The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Star; it’s Card # 462. Address is “9 Central St.” There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. It says that the theatre was over 15 years old and was showing MGM product. There were 696 orchestra seats and 266 balcony, total: 962 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Palace; it’s Card # 592. Address is Eastern Avenue. There is an exterior photo taken March 1941. Condition is Good. The Report says it was opened about 1925 and was showing MGM movies. There were 864 seats. 1940 population was 9,000.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Empire; it’s Card # 590. Address is Kingman St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. The Condition is Poor. The report says it opened about 1920 and does not show MGM films. There were 450 seats. The 1940 population of St. Albans was 8,000. Competing theaters were the Weldon and the Bellevue. There is a note dated 1950 at the top of the card which reads “Get new photo”. This suggests to me that some work must have been done on the exterior so that the theater had a different appearance on the outside.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Ideal; it’s
card # 594. Address is “Town Square”. There is an exterior photo taken in April 1941. The Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1928 (incorrect) and that it was showing MGM films. There were 540 seats, which is too low. A competing theater was the Avon (today, the Springfield Cinemas 3). The 1940 population of Springfield was 7,000.
There is a history of movie theaters in White River Junction in the May 1994 issue of the Hartford (VT) Historical Society, written by member James Kenison. (The March 1995 issue has more info.) The White River Drive-In was built by Allard Graves who had opened the Lyric Theatre downtown in 1924. The Drive-In was located at the intersection of Route 5 and Sykes Avenue. Allard Graves was with Interstate Theatres. In 1965, both the Drive-In and the Lyric were sold to a local company. The White River Drive-In was closed in 1986, according to this article.
An easy way to handle the problem is to go by the postal ZIP code. This matter became a problem for the agent for M-G-M when he arrived in Massachusetts in early-1941 to survey local movie theaters and he sometimes used the local neighborhood name instead of the actual town or city name. Example: the Regent Th. in Quincy MA which he listed as “Norfolk Downs, Mass.” He was merely repeating what he was told by the theater manager and didn’t realize that such a town did not exist and would be meaningless to anyone at M-G-M.
The Lyric is listed in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac as being run by Interstate Theatres of Boston. At the time Interstate was also running the Opera House in White River Jct. (The two articles from the Hartford Historical Society bulletins do not mention the Opera House as a film venue). Interstate ran movie theaters in VT, NH, MA and CT. In mid-1983 I went to a live performance at the “Gates Opera House” in White River Jct. It was on Main St., and I must have known the street address in order to find it. It was on the west side of the steet; one went through a double door and then up a long flight of creaky wood steps to the theater on the second floor. It was really just a “performance space”, a large, high-ceilinged rectangular room. There was no trace at all that there had ever been a theater up there. I believe that this Opera House is still in use today as a live theater.I remember seeing the lyric Theater when I visited the town in the 1950s and 1960s, but never went into it.
The Hartford (VT) Historical Society newsletter or bulletin which came out around April-May 1994 has a short article by member James Kenison “The Theatre Industry in White River Junction”. The author says that the first movie theater there was the Dreamland Theatre on Gates St. It opened in the early 1900s but lasted only a few years. Next came the Crown Theatre on South Main Street. It was later run by Allard Graves who operated movie theaters in VT,NH and MA. In 1923, Graves purchased a lot on North Main St., and buit the Lyric Theatre which opened in January 1924.
Graves apparently felt that the town could not support two movie theaters so he closed the Crown permanently. The Lyric was wired for sound in 1929, and then later was air-conditioned. Graves theaters became the Interstate Theatre circuit. In 1952, they opened the White River Drive-In at Sykes Avenue & Route 5. The Lyric closed in 1970 and the White River Drive-In lasted until 1986.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Lyric; it’s Card # 597. Address is “Main St.” There is an external photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it was opened about 1918 (incorrect) and that it shows MGM films. There were 634 seats. 1940 population was 2,600.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State Theatre; it’s Card # 512. But there is no information on it at all; just an exterior photo with no date.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Scenic; it’s Card # 511. Address is North Main St. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. It says it was opened about 1915, and shows MGM movies. 677 seats on the main floor and 280 balcony, total 957. Competint theater is the Colonial. 1940 population 12,500.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House in Lebanon; it’s Card # 494. Address is “Main St.” which is not correct. There is an external photo dated March 1941 showing the very imposing city hall building. Condition is Good. It says it opened about 1920 and is showing MGM films. There were 800 seats on the main floor and 200 in the balcony. The 1940 population was 7,500.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Rialto, it’s Card #493. Address is Main St. There is an external photo taken Feb. 1941. Condition is Good. It says the theater opened about 1930, shows MGM product, and has 524 seats. The 1940 population of Lancaster was 3,000.
Was the Ludlow Theatre originally named the Pa-Ra-Mor Theatre? There was a theater with that name on Main Street in Ludlow where it was photographed by an agent from MGM on January 7, 1941. He made up a theater report which is now part of the MGM Theatre Report file in the on-line archive of the Theatre Historical Society. It’s Card # 580. The report says that the theater is in Good condition, was opened in 1940, was showing MGM films and had 450 seats. Did the Pa-Ra-Mor later become the Ludlow Theatre?
