Norman Gautreau’s paintings are beautiful. The one of the Revere Th. shows it with a newer marquee than what it had in May 1941 when the MGM Report photo was taken. Also, the top painting shows a little of the Boulevard Theater and ballroom on the left edge of the painting.
This theater is not to be confused with an earlier Congress Hall which, according to Don King’s books, was located downtown starting in the 1830s in or near the Globe Hotel at Hanover & Commercial streets.
Larcron is correct about there being a used bookshop near the Uptown and the Strand. It was located somewhere between Mechanics Hall and the Uptown on the same side of the street and was a funky old place where I bought old copies of Railroad Magazine and Trains Magazine from the 1940s for only 15 cents each. This was in the mid-and late-1950s. Stores like that gave Boston character, in contrast to the antiseptic, streamlined, expensive upscale $$$stores of today.
Yes, the May 1941 MGM Report photo clearly shows “New Century Building” spelled out on the facade above the second-floor windows. The Strand entrance and marquee were located at the right side of the building front.
The theater name was listed as “Crescent Gardens Theatre” in the 1914 list of theaters and halls inside the Report of the Chief of the Mass. District Police linked to above. Wonder why that very informative list has no entries for the City of Boston ??
As of Oct. 1914, other movie theaters named “Scenic Temple” were located in Cambridge, Hull, Revere, and Haverhill, in addition to those listed above. There was no Scenic Temple in Quincy, as mentioned above.
As the Kincaide Theatre, the Capitol was on a long list of MA theaters and halls receiving state licenses for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. It’s condition was Good. Other theaters in Quincy on this list were the Auditorium Theatre and the Quincy Music Hall, plus some social/fraternal halls.
The Old Colony was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses for the year ending Oct 31, 1914. Also on the list was the Plymouth Theatre in Plymouth.
Empire Hall in Whitman was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Leo Nourse was the Mgr and it was in Good condition. Was it the same as the Empire Theatre? And was the Empire this theater?
Loring Hall was on a long list of theaters and halls receiving licenses in MA for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. It was being run by the Trustees of the Loring Hall Association, and it was in Good condition.
Durrell Hall in Cambridge is on a long list of theaters and halls receiving licenses in Massachusetts for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. Carroll Chase was the Mgr. and the condition was Good. The link to the list was posted by Ed Findlay on the page for the Boulevard Theatre in Revere.
The Relay Theatre in Nahant is on a long list of Massachusetts theaters and halls receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Charles Sheafe was the Mgr. and the condition was Good. The Theatorium Hall in Nahant is also on the list.
Further to the discussion of other theates named “Crown”, -in a list of theaters and halls receiving state licenses in MA as of Oct. 31, 1914, are Crown theaters in Amesbury and Everett.
The Melrose Theatre, operated by the Ramsdell Bros., was in a list of theaters and halls receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Also listed was the Melrose Auditorium.
Yes, we know from the link to Fred Allen’s autobiography posted above that the Winthrop Hall Theater was showing movies in addition to vaude on stage as of Feb. 1914. And we know from the Anthony LaCamera 1983 article linked to above that he attended movies there as a kid in the 1920s. Plus, the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook listed it as open. So it appears that when the Strand opened across the street in 1918 the Winthrop Hall remained operating for several years.
One of the links that Ed Findlay has posted above is to an interesting article written in June 1983 for the Dorchester Argus by Boston Herald TV critic Anthony LaCamera who writes about attending movies as a kid in Dorchester, 1920s- 1930s. He implies that the Winthrop Hall Theater became the Uphams Theater, but that’s not the case. They were 2 different theaters almost in the same location.
Yes, sometimes there are many loose ends when one attempts to present facts about a theater 80 years later! My comments above on March 19 are somewhat incorrect when I say that “Still later, it was a bank branch”. The bank came first, before the Uphams Theater, of course. I went back to the 1921 business and street directory. Under “Theatres” it lists the Winthrop Hall Th. at 570 Columbia Road. But when I started going down the street listings for Columbia Road, it had the WH Theatre at # 572. It lists the Strand Garage at 568- Rear; the Dorchester Bank at 570, and the WH Theater at 572. Also in the theater building was the meeting room of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. I think that the bank branch was also there in the 1918 Directory. We know that the ground floor of that building had commercial tenants, and the bank may have been one of them.
It’s listed as the Strand Theatre, with about 900 seats and open 7 days per week, in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook.
Norman Gautreau’s paintings are beautiful. The one of the Revere Th. shows it with a newer marquee than what it had in May 1941 when the MGM Report photo was taken. Also, the top painting shows a little of the Boulevard Theater and ballroom on the left edge of the painting.
