Wollaston Theatre
14 Beale Street,
Quincy,
MA
02170
14 Beale Street,
Quincy,
MA
02170
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 165 comments
I’m glad you were able to look around, but if you were able to wander in like that, so could someone else with less benign intentions. I do not want to open my morning paper and learn that the place has burned down.
Well, it was propped, but the door was closed. I replaced the stick against the door from the inside, not to alert anyone.
Doesn’t sound at all good that the door was open and unlocked and you were able to just walk in unnoticed. Is the owner totally abandoning this property?
I disagree slightly with ScottNorwood. There isn’t a big chandelier, but many small ones.
I was in Quincy 2 weeks ago and there were 2 storefronts of the 4 open. I went to the right (to the auditorium, the building is shaped like an “L”) and saw a broomstick handle propping the door open. Looks like there was a wafery wood substance on the whole exterior of the door. The door opened (it was Sunday and nobody was around the adjacent parking lot or stores across the street). It was cold and dark. There was water damage in the ceiling and from what I could see with my strong bicycle light, there were 4 mini-chandeliers. I didn’t see the seats roped off, but it looked like there were many intact, in 3 sections. Couldn’t see the booth but there didn’t look like there was a balcony. No ornate items at all. The space between the first row and the pit was about 20-25 feet. The pit was probably an orchestra pit and was about 5 feet deep and full of debris. The screen was still intact, albeit with a few rips in it.
Wollaston has always been a vibrant little shopping district, with some well maintained shops and good delicatessans. It is a safe and pleasant neighborhood with a convenient subway station. I went to the Wollaston Theatre several times as a kid, as I lived in nearby Milton. I vividly remember going here about 1957 (while six years of age) to see Disney’s “Old Yeller” and all the seats were taken except for the first two rows. Quite a good memory, don’t you think? I also liked seeing The Beatles in “Help!” about 1966, a year after it was first released downtown. It would be nice for this cinema to reopen in some fashion. Places like this in older neighborhoods deserve some kind of tax abatement or preservation funds, as they are assets to the community that help to keep the streets from being deserted at night.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Wollaston Theatre on Beale St. in Quincy has a facade photo taken in April 1941. There was a vertical blade sign above the marquee. Attractions, in white letters on a black background, were “Strawberry Blonde” and “Play Girl”. Attached to the bottom edge of the marquee was a cloth banner stating that Blue Orchid Dinnerware was available with admission tickets. (“Dish Night”) To the immediate right of the theatre’s one-story entrance block was a building with at least 2 or 3 stories. That building has been gone for awhile. The Report states that the Wollaston has been a MGM customer for over 10 years; that the Condition is Good; and that it has 1259 seats, all on one floor.
I am glad I am not the only person who misses Wollaston Theatre. The closing of the theatre was a huge loss to the area. Hopefully repairs will be completed. The owner could add to the proftis by renting the theatre out to theatre groups. You would think the city politians would work to get it reopened.
The Thomas Crane Public Library’s website “Quincy Historic and Architectural Survey” (a wonderful but poorly maintained resource) has info on the Wolly at http://ci.quincy.ma.us/tcpl/htm/house9.htm
Arthur Chandler and his wife are in their mid to late 70s now and may not want to be tied to the running of the theater any more. I pass through Wollaston Center on foot on my way to the Red Line on a regular basis, and I see them having breakfast at Barry’s which is across the street from the Wolly. I believe they are there every morning.
There WERE repairs done to the inside of the Wolly, but continued leakage from the roof undid some of this work, which was painfully slow. For a long time there was scaffolding inside the theater.
I saw movies there from 1993 until it closed in 2003. The seats were roped off because Mr. Chandler didn’t want to have to clean the whole 1100 seat theater when the audience was only 200. (I asked him about this.)
I did see the theater full one time in this period. I believe it was for the dollar night showing of Toy Story. It was quite a sight. The theater was full of kids.
The Theater initially closed because of flooding in the basement caused when the fill tap to the boiler was accidentally left on for several days.
I still haven’t seen “Catch Me If You Ca†or “Elfâ€. We used to go on dollar nights coming straight from the Red Line. We used to sneak in Crab Rangoons from Mascot Chef or a tin of cashews from CVS. We bought sodas in the theater, and sometimes had popcorn instead. It was a lot of fun. We see maybe 1-2 movies/year now. It was a big loss.
Before we knew Arthur Chandler’s name, we called him Mr. Brown, because his entire wardrobe is brown â€" brown slacks, brown plaid shirt, and brown cardigan.
Some recent photos of the (still-closed) Wollaston Theatre
It’s not a “help them out” situation. Reviving the theatre can only be done when the owner wants to do it. In this case, I’m afraid the owner hasn’t shown good faith efforts.
Arthur Chandler has always said ‘no’ emphatically to any offers to buy the theater so far. As some have mentioned, he is not easy to approach on the subject.
If he’s willing to sell the property, there’s a chance that the theatre can be revived. What do you think the chances for that happening are?