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 599. Address is “Winooski Avenue”. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Fair. It says that it was opened about 1925 and was showing MGM films. There were 380 seats. 1940 population was 6,000.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Champlain Th., it’s Card # 595. Address is 3 Canada St. There is an exterior photo taken April 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it opened in 1925 and is showing MGM product. There were 382 main floor seats and 108 balcony, total 490, but a note was added: “475 total” seats. The 1940 population was 3,500.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Star; it’s Card # 593. Address is Eastern Avenue (no number given). There is an exterior photo taken March 1941. Condition is Good. It says the Star opened about 1915 and shows MGM films. There were 800 seats. Competing theater was the Palace, also on the same street. The 1940 population was 9,000.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Welden; it’s Card # 591. Address is 104 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated April 1941. Condition is Good. It says the theater opened in 1935 and is not showing MGM films There were 500 seats. Competing theateres were the Empire and the Bellevue, but a report was done only for the Empire, and not for the Bellevue. The 1940 population of St. Albans was 8,000.
When the agent working on the theater report survey for MGM arrived in Springfield in May, 1941, he found two movie theatres: this one, then called the Avon; and a 520-seat house called the Ideal Theatre. He was supposed to take a photo and fill out a report for every theater he found, but he only did this for the Ideal and not for the Avon. He mentioned the Avon as a competing theater for the Ideal, but never reported it.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Colonial; it’s Card # 573. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. It says it opened about 1916 and is not showing MGM films. There were 247 seats. The 1940 population of Bristol was 1,200.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Paramount; it’s Card # 572. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Excellent. It says the theater opened 1937 and is not showing MGM product. 700 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Auditorium; it’s Card # 570. Address is Main Street (no number given). There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. On the upper facade there is a small sign which reads “Town Hall” which implies that this was the Town Hall auditorium. Condition is Good. It says that the theater opened about 1900 and is showing MGM films. There were 338 orchestra seats and 287 balcony, total 625 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Latchis; it’s Card # 571. Address is “Main Street”. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. The report says that the theater opened in 1938 and is not showing MGM films. There were 820 orchestra seats and 320 balcony seats, total: 1,140. The 1940 population of Brattleboro was 9,600.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Star; it’s Card # 462. Address is “9 Central St.” There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. Condition is Fair. It says that the theatre was over 15 years old and was showing MGM product. There were 696 orchestra seats and 266 balcony, total: 962 seats.
One source says that the Empire was later renamed as the Studio Th., but I have not yet seen any additional info to that effect.
The Palace was part of the small Tegu circuit and was called Tegu’s Palace Theatre for awhile. It was later run by Affiliated Theatres of Boston.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Palace; it’s Card # 592. Address is Eastern Avenue. There is an exterior photo taken March 1941. Condition is Good. The Report says it was opened about 1925 and was showing MGM movies. There were 864 seats. 1940 population was 9,000.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Empire; it’s Card # 590. Address is Kingman St. There is an exterior photo taken May 1941. The Condition is Poor. The report says it opened about 1920 and does not show MGM films. There were 450 seats. The 1940 population of St. Albans was 8,000. Competing theaters were the Weldon and the Bellevue. There is a note dated 1950 at the top of the card which reads “Get new photo”. This suggests to me that some work must have been done on the exterior so that the theater had a different appearance on the outside.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Ideal; it’s card # 594. Address is “Town Square”. There is an exterior photo taken in April 1941. The Condition is Fair. The report says it opened in 1928 (incorrect) and that it was showing MGM films. There were 540 seats, which is too low. A competing theater was the Avon (today, the Springfield Cinemas 3). The 1940 population of Springfield was 7,000.
There is a history of movie theaters in White River Junction in the May 1994 issue of the Hartford (VT) Historical Society, written by member James Kenison. (The March 1995 issue has more info.) The White River Drive-In was built by Allard Graves who had opened the Lyric Theatre downtown in 1924. The Drive-In was located at the intersection of Route 5 and Sykes Avenue. Allard Graves was with Interstate Theatres. In 1965, both the Drive-In and the Lyric were sold to a local company. The White River Drive-In was closed in 1986, according to this article.
An easy way to handle the problem is to go by the postal ZIP code. This matter became a problem for the agent for M-G-M when he arrived in Massachusetts in early-1941 to survey local movie theaters and he sometimes used the local neighborhood name instead of the actual town or city name. Example: the Regent Th. in Quincy MA which he listed as “Norfolk Downs, Mass.” He was merely repeating what he was told by the theater manager and didn’t realize that such a town did not exist and would be meaningless to anyone at M-G-M.
