Franklin Theatre

13 Jenkins Court,
Durham, NH 03824

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Additional Info

Functions: Restaurant

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Franklin Theater

The Franklin Theatre was located in the college town of Durham, NH. It opened on Main Street in 1924 and closed in 1954. It was converted into a ballroom. In 1983 it was converted into a gymnasium and bar and later became a restaurant, which had closed by 2005. It resumed restaurant use in the 2010’s and into the 2020’s

Contributed by John Elwood

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

hollister22nh
hollister22nh on August 23, 2005 at 4:51 pm

I went for a drive by here. (Ok I lied, I went to UNH to drink beer and meet the freshman girls…) There is an older brick building located at this site housing a now closed restaurant. The building is built on a slight hill, with a front entrance at a probable two foot elevated grade difference from the side exits. The building has no space that clearly defines a stage or fly loft or any other signal that this was a theater. I think the grade difference in the entrances is a pretty clear signal that the “Franklin” still stands.

—John

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 6, 2008 at 7:25 pm

13 Jenkins Court has a variety of businesses, including this wings place and a restaurant called Benjamin’s.
http://tinyurl.com/5laoao

yaron
yaron on June 18, 2010 at 9:47 pm

Hi John this is I am looking around for good independent theaters to join our network of digital cinemas that show indy films as well as operas and ballets. You seem to know a lot about the local scene I was wondering if you had any tips or info you could share. Thank you in advance. Yaron

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on June 29, 2015 at 12:55 am

The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Franklin; it’s Card # 483. Address is “Main St.” There is an exterior photo dated March 1941. Condition is Good. The report says it opened about 1925, shows MGM movies, and has 399 seats. It has a college student patronage, and closes summers. The 1940 population was 1,500.

JohnnyM
JohnnyM on February 20, 2019 at 3:56 am

In 1984, The Franklin Theater, under Bill Davison’s management since 1957, gave up on showing movies, after sixty years of dedication to bringing the best films to Durham at reasonable prices. The building has been a ballroom-bar called the Franklin Ballroom since then, but in 1985 it is being converted into a multipurpose fitness club and nonalcoholic bar and lunch room by the Clark brothers.

Jake Bottero
Jake Bottero on October 11, 2022 at 9:11 am

As of 2019, an operating restaurant.

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