Here is a photo of the exterior of the theatre when it was known as the Imperial in its first years. You can see why Roger Brett refers to the front as “a jungle of fire escapes and ladders.”
My June 18 posting above of the time-line of name changes for this theatre (as filed on a PPL card) doesn’t include the name Shubert, which it was called from 1906 for few years.
Social drama! In 1934 there was a textile workers' strike in Woonsocket. Here national guardsmen are on hand to prevent trouble. In the background we accidentally get a glimpse of the Laurier Theatre vertical marquee. The scene is Cumberland Street.
Here is one of the photos I took last night before seeing Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room. The Orpheum is a 32 minute drive from where I live. The village common across from the theatre is very pleasant.
The book Westerly’s Gold by Thomas A. O'Connell mentions the Bliven briefly and indicates that the admission prices for the 1901 shows The New Minister and Sag Harbor were 25, 50, 75 cents and $1. He says that the Bliven was also used for graduations.
Folk singer Pete Seeger performed at the Empire in the 1960s at a sold-out concert. It was to benefit his campaign to rid the Hudson River of pollution. Don McLean performed in the same concert. I didn’t find a date for this performance.
Thumbnail sketch of the Stadium Theatre from Statewide Preservation Report – Woonsocket, R.I., 1976, by the R.I. Preservation Commission:
The Stadium Theatre (1926): The Stadium Theatre is a large and beautifully maintained movie house of the 1920’s, equipped to handle the live stage shows and musical performances which were part of a movie theatre presentation of that time. Entrance to the theatre is through an elegantly designed shopping arcade, and the Stadium lobby is ornamented with fancy tilework and a small fountain. The theatre itself is in the Adamesque manner, and the entire complex, including the Stadium Building facing Monument Square, was built for Arthur Darman, a local industrialist with a love for the vaudeville theatre. [See entries about Darman here.] The building was designed by Perry & Whipple of Providence who also did the adjacent 4-story Stadium office building. Decoration of the theatre was handled by Watts & Hutton of Providence and Abraham Anthony of Boston.
Thumbnail sketch of the Woonsocket Opera House from The Rhode Island Guide, 1976, by Sheila Steinberg and Cathleen McGuigan:
Woonsocket Opera House, 37-45 North Main Street (recently destroyed by fire). When it was erected in 1888 this was the largest theater in Rhode Island and the only legitimate theater ever built in this area. Here factory workers and tradesmen gathered to see the melodramas popular at the time. Ingomar, the Barbarian, a play of uncontrolled lust and simple virtue starring Miss Maude Banks, played to enthusiastic crowds when the theater opened in September 1888.
The theater was built by twelve civic-minded Woonsocket businessmen and was designed by Willard Kent, a civil engineer and superintendent of the local water works. With the Harris Institute, the Woonsocket Opera House added an educational and cultural dimension to what might have been a city devoted solely to industry.
Here is a history of the the creation of the Majestic Theatre and Majestic Block after the original building had burned down in 1900. It is from the book Trumpets in Jericho, 1961, by Mathias P. Harpin. The book is a history of “Jericho,” a name given to Arctic and adjacent neighborhoods in Pawtuxet Valley and was before the town of West Warwick was created in 1913 after the division of Warwick into two parts. The name Jericho is no longer in usage, as far as I know. The center of West Warwick is now named Arctic.
From Trumpets in Jericho:
It was the night of Nov. 3, 1900 —– a night that Jericho would never forget. A fire started in the show shine parlor of Joseph Archambault’s block on Jericho Square. It waws the middle of the night. By the time it was discovered the fire had made such gains that even the Warwick and Coventry fire department could not halt the mounting flame.
By dawn Archambault’s block was reduced to ashes. A virtual miracle had saved all of Jericho from destruction as the wind fanned the flames and flung the sparks over the entire business district. Archambault estimated his loss at $17,000. All western Rhode Island wondered what he would do. Would he sell the land or rebuild? Archambault soon answered the question.
For a long time there had been talk of setting of all the valley of the Pawtuxet into a city with Jericho as the municipal center. Many of the merchants felt convinced that this step was inevitable, including Joseph Archambault. One morning as Archambault directed the removal of the remains of his block, one of the merchants asked him what his plans were for the future.
