres, controlled by the Players-Lasky Corporation, which operated nearly 100 theaters in New England at the time. In April, 1933, the theater was leased for $24,000 per year to Stadium Theatre, Incorporated, upon condition that it present only first-class motion pictures, vaudeville, legitimate drama, and concerts.
The Aidco Corporation, headed by Arthur I. Darman, took over operation of the Stadium Theatre in 1956. The playhouse was extensively rennovated and a grand reopening was held August 24, 1956. Despite stiff competition afforded by drive-in theaters and home television, the Stadium survived.
Opened: September 20, 1888.
Destroyed by fire: September 22, 1975.
Age: 87 years, 2 days.
From Preliminary Survey Report – Town of West Warwick, 1987:
MAJESTIC BLOCK (1901): Dominating Arctic Square from its prominent site within the “V” formed by Washington and Main Streets, the Majestic Block is a large, 5-story, brick and concrete block, triangular-plan structure. The first bulding on this site, erected in the late 19th Century and known as Joseph Archambault’s Block, burned on November 3, 1900. Its replacement, built by Archambault and called the Majestic Hotel, contained a movie theatre in the heart of the building, with rooms on the exterior walls, a bowling aley in the basement, and a bar and drug store at street level. The largest commercial building in Arctic and the commercial and urban focus of this small central business district for many years, the Majestic Block was renovated in the mid-1980s. […and subsequently torn down.]
Gladys W. Brayton wrote of the origins of the Palace Theatre on the website of the Cranston Historical Society, even though the theatre is geographically just over the border in Providence:
In 1916 Abraham A. Spitz, a veteran theater man and owner of a number of theaters in Providence and elsewhere, opened the Palace Theater at 1520 Broad Street. His manager for twenty-two years was Charles H. Steadman who had supervised the building of the theater. It has a seating capacity of 1000. His license was but $25 at the time, but by the end of year was changed to $1 for each performance. The price of the seats went up a bit, too. Reserved seats in the balcony were fifteen cents.
The Edgewood Library Civic Club gave a play there soon after it was
opened. Occasionally concerts and entertainments took place there. On Saturday mornings a children’s program was offered with three chaperones in attendance. The popular “Wizard of Oz” was featured at one of these sessions.
In 1920 the Palace offered its patrons a special feature, a midnight who at which the elections returns were given, for there were no televisions in those days to keep up to date on the news.
The current vacant lot to the left of what was the Star Theatre is where Odd Fellows Hall used to be. To the right of the Star building today is the Greenwich Hotel, formerly Updike Hotel. The Main Street location is near the intersection with Church Street and across from legendary Jigger’s Diner.
Gladys W. Brayton wrote of the Auburn Theatre origins, on the website of the Cranston Historical Society:
…Town Councilman Alfred Barolet built the Auburn Theater on Park Avenue near the corner of Elmwood Avenue. In February of 1913 he was showing “Motion Pictures and Illustrated Songs.” Admission was five cents, reserved seats ten cents. Pictures changed three times a week and the current program consisted of “The Ranks,” “The Burning Brand,” and the “The Vengeance of Fate.”
The same year the Edgewood Theater was advertised to open at Firemen’s Hall, but due to a misunderstanding of insurance laws this project fell through.
Mr. Barolet, being a public spirited man, allowed use of his theater on off nights for benefits of various kinds, including such affairs for the Fire Companies of the city. It was advertised as “The Small Theater with the Big Features,” In 1915 it was showing “The Political Feud” (two reels), “Giddy, Gay and Ticklish” (a Keystone production), “Two Kisses,” “The Old Maid” and “Mabel’s Flirtation.” On Saturdays it featured “Tess of the Storm Country” with Mary Pickford as the star.
The building that was the original Star Theatre of East Greenwich still exists. The Star was located next to Odd Fellows Hall on Main Street. Odd Fellows Hall had been completed in 1878. It was a building with stores at the ground level and a social hall on the second floor. Over the decades , as a community hall, Odd Fellows Hall was used for theatrical performances, concerts, lectures. As the “East Greenwich Opera House” in 1902 and 1903 it presented first class drama, minstrels and vaudevilles. The life of the hall continued until 1946 when a fire that broke out on April 15 completely destroyed the building. A photo of the place in flames, in a 1991 issue of The Packet, a periodical about East Greenwich history, shows what is identified as the Star Theatre next door. The Star Theatre building was not affected by the fire and survives to this day. There are apartments as well as a ground-level Chinese restaurant called Taste of China in the three-floor structure. Here is a photo of the place now.
The co-hit is advertised as “Willed for Ransom,” which is a mistake. What they meant was World for Ransom, which was directed (uncredited) by Cranston-born director Robert Aldrich of later What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? & The Longest Yard fame.
