The Westminster (renamed Bijou) was demolished in early 1950. A Providence Journal editorial published on December 30, 1949 reminisced about the glorious/inglorious past of the theatre that was nicknamed “The Sink.” Excerpts from the editorial follow:
“So the Westminster, familiarly and affectionately known as "The Sink,” is coming down. There for many years variegated audiences looked upon that theatrical phenomenon called burlesque, neither musical comedy nor vaudeville, neither comic opera nor revue. It was considered disgraceful in certain circles to be seen in attendance at the old Westminster, but more than one worthy citizen braved public opinion—or tried to sneak in unnoticed… Brown freshmen…considered that they had been initiated into what was known as “the life” when they trooped, with their caps boldly on their heads, into the hallowed precincts of “The Sink.”…
“As one glances back upon Westminster burlesque, there come before the eyes the fully-blown chorines…throwing mocking smiles at the so-called "bald-headed row.” (It was amazing how the ticket seller managed to seat the hairless down in front.)…
“But the real joy…were the comedians: Snuffy the Cabman, Boob McManus, Billy Watson—-artists in their way, some of whom managed to hit the biggest time, like W.C. Fields…Their humor was not of the kind found in refined drawing rooms…They were the Falstaffs of the modern legitimate stage…. Many a staid resident of Providence will wipe away a furtive tear, before his wife catches it, as he recalls the Westminster of old as a Providence institution.”
Note: this theatre is not to be confused with the Westminster Playhouse (the Modern) further up Westminster Street at 440. In its final incarnation as the Bijou, this theatre showed second-run movies.
In November of 1969 the film Fanny Hill, Rated X, was running simultaneously at the at Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center) and the Shipyard Drive-In on Allens Avenue.
In November of 1969 the R.K.O. Albee was showing Russ Meyer’s Vixen while Loew’s State a block away had Fanny Hill. Both were non-pornographic “adult films.” The Strand would in its last years move to hard-core, the only downtown movie palace ever to do so, but clearly it was all signalling the end for regular film programs in the city’s old theatres.
A Providence Journal article from April 27, 1958, documents the history of the Center Theatre in an article headed Final Curtain Descends. Here is a capsule summary:
The annals of the theatre depict a place that saw vaudeville, silent movie, the coming of sound, burlesque, and even a church used for pre-Lenten services. At the end of each vaudeville season a special feature was the Pawtucket Follies, which relied on local talent. During the theatre’s burlesque or “burleycue” shows, as many locals called it, the advice was “to catch the first show. It’s liable to be closed up.” After vaudeville began to wane in the late ‘30s, the Center became a full-time movie house, pretty much. By the end of summer of 1958, the theatre would be leveled to create a parking lot for Park and Shop Pawtucket, Inc.
The theatre was built in 1919 on the site of the old Wakefield Opera House before being rebuilt as the Community. According to an article the Providence Journal, the theatre suffered a fire in February 1968. Water and smoke did damage to draperies and several of the seats. Because of the effects of combatting the blaze, three firemen had to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire chief said that film and $25,000 worth of projection equipment were saved. The theatre had been renovated and re-opened the previous July. The Campus had a single screen and 300 seats at the time.
An interesting fact about this drive-in is that although the entrance and much of the parking/viewing area were in Providence, the screen itself was located over the city line in Cranston! This raised an issue in November of 1969 when, according to a Providence Journal article, a Cranston councilman by the name of Anthony L. Dibiasio, voted no at a meeting to a renewal of the license for the drive-in. He was outvoted. The theatre had been showing movies like the X-rated Fanny Hill. Cranston Council President Paul J. Pisano, an attorney, remarked that because the theater is half in Cranston and half in Providence, it is a legal question as to which city would have jurisdiction in the matter of an objectionable film. He asked, “Is the obscenity on the screen or is it in the projector?"
The film was running simultaneously at the Shipyard and at Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center) in downtown Providence.
History of the Modern-Playhouse-Victory-“Westminster” Playhouse.
