This old postcard of Weybosset Street shows part of the Gaiety Theatre. Better photos of the theatre exist, although this one shows nicely the context of the street it was on.
Time-line for name-changes for this theatre as listed in the Providence Public Library topical card catalog:
1878-1888 Low’s Opera House
1888-1898 Keith’s Gaiety Opera House
1898-1911 Keith’s New Theatre
1912-1919 Keith’s Theatre
1920-1936 Victory Theatre
1936-1949 Empire Theatre
Construction of the Bijou as reported in “Board of Trade Journal,” March, 1908:
“The two story wooden building located at the corner of Westminster and Orange Streets is being remodelled for the Archie L. Sheppard Amusement Company, and when finished will be known as the ‘Bijou Theatre.’ Plans have been prepared by William R. Walker & Son and provide for a new iron front to be finished in white and gold. A stage will be erected and the second floor removed, the roof being supported by trusses.”
Actually this theatre was named “Cranston Auto Theatre” when it opened and “Cranston Drive-In” in successive years. It opened on July 29, 1948 amid great hoopla. The Providence Journal the next day reported that film and civic VIPs had attended the opening. Cranston and state police controlling traffic later estimated that 700 cars were admitted (the theatre capacity was then 700 cars) and that almost an equal number had been turned away. Myer Stanzler, president of the Columbia Amusement Company, owners of the theatre which cost $60,000, said that the capacity would be increased to 800. Thirty-one years later, on November 2, 1979, a Journal article reported that the drive-in had closed for good the night before and that ground-breaking had begun for a 91,000 square-foot shopping complex.
I remember walking around the interior of a theatre in Laconia the weekend I was on a camping trip nearby in May of 1973. I don’t remember what it was being used for then, perhaps a shop, but a friend who summered in Laconia took me inside. I don’t know if it was this place. Was there any other theatre in Laconia?
This is a photo of the Keith’s Theatre which became the Victory. There is another picture (postcard) of this theatre which became the Victory in my April 15 posting above.
The theatre first opened as the Imperial in 1902. At the start it was primarily a a theatrical venue before switching to movies. In the end it was considered a “scratch house” because of its cheapness and by then its shabbiness (although it was a theatre of remarkable character beneath all that.)
Some documented ownership follows. A 1925 Providence Journal Almanac lists the manager of the Liberty as as one John F. Carey, the seating capacity as 827. A 1931 Almanac lists Samuel Bomes as owner. The 1939 Almanac gives Samuel Bomes as president and manager and the corporation name as Elmwood Amusement Corporation. The 1948 Almanac lists Samuel as president and Edward Bomes as manager. A 1968 listing gives the “Art Theater” owner as Playhouse, Inc; Sol Turek, manager, with a seating capacity now at 750. The 1973 edition sates the owner was Sounderling Broadcasting Corp., SBC, Providence. Charles Conway was manager.
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 1925 Providence Journal Almanac gives the following data about the E. F. Albee Theatre (as it was then named): Harry W. Grull, general manager; Foster Lardner, manager; seating capacity, 2300; proscenium opening, 38x38 feet; footlights to back wall, 38 feet; between side walls, 78 feet; height to gridiron, 60 feet.
The Providence Evening Bulletin of June 30, 1937 reported that the Empire (later the second “Bijou”), RKO Albee, and Carlton were closing for various periods of time for “overhauling.” They all re-opened before long.
The Providence Evening Bulletin of June 30, 1937 reported that the Empire, RKO Albee, and Carlton were closing for various periods of time for “overhauling.” At that time this theatre was known as the Empire. Empire should be added as an alternate name for this theatre.
Here is a movie ad for the Hippodrome from the Christmas season of 1915. Note the presence of Mr. Edward M. Fay, Providence showman and theatre owner as well as musician. He led the orchestra accompanying the movies. But who could afford those admission prices?
Hail, and good-bye!
The Opera House opened as a theatre on December 4, 1871. It ceased operation on March 4, 1931. It was demolished not long thereafter (not in the “late 1920s” as I hypothesized in my original theatre description.) In the six decades it had been open at the northwestern corner of Dorrance and Pine Streets, adjacent to the famed Narragansett Hotel, it had brought to the Rhode Island capital city great theatrical productions, musical events, and movies big and small in a classy environment that exuded a sense of importance and dignity.