And for you Laurier fans, here is a history of the theatre from Woonsocket, Rhode Island – A Centennial History, 1888-1988:
To meet Jazz Age demands for additional public entertainment centers, two new theaters and a new ballroom were erected in Woonsocket in the 1920’s. The first of the new playhouses to be opened was the Laurier Theatre, located on Cumberland Street near Social Corner. Named in honor of Sir Wildred Laurier, the first French-Canadian to be elected Premier of Canada, the theater was established to promote French culture in the city.
The first attraction to be presented at the Laurier was the opera “Carmen” on April 19, 1920. Directed by Professor Chambord Giguere, it featured a cast composed mainly of French-Canadian talent from the city. Nearly every seat was filled for the performance. The Laurier Theatre was operated by the Social Amusement Company, and was the site of the first New England appearance of the celebrated Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra on May 14, 1922. A capacity audience of 1,200 people attended the performance sponsored by LaRoe’s Music Store.
For a time, top vaudeville acts and several of Canada’s most popular stock companies and comedians were featured at the Laurier, but eventually it fell upon lean years and was converted into a second-run movie house. The theater was badly damaged in the flood of the Social district in August, 1955, and was razed three years later.
The second playhouse to open during the 1920s was the Stadium Theatre at Monument Square.
And here is the first decent photo I’ve found of the theatre front. Looks to be about 1952.
The Kent was demolished in 1995. The site is now a Centreville Bank with front parking area.
A child is lost after movies at the Central Theatre!
From: “A Family’s Enduring Love” by Thomas A. O'Connell:
The story begins sometime after Christmas, the end of May and early June to be precise. The year was 1931. On that warm Saturday afternoon, Michelina Terranova gave her son Albert, 6, permission to attend the movies at The Central Theatre on West Broad Street, Pawcatuck, with his three friends. Before he left the 64-½ Oak Street home his sister Nancy, 12, gave him two nickels. Nancy’s recent tonsillectomy had garnered her some get-well money. She wanted to share her good fortune with her little brother. Mrs. Terranova knew the ways of little fellows and so she wrapped the two coins in a clean handkerchief. She tucked the little parcel into his pocket for an extra measure of security.
So off they walked Albert and his pals James Strafach, Albert Servidio, and Charles Pendola down Oak Street, onto High Street, and into the downtown Westerly business district. A right turn over the Pawcatuck River Bridge brought the boys almost to the movie house’s entrance next to Higgin’s Pharmacy.
That day Albert saw the movie twice, Nancy recently attested. By 6 p.m. he was hungry. Spying his older sister Josephine 17, at the show, he let her know of his desire to be fed. She apparently asked his three pals to bring him home and give him his favorite food, a banana.
Albert and his comrades probably talked some more, forgetting Josephine’s request. Soon Albert wandered away on his own. The boys must have thought that he’d left the place with his sister. However, Albert had plans. The three foot six inch lad thought himself capable of finding the home under his own power. So he walked out of the front door, took a right, and headed for home.
Later that evening, the three friends arrived back home. Mrs. Terranova, noticing Albert was not with them, asked of the child’s whereabouts.
The whole story can be found on this page of the Westerly Historical Society.
From an article in The Providence Journal on December 18, 2003:
“In May 1999, authorities announced with great fanfare that they had cracked one of the biggest of the unsolved cases, the 1996 Christmas Day fire that destroyed the Odeon Theater. They charged a local man with first-degree arson; the charge was eventually dropped for lack of evidence.”
Here’s an ad for Rossellini’s Paisan which had its Providence premiere here in March of 1949.
When Fellini’s The Nights of Cabiria had its U.S. premiere here in October of 1957, the film was known simply as “Cabiria” for a short while. Here’s the ad.
This Casino Theatre is not to be confused with the Narragansett Casino, a dance and live entertainment venue and a Narragansett Pier legend.
Not this season…if I am to believe the absence of newspaper ads. And I intended to post that the arrival of this multiplex was responsible to a great degree for the demise of the Narragansett Theatre in nearby Narragansett, as well as the Campus Cinema in Wakefield, which is also in South Kingstown.
Of course the “original Italian version” has Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart dubbed in Italian. You hear their own voices in the English version.
D'accordo! For me the best Fellini films are Le notti di Cabiria, La strada, I vitelloni… and I bow to his somewhat later film Amarcord.
I like the name “Absinthe” for a theatre. Wonderfully decadent.
Here is an ad that appeared in the 1911 Pawtuxet Valley business directory for the Royal Theatre, William Brown, proprietor. I am confused by this, because the ad says Natick, whereas the listing on another page is coded “RP” -which means Riverpoint-, and the address is given as Main Street, “next to Iron Bridge,” Daily’s Block. Could Riverpoint have been considered part of Natick? Was this Royal the same as the Star? Different? In the same spot? Was Providence Street ever known as Main Street? Was “Iron Bridge” the bridge over Providence Street in what is now Natick or does it refer to the one on Main Street in Riverpoint? (Providence Street didn’t seen to be a street name at the time.) If it was in Riverpoint, why would someone have built a movie theatre just a few doors down from Thornton’s?
Here is a photo of the former Somerset Theatre and former furniture store.