The Modern Theatre was erected in 1916 by two wealthy Providence Brothers, B. Thomas and Charles Potter. For nine years it showed movies before being converted to a live theatre, offering the city its only winter stock company at the time from September to March. Most of those productions were second-string in character. At various times over the decades it alternated between being a home to live theatre and being a movie theatre.
Mr. Edward Fay, of Fays Theatre fame, took over the theatre for a time and brought in name Broadway performers, without arousing real public enthusiasm. In 1929 he turned to burlesque and it was then that performers like Abbott and Costello were seen on its stage. In 1933 it returned to stock. Around 1937 the place was refurbished and renamed the Playhouse. Cornelus Otis Skinner, Maurice Evans, and Beatrice Lillie were among the luminaries who graced the stage. Art house type films became the policy for a time, and as I noted in an earlier entry, some Yiddish-language films and films of operatic interest like Giuseppe Verdi with Fosco Giachetti played here during that period.
There were some world premieres of stage works, one of which was Providence-native’s George M. Cohan’s melodrama The Return of the Vagabond. During the war a Mr. Edward Gould presented summer stock. After the war the theatre was renamed the Victory and became a movie house again. Mr. Gould returned to put on theatrical productions and was arrested in 1953 for putting on Tobacco Road without a city license. He was acquitted of any wrongdoing. He was to leave Providence permanently. The theatre reverted to its earlier name, the Playhouse, (Westminster Playhouse in some ads and in a surviving photo of the entrance) and became an art cinema once more for a brief time.
In January of 1955 the sensationally successful Italian movie Bread, Love and Dreams with Gina Lollobrigida moved over for a short continued run. The following month there was the first Providence showing of Giuseppe De Santis' Italian film, the dramatic and star-studded Rome, 11 O'Clock. In April of that same year there was a revival double bill of Anna and Bitter Rice, two more Italian imports, with Silvana Mangano, dubbed in English. Four Ways Out, a Pietro Germi film, and Freda’s Theodora, Slave Empress also played in what looked like a film festival concocted by I.F.E., an outfit that specialized in generally dubbed Italian imports. Other films of that type were shown at that time but never really caught on or made the theatre popular.
The Playhouse eventually shuttered within a year, if that, and was torn down in November of 1957 to be replaced by a parking lot and then later by building complex along the walkway and steps and plaza that replaced Westminster Street between Empire and Franklin.
The VIP closed in July, 1986. A Providence Journal article reported on July 24: Neighbors perplexed by closing of VIP Cinema.
“…downtown’s only adult movie theater has been closed for nearly three weeks….The theater’s most recent entertainment license expired July 7.”
The article goes on to say that neighboring merchants couldn’t understand it, that the VIP seemed to be doing good business, people from all walks of life were always coming and going…including people dressed in $300 suits who would meekishly sneak in the theater. City Hall had no record of a building permit and licensing clerks said they hadn’t heard from the VIP since they had paid for a license to show Tongue Twisters, Mouthful, Foxy, Bathhouse, Caught, Airlines, Corporation, and F-Stop. The VIP had previously made news when Mayor. Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. had returned the VIP’s $250 campaign contribution. VIP officials were mum on the events, but the theater never reopened.
In November of 1969 the Swedish sex film I Am Curious (Yellow) had been playing here for three months, on the main screen at 7 & 9:15 and on the upstairs Studio Cinema screen at 8 P.M. It is possible they were using one print and bicycling reels from one level to the other.
Topic: construction of the theatre that would become the Albee (E.F Albee, R.K.O. Albee.) From “The Board of Trade Journal,” Providence, April, 1915:
Plans for the New Keith’s Theatre.
“…There’s to be a new Keith Theatre in Providence, ground for which will be broken on May 1, for one of the finest houses in New England, to be ready for occupancy January 1, 1916, and it will cover the site of the present Nickel Theatre and the old structures on Snow and Chapel streets.
“The theatre proper will occupy the land in the rear and will be reached by an entrance from Westminster street. The front portion of the building will be devoted entirely to offices and will be six stories in height, the same as that of the Kinsley building, which adjoins the Keith property.
