The Win Theater opened as the Cameo Theater in 1933, became The Win Theater in the 1950s, then The Spanish Theater, which became The Caribe Theater in 1964 and is now closed.
The State Theater opened in 1908 as the Broadway Theater. The Broadway Theater hosted a production that featured the famous Ben Hur chariot race. The chariots were drawn by a pair of horses racing on an oval-shaped moving treadmill. The treadmill was fastened to a track on the stage floor. While the race took place, a panorama of the Coliseum flashed before the audience. At the time this was considered the greatest achievement in stage technique.
The Broadway, which had Waterbury’s first theater organ, became The Bijou Theater in 1914. The Bijou became The Rialto Theater in 1917. The Rialto became a popular wartime spot – not too long-lived, only until The State Theater arrived in 1929.
There was no doubt about The State’s elegance when it opened at the former Rialto Theater in 1929. The theater featured 2,600 seats, decorated in a Spanish motif and a classic foyer. It was the first Waterbury theater to bring the new sound films to the city. Its organ cost $40,000 and Jimmy Colgan was the first organist.
The State contracted with Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures for first-run shows, which then went to the Plaza. The Poli Palace contracted with MGM and 20th Century Fox for first-run shows, which then went to the Strand.
Julia Smith, the first woman theater manager in Connecticut, came to Waterbury in 1924 to revive a struggling Strand Theater. She was later the first woman manager for Warner Brothers in its New England chain when it took over The State.
The Garden, built by the Chotzianoff brothers, opened in 1909 and was leased and operated by the great theatrical impresario of the early 20th-century, Poli. The theater was only a part of the business block the Brothers Chotzianoff built. It stands today, its theater swallowed by the onset of downtown elderly housing. This was Waterbury’s first real moving picture theater, 500 seats, upstairs and down, orchestra pit, one of the city’s great entertainment palaces during its long history as The Garden, New Garden and The Plaza.
John M. Fitzgerald operated Jacques' first movie camera and the film was allowed to spin out of the machine and into a paper bag. After the show, the film was tediously rewound by hand. Fitzgerald was a stage manager at Jacques and the old Poli’s. He was one of the first to operate one of the hand-cranked projectors of that era, lighted by live current which arced between two sticks of carbon. The film was celluloid and highly flammable, so that the heat generated by the carbon arc lamp posed a constant threat of fire.
The Alhambra Theater, owned by B.E. Hausdorf, was built at 733 North Main St. in 1912. This vaudeville and movie house closed in 1957 and later became New Opportunities for Waterbury, Inc.
The Win Theater opened as the Cameo Theater in 1933, became The Win Theater in the 1950s, then The Spanish Theater, which became The Caribe Theater in 1964 and is now closed.
The State Theater opened in 1908 as the Broadway Theater. The Broadway Theater hosted a production that featured the famous Ben Hur chariot race. The chariots were drawn by a pair of horses racing on an oval-shaped moving treadmill. The treadmill was fastened to a track on the stage floor. While the race took place, a panorama of the Coliseum flashed before the audience. At the time this was considered the greatest achievement in stage technique.
The Broadway, which had Waterbury’s first theater organ, became The Bijou Theater in 1914. The Bijou became The Rialto Theater in 1917. The Rialto became a popular wartime spot – not too long-lived, only until The State Theater arrived in 1929.
There was no doubt about The State’s elegance when it opened at the former Rialto Theater in 1929. The theater featured 2,600 seats, decorated in a Spanish motif and a classic foyer. It was the first Waterbury theater to bring the new sound films to the city. Its organ cost $40,000 and Jimmy Colgan was the first organist.
The State contracted with Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures for first-run shows, which then went to the Plaza. The Poli Palace contracted with MGM and 20th Century Fox for first-run shows, which then went to the Strand.
Julia Smith, the first woman theater manager in Connecticut, came to Waterbury in 1924 to revive a struggling Strand Theater. She was later the first woman manager for Warner Brothers in its New England chain when it took over The State.
The Garden, built by the Chotzianoff brothers, opened in 1909 and was leased and operated by the great theatrical impresario of the early 20th-century, Poli. The theater was only a part of the business block the Brothers Chotzianoff built. It stands today, its theater swallowed by the onset of downtown elderly housing. This was Waterbury’s first real moving picture theater, 500 seats, upstairs and down, orchestra pit, one of the city’s great entertainment palaces during its long history as The Garden, New Garden and The Plaza.
John M. Fitzgerald operated Jacques' first movie camera and the film was allowed to spin out of the machine and into a paper bag. After the show, the film was tediously rewound by hand. Fitzgerald was a stage manager at Jacques and the old Poli’s. He was one of the first to operate one of the hand-cranked projectors of that era, lighted by live current which arced between two sticks of carbon. The film was celluloid and highly flammable, so that the heat generated by the carbon arc lamp posed a constant threat of fire.
The Carroll Theater in the North Square, built by Patrick H. Carroll in 1913, closed in 1959.
The Alhambra Theater, owned by B.E. Hausdorf, was built at 733 North Main St. in 1912. This vaudeville and movie house closed in 1957 and later became New Opportunities for Waterbury, Inc.