This theater is not to be confused with an earlier Congress Hall which, according to Don King’s books, was located downtown starting in the 1830s in or near the Globe Hotel at Hanover & Commercial streets.
Larcron is correct about there being a used bookshop near the Uptown and the Strand. It was located somewhere between Mechanics Hall and the Uptown on the same side of the street and was a funky old place where I bought old copies of Railroad Magazine and Trains Magazine from the 1940s for only 15 cents each. This was in the mid-and late-1950s. Stores like that gave Boston character, in contrast to the antiseptic, streamlined, expensive upscale $$$stores of today.
Yes, the May 1941 MGM Report photo clearly shows “New Century Building” spelled out on the facade above the second-floor windows. The Strand entrance and marquee were located at the right side of the building front.
The marquee on the Uphams in the 1948 photo is the same one which the theater had when it opened.
The theater name was listed as “Crescent Gardens Theatre” in the 1914 list of theaters and halls inside the Report of the Chief of the Mass. District Police linked to above. Wonder why that very informative list has no entries for the City of Boston ??
The Day Square Theater in East Boston is listed as managed by Marget Theatres of Boston in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac.
As of Oct. 1914, other movie theaters named “Scenic Temple” were located in Cambridge, Hull, Revere, and Haverhill, in addition to those listed above. There was no Scenic Temple in Quincy, as mentioned above.
As the Kincaide Theatre, the Capitol was on a long list of MA theaters and halls receiving state licenses for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. It’s condition was Good. Other theaters in Quincy on this list were the Auditorium Theatre and the Quincy Music Hall, plus some social/fraternal halls.
The Old Colony was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses for the year ending Oct 31, 1914. Also on the list was the Plymouth Theatre in Plymouth.
Empire Hall in Whitman was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Leo Nourse was the Mgr and it was in Good condition. Was it the same as the Empire Theatre? And was the Empire this theater?
Stetson Hall was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. It was in Good condition.
Sanford Hall was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. It was in Good condition.
Loring Hall was on a long list of theaters and halls receiving licenses in MA for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. It was being run by the Trustees of the Loring Hall Association, and it was in Good condition.
Durrell Hall in Cambridge is on a long list of theaters and halls receiving licenses in Massachusetts for the year ending Oct. 31, 1914. Carroll Chase was the Mgr. and the condition was Good. The link to the list was posted by Ed Findlay on the page for the Boulevard Theatre in Revere.
The Relay Theatre in Nahant is on a long list of Massachusetts theaters and halls receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Charles Sheafe was the Mgr. and the condition was Good. The Theatorium Hall in Nahant is also on the list.
Further to the discussion of other theates named “Crown”, -in a list of theaters and halls receiving state licenses in MA as of Oct. 31, 1914, are Crown theaters in Amesbury and Everett.
The Melrose Theatre, operated by the Ramsdell Bros., was in a list of theaters and halls receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. Also listed was the Melrose Auditorium.
Very interesting link- lots of good stuff to study in it.
That’s nice to know. It’s always good to hear of a re-use like this.
Yes, we know from the link to Fred Allen’s autobiography posted above that the Winthrop Hall Theater was showing movies in addition to vaude on stage as of Feb. 1914. And we know from the Anthony LaCamera 1983 article linked to above that he attended movies there as a kid in the 1920s. Plus, the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook listed it as open. So it appears that when the Strand opened across the street in 1918 the Winthrop Hall remained operating for several years.
In both a 1918 and a 1921 Boston street directory, the Day Square Theater is listed at 284 Bennington Street, between Prescott St. and Curtis St.
One of the links that Ed Findlay has posted above is to an interesting article written in June 1983 for the Dorchester Argus by Boston Herald TV critic Anthony LaCamera who writes about attending movies as a kid in Dorchester, 1920s- 1930s. He implies that the Winthrop Hall Theater became the Uphams Theater, but that’s not the case. They were 2 different theaters almost in the same location.
Yes, sometimes there are many loose ends when one attempts to present facts about a theater 80 years later! My comments above on March 19 are somewhat incorrect when I say that “Still later, it was a bank branch”. The bank came first, before the Uphams Theater, of course. I went back to the 1921 business and street directory. Under “Theatres” it lists the Winthrop Hall Th. at 570 Columbia Road. But when I started going down the street listings for Columbia Road, it had the WH Theatre at # 572. It lists the Strand Garage at 568- Rear; the Dorchester Bank at 570, and the WH Theater at 572. Also in the theater building was the meeting room of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. I think that the bank branch was also there in the 1918 Directory. We know that the ground floor of that building had commercial tenants, and the bank may have been one of them.