“The theatre will be fireproof throughout and in the matter of equipment will excel anything which the Keith interests now have, it is said. The frame of the structure will be entirely of steel and concrete, with light brick and marble facings. The vestibule, which will be 28 feet wide, will be faced with marble.
“Adjoining the lobby there will be a store having a frontage of 15 feet, making the whole Westminster street frontage 43 feet. The depth of the house running parallel with Mathewson street will be 180 feet, while the extensions on Chapel street will be 157 feet, and on Snow street 93 feet.
“Half of the office building in back will be used for rooms, and the front ofices will connect with the office structure adjoining. The theatre will have a seating capacity of 2600, making it one of the largest amusement houses in New England.
“One of the unusual features of a theatre for Providence will be a handsome rathskeller connecting directly with the auditorium.”
Compared to Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center), built about 12 years later, this was to be the second most beautiful Providence and Rhode Island theatre ever constructed, in my humble opinion. And with regard to the stunning Renaissance-like use of marble in the lobby area and rear of the auditorium, perhaps even the most beautiful.
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.
Roland L.,
I found that book on www.abebooks.com in ten seconds. A dealer in California had it, but there were no other copies listed. Several other Providence area libraries have it and you can take it out. Check the CLAN catalog. The photo you refer to was of the demolition of the Carlton in 1954. Mr. John E. Toohey was the man standing amid the rubble (like Gloria Swanson at the Roxy) and was the manager of the Carlton in its last years. I’m going to post that photo on the Carlton site shortly. It also appears on the above mentioned “Images of Rhode Island” site of the PPL.
Marialivia,
The book deals pretty much only with downtown Providence theatres. At some point I will try to find out when the Fairlawn in Pawtucket opened, using old city directories.
Some sources describe the Olympia as the oldest in Woonsocket, having been included in a block (Fletcher’s Block) built around 1860. It may have been called the Music Hall since later the block was known as the Music Hall Building. In time the block was called the Olympia Block.
This photo from 1928 or so shows the Stadium marquee with its vertical. The film “The Last Command,” with Emil Jannings and directed by the great Joseph von Sternberg, was on view.
Twenty-seven great photos of the Albee, inside and out, can be found by going to the Providence Public Library website www.provlib.org
and following these sequential steps:
1) Click “Electronic resources"
2) Click "Electronic resources from home"
3) Scroll down and click "Images of Rhode Island"
4) Click "Providence Public Library R.I. Image Collection"
5) Type in "Albee” in the left-hand column.
6) Click “Quick pix search” at top of column. The pictures should come up. The process can be used for other theatres and other topics as well.
TWO MORE PICTURES: ONE: NARRANGASETT HOTEL NEXT TO OPERA HOUSE The Opera House would be destroyed in 1931 to provide parking facilities for the Narragansett Hotel. TWO: POSTCARD VIEW OF DORRANCE STREET, not Eddy Street as printed on the card. On the left we see the Opera House with the Narragansett Hotel to the right of it.
Here is a photo of the stage area of the Colonial from 1916 or earlier. The theatre was supposed to possess one of the finest stages in the city. In 1915 Colonial ads boasted “The Home of Refined Burlesque.”
For the record: across Power Street from the little Cable Car Cinema “block,” on the same side of South Main Street, used to stand the Talma Theatre. The Talma was not a movie house, to my knowledge, but was used by The Players, a Providence theatre group, from 1909 until 1932, when they moved to the Barker Playhouse, converted from an old church, on Benefit and Transit Streets. The Talma was torn down and the spot is a parking lot. I believe the Talma may have been called the Lyceum at one time. The Barker Playhouse remains.
From “The Board of Trade Journal” of April, 1915:
“…it must be remembered that the Providence Opera House was put up in 90 days, at a time [1871] when there were not the facilities now used for rapid yet durable operations.”