It was a victim of hard times as the depression took its toll and of the competition from other big nearby theatres, especially the immense, more luxurious Loew’s State (opened 1928) around the corner and up Weybosset Street about two blocks away, and probably also because of other factors I am unaware of.
The theatre did not just fade out quietly. It went out with a bang via an enormous closing gala, similar to what took place at the final night of New York’s old Metropolitan Opera when it would shut down in the 1960s as the company prepared to move to its new home at Lincoln Center.
The printed program survives from that final evening of Providence’s Opera House in the collection of Mr. Edward M. Fay, R.I. showman, theatre-owner, and musician, who had a hand in that evening’s gala farewell to a 60-year-old grande dame. (A copy is in a folder of the Edward M. Fay collection at the Rhode Island Historical Society.)The program lists a number of guest celebrities including song writer George M. Cohan of “Over there!” fame. Mr. Cohan was from Providence. Mr. Harry Langdon, “favorite comic of the talkies,” as the program asserted, appeared in person. An ensemble finale, led by Mr. Edward M. Fay, was a tearful “Auld lang syne.”
The printed program gave a history of the theatre which concluded:
“After the final chapter is written tonight, the building will come down. Only memories will remain of an institution that for three score years held high place in the cultural, social, and civic life of Providence and of the State of Rhode Island. AVE ATQUE VALE!”
This old postcard of Weybosset Street shows part of the Gaiety Theatre. Better photos of the theatre exist, although this one shows nicely the context of the street it was on.
Time-line for name-changes for this theatre as listed in the Providence Public Library topical card catalog:
1903-1912 Imperial
1913-1919 Colonial
1919-1922 Mayflower
1923-1931 Capitol
1932-1958 E.M. Loew’s Capitol
Time-line for name-changes for this theatre as listed in the Providence Public Library topical card catalog:
1878-1888 Low’s Opera House
1888-1898 Keith’s Gaiety Opera House
1898-1911 Keith’s New Theatre
1912-1919 Keith’s Theatre
1920-1936 Victory Theatre
1936-1949 Empire Theatre
Construction of the Bijou as reported in “Board of Trade Journal,” March, 1908:
“The two story wooden building located at the corner of Westminster and Orange Streets is being remodelled for the Archie L. Sheppard Amusement Company, and when finished will be known as the ‘Bijou Theatre.’ Plans have been prepared by William R. Walker & Son and provide for a new iron front to be finished in white and gold. A stage will be erected and the second floor removed, the roof being supported by trusses.”
Actually this theatre was named “Cranston Auto Theatre” when it opened and “Cranston Drive-In” in successive years. It opened on July 29, 1948 amid great hoopla. The Providence Journal the next day reported that film and civic VIPs had attended the opening. Cranston and state police controlling traffic later estimated that 700 cars were admitted (the theatre capacity was then 700 cars) and that almost an equal number had been turned away. Myer Stanzler, president of the Columbia Amusement Company, owners of the theatre which cost $60,000, said that the capacity would be increased to 800. Thirty-one years later, on November 2, 1979, a Journal article reported that the drive-in had closed for good the night before and that ground-breaking had begun for a 91,000 square-foot shopping complex.
I remember walking around the interior of a theatre in Laconia the weekend I was on a camping trip nearby in May of 1973. I don’t remember what it was being used for then, perhaps a shop, but a friend who summered in Laconia took me inside. I don’t know if it was this place. Was there any other theatre in Laconia?
Here is a photo of the strand from 1940.
Here are two photos of the Park/Opera House.
PHOTO FROM 1952
PHOTO FROM 1930
One source says the Park’s last film shown was in 1963.
Here is a nice old postcard of the Nickel along with Grace Church and the to-and-fro of Westminster Street.
Here is another old photograph of the Colonial.
Here is another photo of the Bijou in Newport, taken in 1908.
Here is a postcard of the Emery, which later became the Carlton.
Here is a nice photo of the Opera House.