“I’m gonna build the biggest building in western Rhode Island, ” Archambault said. “One that fire will never again destroy. It’s gonna be a skyscraper.” (…) He began construction of a building that was all brick and concrete. He called it the Majestic Hotel. It was seventy-five feet in height and five stories high. In the heart of the building he built a movie theatre. [Note: If it opened in 1901, it must have been used for stage productions, with movies coming at the end of the decade.] All around it were rooms. There was a bowling alley in the basement and a bar and drug store on the street floor. (…)
Archambault leased the theater to Coit and Drew Carson, owners of a livery stable in Coventry. Later these two men opened the Gem Theater in the St. Onge block. Among the first movies shown were the classics “Ten Nights in a Barroom” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” [Around 1911 or so?]
Joseph Archambault died as Jericho became a town. His death occurred in Warwick June 30, 1913. His age was 55; his occupation, foreman. Mrs. Archambault retained title to the Majestic until July 15, 1920 when she sold to Helen R. Duckworth who on Nov. 12, 1921 sold to the Carson brothers, according to town records.
The deed to Helen R. Duckworth stipulated the following: “together with all personal property in the Majestic Theater consisting of drop curtain, asbestos curtains, chairs, pictures, picture machine, picture screens, piano, scenery and electric fixtures…curtains and awnings in the drug store on said premises.” (…)
Mr. and Mrs. Archambault had two sons, Paul G. who settled in Falmouth and Fulda who settled in New Bedford. Both became attorneys. Fulda became mayor of New Bedford.
Roland, I will check out the Conley book. That picture appears in several places including Roger Brett’s volume. I have a picture of Music Hall…don’t know if it is the same. Sure, I’d like to see it. I’ve been going from library to library across the state, spending time looking at local histories for stuff on local theatre history. I’ve found out lots of things, and wherever I go there is often material pertaining to other places in the state. I found a whole history of the construction of the Majestic in Arctic, which I will post later today.
Slightly better image of the above famous photo of the 1931 closing night.
Audience at the final gala show at the Providence Opera House on March 14, 1931.
La Strada, 1956.
Here is a photo of the exterior of the theatre when it was known as the Imperial in its first years. You can see why Roger Brett refers to the front as “a jungle of fire escapes and ladders.”
My June 18 posting above of the time-line of name changes for this theatre (as filed on a PPL card) doesn’t include the name Shubert, which it was called from 1906 for few years.
Social drama! In 1934 there was a textile workers' strike in Woonsocket. Here national guardsmen are on hand to prevent trouble. In the background we accidentally get a glimpse of the Laurier Theatre vertical marquee. The scene is Cumberland Street.
Here is one of the photos I took last night before seeing Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room. The Orpheum is a 32 minute drive from where I live. The village common across from the theatre is very pleasant.
I don’t remember what year I took this photo, but the theatre was clearly closed at the time.
The last movie I saw here was Gloomy Sunday in May, 2004. In fact, it was the first movie I saw here too.
When this theatre was the Shubert in 1906, there was a renowned performer who played here.
And a view from 1919 or so. Note the two vertical marquees, one on Washington Street, the other on Union Street. No horizontal marquee appears yet.
The book Westerly’s Gold by Thomas A. O'Connell mentions the Bliven briefly and indicates that the admission prices for the 1901 shows The New Minister and Sag Harbor were 25, 50, 75 cents and $1. He says that the Bliven was also used for graduations.
Here is a 1928 photo of the Hope Theatre.
And a view of the old screen from the balcony as the seats are about to be removed in 1978.
And in 1956.
Here is the Strand in 1941.
Folk singer Pete Seeger performed at the Empire in the 1960s at a sold-out concert. It was to benefit his campaign to rid the Hudson River of pollution. Don McLean performed in the same concert. I didn’t find a date for this performance.
Here is a 1930 photo of the Strand when it was called the Paramount Theatre.
Thumbnail sketch of the Stadium Theatre from Statewide Preservation Report – Woonsocket, R.I., 1976, by the R.I. Preservation Commission:
The Stadium Theatre (1926): The Stadium Theatre is a large and beautifully maintained movie house of the 1920’s, equipped to handle the live stage shows and musical performances which were part of a movie theatre presentation of that time. Entrance to the theatre is through an elegantly designed shopping arcade, and the Stadium lobby is ornamented with fancy tilework and a small fountain. The theatre itself is in the Adamesque manner, and the entire complex, including the Stadium Building facing Monument Square, was built for Arthur Darman, a local industrialist with a love for the vaudeville theatre. [See entries about Darman here.] The building was designed by Perry & Whipple of Providence who also did the adjacent 4-story Stadium office building. Decoration of the theatre was handled by Watts & Hutton of Providence and Abraham Anthony of Boston.