The Westminster (renamed Bijou) was demolished in early 1950. A Providence Journal editorial published on December 30, 1949 reminisced about the glorious/inglorious past of the theatre that was nicknamed “The Sink.” Excerpts from the editorial follow:
“So the Westminster, familiarly and affectionately known as "The Sink,” is coming down. There for many years variegated audiences looked upon that theatrical phenomenon called burlesque, neither musical comedy nor vaudeville, neither comic opera nor revue. It was considered disgraceful in certain circles to be seen in attendance at the old Westminster, but more than one worthy citizen braved public opinion—or tried to sneak in unnoticed… Brown freshmen…considered that they had been initiated into what was known as “the life” when they trooped, with their caps boldly on their heads, into the hallowed precincts of “The Sink.”…
“As one glances back upon Westminster burlesque, there come before the eyes the fully-blown chorines…throwing mocking smiles at the so-called "bald-headed row.” (It was amazing how the ticket seller managed to seat the hairless down in front.)…
“But the real joy…were the comedians: Snuffy the Cabman, Boob McManus, Billy Watson—-artists in their way, some of whom managed to hit the biggest time, like W.C. Fields…Their humor was not of the kind found in refined drawing rooms…They were the Falstaffs of the modern legitimate stage…. Many a staid resident of Providence will wipe away a furtive tear, before his wife catches it, as he recalls the Westminster of old as a Providence institution.”
Note: this theatre is not to be confused with the Westminster Playhouse (the Modern) further up Westminster Street at 440. In its final incarnation as the Bijou, this theatre showed second-run movies.
In November of 1969 the film Fanny Hill, Rated X, was running simultaneously at the at Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center) and the Shipyard Drive-In on Allens Avenue.
In November of 1969 the R.K.O. Albee was showing Russ Meyer’s Vixen while Loew’s State a block away had Fanny Hill. Both were non-pornographic “adult films.” The Strand would in its last years move to hard-core, the only downtown movie palace ever to do so, but clearly it was all signalling the end for regular film programs in the city’s old theatres.
A Providence Journal article from April 27, 1958, documents the history of the Center Theatre in an article headed Final Curtain Descends. Here is a capsule summary:
The annals of the theatre depict a place that saw vaudeville, silent movie, the coming of sound, burlesque, and even a church used for pre-Lenten services. At the end of each vaudeville season a special feature was the Pawtucket Follies, which relied on local talent. During the theatre’s burlesque or “burleycue” shows, as many locals called it, the advice was “to catch the first show. It’s liable to be closed up.” After vaudeville began to wane in the late ‘30s, the Center became a full-time movie house, pretty much. By the end of summer of 1958, the theatre would be leveled to create a parking lot for Park and Shop Pawtucket, Inc.
The theatre was built in 1919 on the site of the old Wakefield Opera House before being rebuilt as the Community. According to an article the Providence Journal, the theatre suffered a fire in February 1968. Water and smoke did damage to draperies and several of the seats. Because of the effects of combatting the blaze, three firemen had to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire chief said that film and $25,000 worth of projection equipment were saved. The theatre had been renovated and re-opened the previous July. The Campus had a single screen and 300 seats at the time.
An interesting fact about this drive-in is that although the entrance and much of the parking/viewing area were in Providence, the screen itself was located over the city line in Cranston! This raised an issue in November of 1969 when, according to a Providence Journal article, a Cranston councilman by the name of Anthony L. Dibiasio, voted no at a meeting to a renewal of the license for the drive-in. He was outvoted. The theatre had been showing movies like the X-rated Fanny Hill. Cranston Council President Paul J. Pisano, an attorney, remarked that because the theater is half in Cranston and half in Providence, it is a legal question as to which city would have jurisdiction in the matter of an objectionable film. He asked, “Is the obscenity on the screen or is it in the projector?"
The film was running simultaneously at the Shipyard and at Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center) in downtown Providence.
History of the Modern-Playhouse-Victory-“Westminster” Playhouse.
The Modern Theatre was erected in 1916 by two wealthy Providence Brothers, B. Thomas and Charles Potter. For nine years it showed movies before being converted to a live theatre, offering the city its only winter stock company at the time from September to March. Most of those productions were second-string in character. At various times over the decades it alternated between being a home to live theatre and being a movie theatre.
