The Wigwam Theater was renamed the Nevada Theatre on August 11, 1942 after extensive remodeling, reopening with Abbott and Costello in “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” and Don Ameche in “Confirm Or Deny” along with Disney’s Donald Duck in “Truant Officer Donald” and a Universal Newsreel.
On September 2, 1948, the Nevada Theatre was renamed the Crest Theatre after another extensive remodeling, reopening with Betty Grable in “That Lady In Ermine” and a special Hollywood studio preview and Anne Baxter appearing in person. Otherwise, no extras were added. It was operated by Fox West Coast at the time.
Mann Theatres closed the Crest on September 13, 1977 with “The Deep” and “Fun With Dick And Jane”.
However, United Artists announced in a November 1974 article that the Conway Theatre would continue operating on weekends during the winter, but that idea was scrapped because of deterioration, which caused the closure of the Conway Theatre. S.T. Smith Jr., executor of the estate of his late father, replied that the chain paid an undisclosed sum to terminate the lease, which was set to expire in August 1977.
The Town Centre Cinema 6 actually first opened in late-1985, as it was already advertised in 1986. Cinemark would take the theater over that same year and its name was shorten to just Cinema 6. It was last known as Cinemark Cinema 6 and closed on February 21, 2010.
I cannot find as much details about the Southbridge Twin Cinema, but all I know is that this might’ve opened as a single-screener under the “Southbridge Cinema” name before it was twinned in 1973. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of information about its early life from the archives of the Boston Globe with the exception of showtimes.
Prudential Theatres opened the Ruby Isle Theatre on June 22, 1966 with Ann Margret in “Stagecoach”. It originally housed 818 Haywood-Wakefield rocking chair seats (with 643 seats in the auditorium and 175 seats in the balcony).
United Artists took over the theater in 1969, and would become a 99-cent house during the latter half of the 1980s, still under UA ownership. United Artists operated the Ruby Isle Theatre until the Fall of 1990 and was followed by a brief two-month closure. Independent owners took over the theater and relaunched the Ruby Isle Theatre in December 1990, and they operated the Ruby Isle until its final closure on January 1, 1996 with “Indian In The Cupboard” and “Nine Months”.
The short-lived Value Cinemas Brookfield opened its doors on June 30, 1995 with eight screens. Its total capacity of seats may also be wrong as well. It was renamed the Tower 8 Cinemas in April 2000, and closed on April 15, 2002.
Marcus Theatres opened the West Point Cinemas on November 27, 1985 with six screens. Two more screens were added in late-1987 bringing a total to eight screens. Marcus closed the theater on May 3, 2007.
Opened with “Avanti!” in Screens 1 and 2, “A Clockwork Orange” plus a matinee of “Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory” in Screen 3, and “What’s Up Doc” in Screen 4.
Screen 1, its main auditorium, appeared in several Japanese movies from the late-1990s until the early-2010s (including “Neon Genius Evangelion: Death and Rebirth” from July 1997). However, one of the films edited the scene out for unknown reasons, and that is “Foreign Affairs Police: Don’t Fall For That Man” from June 2012. Throughout time, its main auditorium was kept at the 1,000 to 1,500 seat range, beginning with 1,500 seats at opening, 1,348 seats by 1987, 1,288 seats by 2001, and 1,064 seats before its closure. There is also 70mm projection as well, with its screen measuring 8.85 x 20.2m.
For a short time in the early-1970s, Screen 2 screened foreign adult films for a time, but was dropped soon after for both foreign and Japanese films from Shibuya Tokyu. At the time of closure, the screen measures 4.85 x 11.4m.
During the early-1990s, Screen 3 was briefly named the American Comedy Theater featuring Looney Tunes characters being painted on the walls, screening first-run American films under the comedy genre. This lasted for around a decade. At the time of closure, the screen measures 2.7 x 6.35m.
