Crown Theatre
124 Bay Street,
Watch Hill,
RI
02891
124 Bay Street,
Watch Hill,
RI
02891
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How very sad, Roger. I always wanted to go back and take some pix. That will never happen now.
change status to “demolished” too
Sadly it appears this former theatre has been demolished and the condos have been built.
You’re most welcome, guys. I found that the Fairbanks film Jeanne played for that was quite a local event was American Aristocracy. It was shot in Watch Hill in 1916. Fairbanks and his entourage arrived on the 2nd week of Aug. to shoot the entire film there on location. I have regretfully never seen it, so I am hunting down a copy for myself. I recall her telling me about a scene where a local woman drives by in an auto and Fairbanks does a stunt where he jumps into the seat of her car. It was quite a hit with the locals, naturally. During the 1970s she accompanied the silent film programs I produced in S.E. CT. Many people came because of her playing. I regret not making a tape of her. But she forbid it. I should have snuck it one evening. She was one of those wonderful people who brought the silents to life! And this is where she got started, at the Ninigret.
Thanks for the story Galen.
Galen, if you can add more please do.
My late friend, Jeanne McPartland, played piano for silent films there in the 1920s. She continued to accompany silents through out her life, and played for many of the programs I produced in CT. She talked about a Fairbanks film shot in the area which was shown locally as a thrill for residents. There were people who went to the screenings who had remembered the film when Fairbanks shot it. One woman was actually in the film. She had many interesting things to retell about her experiences. I do miss her a great deal.
See my photos of this building at http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/15609.html
This theatre appears to have been in operation only seasonally, to serve the summer influx of vacationers and summer residents.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook lists the seating capacity as 300.
Here are a couple more photos of this theatre:
As the CROWN THEATRE, around 1915. One can see nicely attired vacationers on Bay Street, an electric trolley, and the carousel.
As the NINIGRET THEATRE, after 1920. The poster on the left appears to be for a Charlie Chaplin film.
The theatre became Fiore’s Market in 1951.
This theatre was at 124 Bay St. The building is currently Saki’s Pizza House but is threatened with demolition to build condominiums.
In the “Images of America” series volume Watch Hill: By River and By Sea by Brigid Rooney Smith, the above postcard is reproduced with the following explanation:
“The landmark Crown Theater, located kitty-corner across Bay Street from the carousel, was constructed in 1912. Over the next 39 years, it would change its name to the Ninigret Theater until its ignominious conversion into a grocery market in 1951. Jane Hoxie Maxson of Wakefield recounts her mother’s tale of the evening that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. sat in a seat near her at the Crown.”
The Fairbanks story is not surprising since Watch Hill was a favorite R.I. summer resort alternative to Newport.
Also in the book is a photo of some kids at Watch Hill Cove during the early 1900s. Smith notes that young Peter Hoxie, seen in the photo, would go on to be a fire-fighter for Watch Hill and a piano player for the silent movies at the Crown Theater on Bay Street.
This old postcard shows the Crown Theatre on the right. The card was mailed in 1917.