Mr. Edward Fay, of Fays Theatre fame, took over the theatre for a time and brought in name Broadway performers, without arousing real public enthusiasm. In 1929 he turned to burlesque and it was then that performers like Abbott and Costello were seen on its stage. In 1933 it returned to stock. Around 1937 the place was refurbished and renamed the Playhouse. Cornelus Otis Skinner, Maurice Evans, and Beatrice Lillie were among the luminaries who graced the stage. Art house type films became the policy for a time, and as I noted in an earlier entry, some Yiddish-language films and films of operatic interest like Giuseppe Verdi with Fosco Giachetti played here during that period.
There were some world premieres of stage works, one of which was Providence-native’s George M. Cohan’s melodrama The Return of the Vagabond. During the war a Mr. Edward Gould presented summer stock. After the war the theatre was renamed the Victory and became a movie house again. Mr. Gould returned to put on theatrical productions and was arrested in 1953 for putting on Tobacco Road without a city license. He was acquitted of any wrongdoing. He was to leave Providence permanently. The theatre reverted to its earlier name, the Playhouse, (Westminster Playhouse in some ads and in a surviving photo of the entrance) and became an art cinema once more for a brief time.
In January of 1955 the sensationally successful Italian movie Bread, Love and Dreams with Gina Lollobrigida moved over for a short continued run. The following month there was the first Providence showing of Giuseppe De Santis' Italian film, the dramatic and star-studded Rome, 11 O'Clock. In April of that same year there was a revival double bill of Anna and Bitter Rice, two more Italian imports, with Silvana Mangano, dubbed in English. Four Ways Out, a Pietro Germi film, and Freda’s Theodora, Slave Empress also played in what looked like a film festival concocted by I.F.E., an outfit that specialized in generally dubbed Italian imports. Other films of that type were shown at that time but never really caught on or made the theatre popular.
The Playhouse eventually shuttered within a year, if that, and was torn down in November of 1957 to be replaced by a parking lot and then later by building complex along the walkway and steps and plaza that replaced Westminster Street between Empire and Franklin.
The VIP closed in July, 1986. A Providence Journal article reported on July 24:
Neighbors perplexed by closing of VIP Cinema.
“…downtown’s only adult movie theater has been closed for nearly three weeks….The theater’s most recent entertainment license expired July 7.”
The article goes on to say that neighboring merchants couldn’t understand it, that the VIP seemed to be doing good business, people from all walks of life were always coming and going…including people dressed in $300 suits who would meekishly sneak in the theater. City Hall had no record of a building permit and licensing clerks said they hadn’t heard from the VIP since they had paid for a license to show Tongue Twisters, Mouthful, Foxy, Bathhouse, Caught, Airlines, Corporation, and F-Stop. The VIP had previously made news when Mayor. Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. had returned the VIP’s $250 campaign contribution. VIP officials were mum on the events, but the theater never reopened.
Urban Cowboy with John Travolta was playing at the Town and Country in early August of 1980.
In November of 1969 the Swedish sex film I Am Curious (Yellow) had been playing here for three months, on the main screen at 7 & 9:15 and on the upstairs Studio Cinema screen at 8 P.M. It is possible they were using one print and bicycling reels from one level to the other.
Topic: construction of the theatre that would become the Albee (E.F Albee, R.K.O. Albee.) From “The Board of Trade Journal,” Providence, April, 1915:
Plans for the New Keith’s Theatre.
“…There’s to be a new Keith Theatre in Providence, ground for which will be broken on May 1, for one of the finest houses in New England, to be ready for occupancy January 1, 1916, and it will cover the site of the present Nickel Theatre and the old structures on Snow and Chapel streets.
“The theatre proper will occupy the land in the rear and will be reached by an entrance from Westminster street. The front portion of the building will be devoted entirely to offices and will be six stories in height, the same as that of the Kinsley building, which adjoins the Keith property.
“The theatre will be fireproof throughout and in the matter of equipment will excel anything which the Keith interests now have, it is said. The frame of the structure will be entirely of steel and concrete, with light brick and marble facings. The vestibule, which will be 28 feet wide, will be faced with marble.