The Cinema Tokyo Milano auditorium (Screen 4) was brought up the mini-theater legend Iwanami Hall, in which it was the first mini theater in Japan to have a roadshow format. The theater, under Tokyu Recreation, had a mark of changes in times though, which did put Japanese mini-theaters on a commercial basis and became the prototype for subsequent single-screen roadshow theaters. In 1981, Hara Masato, the founder of Herald Ace, and Toei’s film sales department, spearheaded a tour of European and American theaters. The tour was attended by exhibitors, media, and distributors from all over Japan, and this aim was to visit urban and suburban theaters that were beginning to appear in Europe and the United States at the time as well as witnessing the diversity of the various types of movie theaters. Tokyu Recreation Executive Director Horie Suzuo and General Manager Takeya Tadashi, who were searching for a new type of cinema, came up with the idea of a “casual cinema at Iwanami Hall” that was booming at the time, “somewhere between Iwanami Hall and a regular cinema”. During this European and American tour, they visited a small but relaxed mini-theater run by a married couple in France, and the idea of a “casual Iwanami Hall” was quickly realized. Shigeru Okada, who served as president of both Tokyu Recreation and Toei, had long had the idea of a “mini-theater system” and readily agreed to back up the plan. Okada was the one who brought up the name. Back in Japan, they introduced a new system in every aspect, including the seating, the admission method, and even the show’s format as a way to do business with a specific audience, and promoted the individuality of the theater itself. The renovation took place from an unused warehouse space, invested a total of 340 million yen which is close to $2,229,000 in United States money, ordered seating from France at 70,000 yen (or $471 via USD), and adding a prohibited standing room only for smoking, eating, and drinking. The selection of films is particularly important, as it determines not only the profitability but also the image of the theater. For this reason, Cinesque formed a group to select films, including film critics Toshiko Minami (honorary manager) and Motohiko Kono, who gathered their opinions and decided on the films. Original trailers and posters were used as a rule, and Hara, president of Herald Ace, was asked to cooperate with the general promotion. At the time of closure, the screen measures 2.8 x 6.6m.
Manchester had six theaters in its early history, including one drive-in. Unfortunately it was unknown if this theater was either its third or fourth to open because for two reasons. One is that there’s a lot of venues in the area that were named Playhouse and I don’t want to be confused, and the other is that this start life as a seasonal theater that screened first-run movies. It wasn’t until around 1946 when the Manchester Playhouse Theatre began running first-run movies all-year round. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of showtimes being demonstrated on the Manchester Journal during its early heyday.
During World War II and beforehand, the nearby Modern Theatre was the only theater that runs first-run movies all-year during its heyday. Throughout its history, both theaters share an equal amount of first-run mainstream titles throughout its history.
Closed on April 6, 1997 with “B.A.P.S.” in Screen 1 and the double feature of “Secrets And Lies” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces” in Screen 2.
Became the Granada 4 on July 15, 1983, and closed by United Artists on September 6, 1993.
The Wigwam Theater was renamed the Nevada Theatre on August 11, 1942 after extensive remodeling, reopening with Abbott and Costello in “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” and Don Ameche in “Confirm Or Deny” along with Disney’s Donald Duck in “Truant Officer Donald” and a Universal Newsreel.
On September 2, 1948, the Nevada Theatre was renamed the Crest Theatre after another extensive remodeling, reopening with Betty Grable in “That Lady In Ermine” and a special Hollywood studio preview and Anne Baxter appearing in person. Otherwise, no extras were added. It was operated by Fox West Coast at the time.
Mann Theatres closed the Crest on September 13, 1977 with “The Deep” and “Fun With Dick And Jane”.
Closed on September 5, 1982.
Became a six-screener in May 1986.
It closed in 1974, not 1984.
Edited from my April 17, 2023 (2:34 PM) comment:
The Town Centre Cinema 6 actually first opened in late-1985, as it was already advertised in 1986. Cinemark would take the theater over that same year and its name was shorten to just Cinema 6. It was last known as Cinemark Cinema 6 and closed on February 21, 2010.
Closed after the 1985 season.
I cannot find as much details about the Southbridge Twin Cinema, but all I know is that this might’ve opened as a single-screener under the “Southbridge Cinema” name before it was twinned in 1973. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of information about its early life from the archives of the Boston Globe with the exception of showtimes.
Prudential Theatres opened the Ruby Isle Theatre on June 22, 1966 with Ann Margret in “Stagecoach”. It originally housed 818 Haywood-Wakefield rocking chair seats (with 643 seats in the auditorium and 175 seats in the balcony).
United Artists took over the theater in 1969, and would become a 99-cent house during the latter half of the 1980s, still under UA ownership. United Artists operated the Ruby Isle Theatre until the Fall of 1990 and was followed by a brief two-month closure. Independent owners took over the theater and relaunched the Ruby Isle Theatre in December 1990, and they operated the Ruby Isle until its final closure on January 1, 1996 with “Indian In The Cupboard” and “Nine Months”.
Closed on October 18, 1987 with “The Big Town” in Screen 1 and “Hellraiser” in Screen 2.
The short-lived Value Cinemas Brookfield opened its doors on June 30, 1995 with eight screens. Its total capacity of seats may also be wrong as well. It was renamed the Tower 8 Cinemas in April 2000, and closed on April 15, 2002.