The Lyric is listed in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac as being run by Interstate Theatres of Boston. At the time Interstate was also running the Opera House in White River Jct. (The two articles from the Hartford Historical Society bulletins do not mention the Opera House as a film venue). Interstate ran movie theaters in VT, NH, MA and CT. In mid-1983 I went to a live performance at the “Gates Opera House” in White River Jct. It was on Main St., and I must have known the street address in order to find it. It was on the west side of the steet; one went through a double door and then up a long flight of creaky wood steps to the theater on the second floor. It was really just a “performance space”, a large, high-ceilinged rectangular room. There was no trace at all that there had ever been a theater up there. I believe that this Opera House is still in use today as a live theater.I remember seeing the lyric Theater when I visited the town in the 1950s and 1960s, but never went into it.
The Hartford (VT) Historical Society newsletter or bulletin which came out around April-May 1994 has a short article by member James Kenison “The Theatre Industry in White River Junction”. The author says that the first movie theater there was the Dreamland Theatre on Gates St. It opened in the early 1900s but lasted only a few years. Next came the Crown Theatre on South Main Street. It was later run by Allard Graves who operated movie theaters in VT,NH and MA. In 1923, Graves purchased a lot on North Main St., and buit the Lyric Theatre which opened in January 1924. Graves apparently felt that the town could not support two movie theaters so he closed the Crown permanently. The Lyric was wired for sound in 1929, and then later was air-conditioned. Graves theaters became the Interstate Theatre circuit. In 1952, they opened the White River Drive-In at Sykes Avenue & Route 5. The Lyric closed in 1970 and the White River Drive-In lasted until 1986.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Lyric; it’s Card # 597. Address is “Main St.” There is an external photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it was opened about 1918 (incorrect) and that it shows MGM films. There were 634 seats. 1940 population was 2,600.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the State Theatre; it’s Card # 512. But there is no information on it at all; just an exterior photo with no date.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Scenic; it’s Card # 511. Address is North Main St. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. It says it was opened about 1915, and shows MGM movies. 677 seats on the main floor and 280 balcony, total 957. Competint theater is the Colonial. 1940 population 12,500.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Opera House in Lebanon; it’s Card # 494. Address is “Main St.” which is not correct. There is an external photo dated March 1941 showing the very imposing city hall building. Condition is Good. It says it opened about 1920 and is showing MGM films. There were 800 seats on the main floor and 200 in the balcony. The 1940 population was 7,500.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Rialto, it’s Card #493. Address is Main St. There is an external photo taken Feb. 1941. Condition is Good. It says the theater opened about 1930, shows MGM product, and has 524 seats. The 1940 population of Lancaster was 3,000.
Was the Ludlow Theatre originally named the Pa-Ra-Mor Theatre? There was a theater with that name on Main Street in Ludlow where it was photographed by an agent from MGM on January 7, 1941. He made up a theater report which is now part of the MGM Theatre Report file in the on-line archive of the Theatre Historical Society. It’s Card # 580. The report says that the theater is in Good condition, was opened in 1940, was showing MGM films and had 450 seats. Did the Pa-Ra-Mor later become the Ludlow Theatre?
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Strand; it’s Card # 599. Address is “Winooski Avenue”. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Fair. It says that it was opened about 1925 and was showing MGM films. There were 380 seats. 1940 population was 6,000.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Champlain Th., it’s Card # 595. Address is 3 Canada St. There is an exterior photo taken April 1941. Condition is Fair. The report says that it opened in 1925 and is showing MGM product. There were 382 main floor seats and 108 balcony, total 490, but a note was added: “475 total” seats. The 1940 population was 3,500.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Star; it’s Card # 593. Address is Eastern Avenue (no number given). There is an exterior photo taken March 1941. Condition is Good. It says the Star opened about 1915 and shows MGM films. There were 800 seats. Competing theater was the Palace, also on the same street. The 1940 population was 9,000.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Welden; it’s Card # 591. Address is 104 Main St. There is an exterior photo dated April 1941. Condition is Good. It says the theater opened in 1935 and is not showing MGM films There were 500 seats. Competing theateres were the Empire and the Bellevue, but a report was done only for the Empire, and not for the Bellevue. The 1940 population of St. Albans was 8,000.
When the agent working on the theater report survey for MGM arrived in Springfield in May, 1941, he found two movie theatres: this one, then called the Avon; and a 520-seat house called the Ideal Theatre. He was supposed to take a photo and fill out a report for every theater he found, but he only did this for the Ideal and not for the Avon. He mentioned the Avon as a competing theater for the Ideal, but never reported it.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Colonial; it’s Card # 573. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Fair. It says it opened about 1916 and is not showing MGM films. There were 247 seats. The 1940 population of Bristol was 1,200.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Paramount; it’s Card # 572. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Excellent. It says the theater opened 1937 and is not showing MGM product. 700 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Auditorium; it’s Card # 570. Address is Main Street (no number given). There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. On the upper facade there is a small sign which reads “Town Hall” which implies that this was the Town Hall auditorium. Condition is Good. It says that the theater opened about 1900 and is showing MGM films. There were 338 orchestra seats and 287 balcony, total 625 seats.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Latchis; it’s Card # 571. Address is “Main Street”. There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. The report says that the theater opened in 1938 and is not showing MGM films. There were 820 orchestra seats and 320 balcony seats, total: 1,140. The 1940 population of Brattleboro was 9,600.