This is a photo of the Keith’s Theatre which became the Victory. There is another picture (postcard) of this theatre which became the Victory in my April 15 posting above.
It was in 1919 that the Scenic became the Rialto.
The theatre first opened as the Imperial in 1902. At the start it was primarily a a theatrical venue before switching to movies. In the end it was considered a “scratch house” because of its cheapness and by then its shabbiness (although it was a theatre of remarkable character beneath all that.)
The architect’s name is properly spelled Oresto DiSaia. The theatre closed in 1954.
Here is an ad for the presentation of INTOLERANCE at the Opera House in April of 1918.
The Providence Opera House was designed by John Fox of Boston who later designed the Music Hall (1877) of Lewiston, Maine. It seated 1350.
Some documented ownership follows. A 1925 Providence Journal Almanac lists the manager of the Liberty as as one John F. Carey, the seating capacity as 827. A 1931 Almanac lists Samuel Bomes as owner. The 1939 Almanac gives Samuel Bomes as president and manager and the corporation name as Elmwood Amusement Corporation. The 1948 Almanac lists Samuel as president and Edward Bomes as manager. A 1968 listing gives the “Art Theater” owner as Playhouse, Inc; Sol Turek, manager, with a seating capacity now at 750. The 1973 edition sates the owner was Sounderling Broadcasting Corp., SBC, Providence. Charles Conway was manager.
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 1925 Providence Journal Almanac gives the following data about the E. F. Albee Theatre (as it was then named): Harry W. Grull, general manager; Foster Lardner, manager; seating capacity, 2300; proscenium opening, 38x38 feet; footlights to back wall, 38 feet; between side walls, 78 feet; height to gridiron, 60 feet.
The Providence Evening Bulletin of June 30, 1937 reported that the Empire (later the second “Bijou”), RKO Albee, and Carlton were closing for various periods of time for “overhauling.” They all re-opened before long.
The Providence Evening Bulletin of June 30, 1937 reported that the Empire, RKO Albee, and Carlton were closing for various periods of time for “overhauling.” At that time this theatre was known as the Empire. Empire should be added as an alternate name for this theatre.
Here is a movie ad for the Hippodrome from the Christmas season of 1915. Note the presence of Mr. Edward M. Fay, Providence showman and theatre owner as well as musician. He led the orchestra accompanying the movies. But who could afford those admission prices?
Hail, and good-bye!
The Opera House opened as a theatre on December 4, 1871. It ceased operation on March 4, 1931. It was demolished not long thereafter (not in the “late 1920s” as I hypothesized in my original theatre description.) In the six decades it had been open at the northwestern corner of Dorrance and Pine Streets, adjacent to the famed Narragansett Hotel, it had brought to the Rhode Island capital city great theatrical productions, musical events, and movies big and small in a classy environment that exuded a sense of importance and dignity.
It was a victim of hard times as the depression took its toll and of the competition from other big nearby theatres, especially the immense, more luxurious Loew’s State (opened 1928) around the corner and up Weybosset Street about two blocks away, and probably also because of other factors I am unaware of.
The theatre did not just fade out quietly. It went out with a bang via an enormous closing gala, similar to what took place at the final night of New York’s old Metropolitan Opera when it would shut down in the 1960s as the company prepared to move to its new home at Lincoln Center.
The printed program survives from that final evening of Providence’s Opera House in the collection of Mr. Edward M. Fay, R.I. showman, theatre-owner, and musician, who had a hand in that evening’s gala farewell to a 60-year-old grande dame. (A copy is in a folder of the Edward M. Fay collection at the Rhode Island Historical Society.)The program lists a number of guest celebrities including song writer George M. Cohan of “Over there!” fame. Mr. Cohan was from Providence. Mr. Harry Langdon, “favorite comic of the talkies,” as the program asserted, appeared in person. An ensemble finale, led by Mr. Edward M. Fay, was a tearful “Auld lang syne.”
The printed program gave a history of the theatre which concluded:
“After the final chapter is written tonight, the building will come down. Only memories will remain of an institution that for three score years held high place in the cultural, social, and civic life of Providence and of the State of Rhode Island. AVE ATQUE VALE!”