Thumbnail sketch of the Woonsocket Opera House from The Rhode Island Guide, 1976, by Sheila Steinberg and Cathleen McGuigan:
Woonsocket Opera House, 37-45 North Main Street (recently destroyed by fire). When it was erected in 1888 this was the largest theater in Rhode Island and the only legitimate theater ever built in this area. Here factory workers and tradesmen gathered to see the melodramas popular at the time. Ingomar, the Barbarian, a play of uncontrolled lust and simple virtue starring Miss Maude Banks, played to enthusiastic crowds when the theater opened in September 1888.
The theater was built by twelve civic-minded Woonsocket businessmen and was designed by Willard Kent, a civil engineer and superintendent of the local water works. With the Harris Institute, the Woonsocket Opera House added an educational and cultural dimension to what might have been a city devoted solely to industry.
Birth of the Majestic
Here is a history of the the creation of the Majestic Theatre and Majestic Block after the original building had burned down in 1900. It is from the book Trumpets in Jericho, 1961, by Mathias P. Harpin. The book is a history of “Jericho,” a name given to Arctic and adjacent neighborhoods in Pawtuxet Valley and was before the town of West Warwick was created in 1913 after the division of Warwick into two parts. The name Jericho is no longer in usage, as far as I know. The center of West Warwick is now named Arctic.
From Trumpets in Jericho:
It was the night of Nov. 3, 1900 —– a night that Jericho would never forget. A fire started in the show shine parlor of Joseph Archambault’s block on Jericho Square. It waws the middle of the night. By the time it was discovered the fire had made such gains that even the Warwick and Coventry fire department could not halt the mounting flame.
By dawn Archambault’s block was reduced to ashes. A virtual miracle had saved all of Jericho from destruction as the wind fanned the flames and flung the sparks over the entire business district. Archambault estimated his loss at $17,000. All western Rhode Island wondered what he would do. Would he sell the land or rebuild? Archambault soon answered the question.
For a long time there had been talk of setting of all the valley of the Pawtuxet into a city with Jericho as the municipal center. Many of the merchants felt convinced that this step was inevitable, including Joseph Archambault. One morning as Archambault directed the removal of the remains of his block, one of the merchants asked him what his plans were for the future.
“I’m gonna build the biggest building in western Rhode Island, ” Archambault said. “One that fire will never again destroy. It’s gonna be a skyscraper.” (…) He began construction of a building that was all brick and concrete. He called it the Majestic Hotel. It was seventy-five feet in height and five stories high. In the heart of the building he built a movie theatre. [Note: If it opened in 1901, it must have been used for stage productions, with movies coming at the end of the decade.] All around it were rooms. There was a bowling alley in the basement and a bar and drug store on the street floor. (…)
Archambault leased the theater to Coit and Drew Carson, owners of a livery stable in Coventry. Later these two men opened the Gem Theater in the St. Onge block. Among the first movies shown were the classics “Ten Nights in a Barroom” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” [Around 1911 or so?]
Joseph Archambault died as Jericho became a town. His death occurred in Warwick June 30, 1913. His age was 55; his occupation, foreman. Mrs. Archambault retained title to the Majestic until July 15, 1920 when she sold to Helen R. Duckworth who on Nov. 12, 1921 sold to the Carson brothers, according to town records.
The deed to Helen R. Duckworth stipulated the following: “together with all personal property in the Majestic Theater consisting of drop curtain, asbestos curtains, chairs, pictures, picture machine, picture screens, piano, scenery and electric fixtures…curtains and awnings in the drug store on said premises.” (…)
Mr. and Mrs. Archambault had two sons, Paul G. who settled in Falmouth and Fulda who settled in New Bedford. Both became attorneys. Fulda became mayor of New Bedford.
Sheik.
Roland, I will check out the Conley book. That picture appears in several places including Roger Brett’s volume. I have a picture of Music Hall…don’t know if it is the same. Sure, I’d like to see it. I’ve been going from library to library across the state, spending time looking at local histories for stuff on local theatre history. I’ve found out lots of things, and wherever I go there is often material pertaining to other places in the state. I found a whole history of the construction of the Majestic in Arctic, which I will post later today.
…and as the Ocean State in the 1970s.
Here is a 1941 photo of Loew’s State when it was showing Shadow of the Thin Man and Miss Polly.
Was this cinema named after Jean Renoir the film director, or his father Pierre-Auguste the painter?