Great information here about the Merrimack Sq. Theatre. I tracked down the 1910 Lowell Sun article mentioned above. It explains about the separate projection booth structure (visible in one of the photos available on this site) and says that that arrangement was to avoid the noise from the projector disturbing the audience and then adds “it also minimizes the danger in case of the machine exploding or catching fire.”
I love the photo! Just what I needed for a presentation I’m doing about a trial where one of the defendants ended up with a Vaudeville offer from the Merrimack. The image cleaned up beautifully with just a bit of tweaking. Thank you for sharing!
My friends and I used to go to the Lowell Strand as part of a monthly slumber party when I was in Jr High. Dad would drive us all up and drop us off; he’d pick us girls up after the movie and my friends would all stay overnight at my house in Bedford. Tickets at the Strand were a dollar and we always sat in the balcony where we had to drape our legs over the row of seats in front of us to have enough leg room. I remember seeing “Gone With the Wind” (a revival showing, not a new release) there as well as “House of Dark Shadows” and “Night of Dark Shadows” (hardly top rank movies but very appropriate to the Strand’s ambiance). I remember the place as having sort of decaying elegance. It was way more fun to go there than to one of the newer, more expensive theaters.
Hello all.
The Casto Theatre was originally The Shattuck Street Universalist Church. It underwent a series of uses, including dance hall and theater, after the congregation had moved elsewhere. I just found a photo of it in my search for images of Lowell’s nineteenth century dance destinations. J.V., you make absolutely the only reference to the Casto Theatre that a web search turns up. You seem so well informed, I have to ask, do you have any more tidbits of info on Lowell’s social scene a hundred years ago that you’d like to share? I’d be happy to trade research info!
Great information here about the Merrimack Sq. Theatre. I tracked down the 1910 Lowell Sun article mentioned above. It explains about the separate projection booth structure (visible in one of the photos available on this site) and says that that arrangement was to avoid the noise from the projector disturbing the audience and then adds “it also minimizes the danger in case of the machine exploding or catching fire.”
I love the photo! Just what I needed for a presentation I’m doing about a trial where one of the defendants ended up with a Vaudeville offer from the Merrimack. The image cleaned up beautifully with just a bit of tweaking. Thank you for sharing!
My friends and I used to go to the Lowell Strand as part of a monthly slumber party when I was in Jr High. Dad would drive us all up and drop us off; he’d pick us girls up after the movie and my friends would all stay overnight at my house in Bedford. Tickets at the Strand were a dollar and we always sat in the balcony where we had to drape our legs over the row of seats in front of us to have enough leg room. I remember seeing “Gone With the Wind” (a revival showing, not a new release) there as well as “House of Dark Shadows” and “Night of Dark Shadows” (hardly top rank movies but very appropriate to the Strand’s ambiance). I remember the place as having sort of decaying elegance. It was way more fun to go there than to one of the newer, more expensive theaters.
Hello all.
The Casto Theatre was originally The Shattuck Street Universalist Church. It underwent a series of uses, including dance hall and theater, after the congregation had moved elsewhere. I just found a photo of it in my search for images of Lowell’s nineteenth century dance destinations. J.V., you make absolutely the only reference to the Casto Theatre that a web search turns up. You seem so well informed, I have to ask, do you have any more tidbits of info on Lowell’s social scene a hundred years ago that you’d like to share? I’d be happy to trade research info!