I just found this site and am so excited to be able to log on and comment on the Wollaston Theater. I approached Arthur Chandler in the summer of 2002 about using his theater for my wedding. It took a lot of convincing but he finally allowed it. And we were married there November 2002. It was fantastic. I was more than dissapointed to learn it had closed. I know they could barely make ends meet. Since I was a little girl I loved that theater, my grandmother used to take me there. I too have a dream of restoring it and owning it someday. The theater is in disrepair, but it has great bones and is a historic building, so I believe the city can’t rip it down unless it is condemned. I noticed on this site that there is a federal grant program to restore old theaters. Would anyone on this site be willing to help me try to convince Mr. Chandler that we should go forward with this? They are a sweet older couple, with no children, and most of the people working there did it for free or peanuts. I don’t think they have anyone willing to help them out. I think the Wolly deserves a 2ns chance. ANYONE up for a challenge????
Marl
The story is correct except that it wasn’t at the Wollaston, it was at the Quincy Theatre in Quincy Center. Here’s a Patriot Ledger article about the play and Howard Johnson.
I grew up in the Wollaston Beach area and in the late ‘40s and early '50s I attended “The Wolly” many Saturday afternoons. It was only a quarter for a double feature. Some of my friends (but not me!) used to nick an apple or two from Louie the Gyp’s fruit stand next door on the way into the theater. Later, as a teenager, the theaters in Quincy Square (the Strand et al) and the Quintree held more appeal, but now and then I still patronized the Wolly on Friday nights.
There is an interesting legend about the Wollaston Theater that I heard when I worked for Howard Johnson’s (didn’t we all, at one time or another?). In the late ‘20s a play by Eugene O'Neill (maybe “Long Day’s Journey…”) was to open in Boston but was banned. The producer’s search for an alternate venue led to the Wollaston Theater, because it had a stage, as did most movie theaters back then, and was only a block or so from the NYNH&H railroad depot (now the Wollaston “T” station). Thus Boston theater patrons who might want to see a new O'Neill play (and who among them wouldn’t?) could easily reach the theater. Located at the Wollaston depot was a drug store and soda fountain owned by one Howard Johnson. As the legend goes, the Bostonians who journeyed to exotic Wollaston were so taken by his ice cream that they spread its fame far and wide, thus paving the way for his expansion. Well, that’s the legend – I can only verify the location of the depot and the original HoJo’s. Maybe someone in the area could research it further…
“Lost Memory” ’s posting of Sept 20 2005 is definitely the Wollaston Theatre, even though the name is not spelled correctly. The man in the photo is the owner, Arthur Chandler.
One of the members above mentions a theatre on Washington Street which he thought was named Publix. This is the Lincoln Theatre, orginally the Casino, and dating to WW I years. It was on the right side of Washington St., halfway between Southern Artery and the Fore River Bridge. It was a typical Nabe, but I never went there as a kid, as it was too far. But all the kids in Quincy Point loved it. I think it closed around 1960 or so. For an overview of Quincy theatres see the Quincy Patriot-Ledger of April 30, 1962 which ran a long historical/nostalgic type of article. There was a theatre on the 2nd floor of the building on the west side of Hancock Street opposite Cottage Avenue, the building whose 2nd floor is faced with white brick. It later was Remick’s Dept. Store for many years. I think the theatre up there was called the Music Hall, but it was long before my time. The Wollaston is the last survivor of all of the Quincy theatres.
Great comments Ron….if you have any other comments on the Regent, Quintree, Strand or any other Quincy area theaters could you post to their sites? I’m quite interested in getting some info on these theaters but have not had any responses to my listings yet. Thanks!!
Here are a few more facts about the Wollaston, from notes written by the late J. Paul Chavanne: Architect was Edwin H. McEwan. It opened on Sept 5, 1927, with 2 movies and a singer on stage. It had a 2-manual Wicks organ which is still there. The name of the stock company which was in residence there was Al Luttringer’s stock company. There were about 1100 seats, all on one floor.
When the Wollaston first opened, it was home to the Al Lurtringer stock company on stage. I went there occasionally in the 1940s and 1950s, it was a well-patronized Nabe in those days. Sometime in the 1960s there was a live booking- “Vaudeville Revue” starring George Jessell and Tiny Tim. Also, occasional “Amateur Nights” on stage,plus lots of 2nd-run films. It closed in March 2003. It’s a short easy walk from Wollaston Station on the Red Line. Parking in the area is a real problem. There used to be a huge free lot across from the theatre’s south sidewall, but it’s full of buildings now. Too much development there ! I, too, think that it once was an ATC house. The Regent Theatre was nearby, on the east side of Hancock Street, half way between Wollaston Theatre and the North Quincy High School. It closed in the mmid- or late- 1950s and the building was converted to commercial use. The Quintree Drive-in was on Quincy Avenue halfway up the hill as you head south from the shipyard. Quirk Chevrolet is there now. The screen was about where their buildings are, and you parked on the slope between Quincy Avenue and the screen. Saw a few flicks there as a kid.
I worked at this site in 1953. Managers name was McDermott. Nice neighborhood theater. I think it was an ATC house.
Ron, I walked by the Wollaston yesterday. Nothing’s going on. Doors are locked, no boards or signs in the windows….but the poster for “Catch Me If You Can” is still up, believe it or not!
And according to this page, the theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
“The Great Entertainment” hosted by Frank Avruch used the Wollaston Theatre as his backdrop when he intro’d and spoke about the movie that was playing..I believe on Channel 56 or maybe Channel 5.