Marcus Theatres opened the West Point Cinemas on November 27, 1985 with six screens. Two more screens were added in late-1987 bringing a total to eight screens. Marcus closed the theater on May 3, 2007.
Last operated by Regal as a $2 discount house before closing on September 22, 1999.
Opened with “Avanti!” in Screens 1 and 2, “A Clockwork Orange” plus a matinee of “Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory” in Screen 3, and “What’s Up Doc” in Screen 4.
More information about all four auditoriums:
Screen 1, its main auditorium, appeared in several Japanese movies from the late-1990s until the early-2010s (including “Neon Genius Evangelion: Death and Rebirth” from July 1997). However, one of the films edited the scene out for unknown reasons, and that is “Foreign Affairs Police: Don’t Fall For That Man” from June 2012. Throughout time, its main auditorium was kept at the 1,000 to 1,500 seat range, beginning with 1,500 seats at opening, 1,348 seats by 1987, 1,288 seats by 2001, and 1,064 seats before its closure. There is also 70mm projection as well, with its screen measuring 8.85 x 20.2m.
For a short time in the early-1970s, Screen 2 screened foreign adult films for a time, but was dropped soon after for both foreign and Japanese films from Shibuya Tokyu. At the time of closure, the screen measures 4.85 x 11.4m.
During the early-1990s, Screen 3 was briefly named the American Comedy Theater featuring Looney Tunes characters being painted on the walls, screening first-run American films under the comedy genre. This lasted for around a decade. At the time of closure, the screen measures 2.7 x 6.35m.
The Cinema Tokyo Milano auditorium (Screen 4) was brought up the mini-theater legend Iwanami Hall, in which it was the first mini theater in Japan to have a roadshow format. The theater, under Tokyu Recreation, had a mark of changes in times though, which did put Japanese mini-theaters on a commercial basis and became the prototype for subsequent single-screen roadshow theaters. In 1981, Hara Masato, the founder of Herald Ace, and Toei’s film sales department, spearheaded a tour of European and American theaters. The tour was attended by exhibitors, media, and distributors from all over Japan, and this aim was to visit urban and suburban theaters that were beginning to appear in Europe and the United States at the time as well as witnessing the diversity of the various types of movie theaters. Tokyu Recreation Executive Director Horie Suzuo and General Manager Takeya Tadashi, who were searching for a new type of cinema, came up with the idea of a “casual cinema at Iwanami Hall” that was booming at the time, “somewhere between Iwanami Hall and a regular cinema”. During this European and American tour, they visited a small but relaxed mini-theater run by a married couple in France, and the idea of a “casual Iwanami Hall” was quickly realized. Shigeru Okada, who served as president of both Tokyu Recreation and Toei, had long had the idea of a “mini-theater system” and readily agreed to back up the plan. Okada was the one who brought up the name. Back in Japan, they introduced a new system in every aspect, including the seating, the admission method, and even the show’s format as a way to do business with a specific audience, and promoted the individuality of the theater itself. The renovation took place from an unused warehouse space, invested a total of 340 million yen which is close to $2,229,000 in United States money, ordered seating from France at 70,000 yen (or $471 via USD), and adding a prohibited standing room only for smoking, eating, and drinking. The selection of films is particularly important, as it determines not only the profitability but also the image of the theater. For this reason, Cinesque formed a group to select films, including film critics Toshiko Minami (honorary manager) and Motohiko Kono, who gathered their opinions and decided on the films. Original trailers and posters were used as a rule, and Hara, president of Herald Ace, was asked to cooperate with the general promotion. At the time of closure, the screen measures 2.8 x 6.6m.
This opened as the Manchester Cinema Theatre.
Manchester had six theaters in its early history, including one drive-in. Unfortunately it was unknown if this theater was either its third or fourth to open because for two reasons. One is that there’s a lot of venues in the area that were named Playhouse and I don’t want to be confused, and the other is that this start life as a seasonal theater that screened first-run movies. It wasn’t until around 1946 when the Manchester Playhouse Theatre began running first-run movies all-year round. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of showtimes being demonstrated on the Manchester Journal during its early heyday.
During World War II and beforehand, the nearby Modern Theatre was the only theater that runs first-run movies all-year during its heyday. Throughout its history, both theaters share an equal amount of first-run mainstream titles throughout its history.
Renamed Movieland on October 10, 1970, reopening with “Gone With The Wind”.
Closed on February 18, 2001.
Closed on March 31, 1985.
Closed in late-August 1995.
Closed by Act III on September 29, 1993.
Closed around Christmas 1999.
Closed on December 18, 1994.