Carlton Theatre
79 Mathewson Street,
Providence,
RI
02903
79 Mathewson Street,
Providence,
RI
02903
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When I was 11 in 1953, my sister took me to see Walt Disney’s Peter Pan playing with the Disney featurette Bear Country. This was the beginning of April. In a matter of weeks, on April 23, the theatre was to shut down after its last show.
This photo was taken on March 19, 1954 as the Carlton was being demolished. The manager John E. Toohey stands amid the rubble like Gloria Swanson in the famous photo of New York’s Roxy.
From “The Board of Trade Journal” of April, 1915:
“Too many theatres? Nothing of the sort! The Emery is turning away people at every performance. The "Hip,” with its very large auditorium, is packed to the doors. The Bijou and Nickel can’t accomodate those seeking to see “the movies,” neither can the Gaiety, the Scenic, the Union or the Casino. Out in OLneyville Spitz & Nathanson’s new theatre has all it can attend to."
PROVIDENCE THEATRES: “TEMPLES OF ILLUSION"
A book called "Temples of Illusion,” by Roger Brett, was published in 1976. It is Mr. Brett’s detailed history of all the old downtown area theatres of Providence from 1871 to 1950. It includes numerous rare photos, a list of theatres with name changes, and a map to show exactly where they all were. The book is an invaluable resource and is owned by many libraries in the R.I. CLAN system. I found a copy for sale online and will use it as a reference for future postings.
Here is a postcard of the Emery, which later became the Carlton.
The Providence Evening Bulletin of June 30, 1937 reported that the Empire (later called the “Bijou”), RKO Albee, and Carlton were closing for various periods of time for “overhauling.” They all re-opened before long.
The Emery Theatre, which became the Carlton, opened in 1914.
The 1925 Providence Journal Almanac lists the Emery Theatre (which became the Carlton) as having a seating capacity of 1786. Dimenions: proscenium opening, 38x20 feet, footlights to back wall, 32 feet; between side walls, 75 feet; height to gridiron, 56 feet.
This Emery Theatre should not be confused with Emery’s Majestic (later the Majestic), a couple of blocks away on Washington Street.
Here is a photograph of the Carlton after it was closed and shortly before it was demolished in the mid-fifties. The façade, however, and front part of the building still remain, minus marquee. Only the auditorium was demolished. The inscription “Emery Theatre” remains over the front.
In 1952 the Carlton showed one of my favorite Italian films from that period: TOMORROW IS TOO LATE, with Pier Angeli and Vittorio De Sica. It dealt with the sexual awakening of adolescents and was very well done. In New York it had opened to great success in the Loew’s State in Times Square, unusual for a foreign film. I actually first saw it later at Providence’s Avon. That film even went on to play at drive-ins…like the Pike Drive-In on Hartford Avenue in Johnston, RI.
The Carlton was demolished in 1954 to create a parking lot.
The Carlton Theatre seated 1500 people.
Interesting bit of programming at the Carlton: in January, 1936 they showed the film THE LAND OF PROMISE. It was described in the newspaper ad as “Produced in Palestine under the auspices of Palestine Foundation Fund, auspices of Zionist Organization of Rhode Island.” Some details on the film can be found at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162427/
The Carlton, judging by the address in the Providence Business Directory of 1915, was previously known as the Emery.
The Carlton Theatre is a faint memory from my childhood, since the auditorium was torn down before or at the beginnng of my teen years in the early 1950’s. What was the original entrance area and building front remains as a group of shops. The only movies I remember seeing here were the Italian film ANGELO in 1951, which my Italian-speaking parents brought me to, and a couple of years later I saw Disney’s PETER PAN. For the record, Mr. Van Bibber, the spelling of the street is Mathewson (only one “t”).