“Adjoining the lobby there will be a store having a frontage of 15 feet, making the whole Westminster street frontage 43 feet. The depth of the house running parallel with Mathewson street will be 180 feet, while the extensions on Chapel street will be 157 feet, and on Snow street 93 feet.
“Half of the office building in back will be used for rooms, and the front ofices will connect with the office structure adjoining. The theatre will have a seating capacity of 2600, making it one of the largest amusement houses in New England.
“One of the unusual features of a theatre for Providence will be a handsome rathskeller connecting directly with the auditorium.”
Compared to Loew’s State (now Providence Performing Arts Center), built about 12 years later, this was to be the second most beautiful Providence and Rhode Island theatre ever constructed, in my humble opinion. And with regard to the stunning Renaissance-like use of marble in the lobby area and rear of the auditorium, perhaps even the most beautiful.
Roland, I just posted that picture on the Carlton page.
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.
Roland L.,
I found that book on www.abebooks.com in ten seconds. A dealer in California had it, but there were no other copies listed. Several other Providence area libraries have it and you can take it out. Check the CLAN catalog. The photo you refer to was of the demolition of the Carlton in 1954. Mr. John E. Toohey was the man standing amid the rubble (like Gloria Swanson at the Roxy) and was the manager of the Carlton in its last years. I’m going to post that photo on the Carlton site shortly. It also appears on the above mentioned “Images of Rhode Island” site of the PPL.
Marialivia,
The book deals pretty much only with downtown Providence theatres. At some point I will try to find out when the Fairlawn in Pawtucket opened, using old city directories.
Some sources describe the Olympia as the oldest in Woonsocket, having been included in a block (Fletcher’s Block) built around 1860. It may have been called the Music Hall since later the block was known as the Music Hall Building. In time the block was called the Olympia Block.
This photo from 1928 or so shows the Stadium marquee with its vertical. The film “The Last Command,” with Emil Jannings and directed by the great Joseph von Sternberg, was on view.
Twenty-seven great photos of the Albee, inside and out, can be found by going to the Providence Public Library website www.provlib.org
and following these sequential steps:
1) Click “Electronic resources"
2) Click "Electronic resources from home"
3) Scroll down and click "Images of Rhode Island"
4) Click "Providence Public Library R.I. Image Collection"
5) Type in "Albee” in the left-hand column.
6) Click “Quick pix search” at top of column. The pictures should come up. The process can be used for other theatres and other topics as well.
Bullock’s was the first motion picture theatre in Providence…and probably in the state of Rhode Island.
Here is a photo of Keith’s Theatre back in the early decades of the 20th Century.
Thanks. There are two photos of the Colonial on the Cinema Tour website. www.cinematour.com
TWO MORE PICTURES:
ONE: NARRANGASETT HOTEL NEXT TO OPERA HOUSE The Opera House would be destroyed in 1931 to provide parking facilities for the Narragansett Hotel.
TWO: POSTCARD VIEW OF DORRANCE STREET, not Eddy Street as printed on the card. On the left we see the Opera House with the Narragansett Hotel to the right of it.
The place has just been converted inside to DIESEL…“mega club, lounge, event space.”
Here is a photo of the stage area of the Colonial from 1916 or earlier. The theatre was supposed to possess one of the finest stages in the city. In 1915 Colonial ads boasted “The Home of Refined Burlesque.”
For the record: across Power Street from the little Cable Car Cinema “block,” on the same side of South Main Street, used to stand the Talma Theatre. The Talma was not a movie house, to my knowledge, but was used by The Players, a Providence theatre group, from 1909 until 1932, when they moved to the Barker Playhouse, converted from an old church, on Benefit and Transit Streets. The Talma was torn down and the spot is a parking lot. I believe the Talma may have been called the Lyceum at one time. The Barker Playhouse remains.
From “The Board of Trade Journal” of April, 1915:
“…it must be remembered that the Providence Opera House was put up in 90 days, at a time [1871] when there were not the facilities now used for rapid yet durable operations.”