Latchis Theatre
39 Main Street,
Keene,
NH
03431
39 Main Street,
Keene,
NH
03431
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Demetrius P. Latchis opened his Latchis Theatre on November 21, 1923. It featured both vaudeville and movies. It was closed in the early-1980’s.
The auditorium was demolished in December 2012, with the front of the building in use as a Subway sandwich shop. Additional information on this theatre would be of interest.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
Here’s a photo of the only part of theater that is currently in use. It’s the former entrance which was a long narrow passage that basically took you through the Main St building and out the back into the large auditorium building. It is now a Subway sandwich shop. View link
Here’s a view of the auditorium building from Main St looking down Lampson St. You can see in the lower left the dumpster with the double doors with the yellow sign behind it that I previously mentioned. View link
Here’s another photo of the same side of the building looking from the other way toward Main St. View link
Here’s an update. The auditorium building is being torn down after sitting since the fall of 89.
From the 1930s a postcard view of the Keene Theatre in Latchis.
This link shows a large series of pictures of the demolition.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.284580131661379.66699.133034243482636&type=1
When I was a boy, 12 or 13 I believe, I lived in Troy, NH, about 10 Miles south of Keene. Playing in our front yard one day which was next to a major thoroughfare, my friends and I heard a loud bang. We looked to see a car moving at an unusually high rate of speed straddling the guardrail. The car ended up in our neighbors yard across the street. Our town cop showed up minutes later (in a bit of irony, the car ended up in the yard of Troy’s future police chief). We were then informed that the driver was Mr. Latchis. He had fallen asleep at the wheel. No mention of the incident was in the paper, nor was a report filed.
Keene’s first run move theater… The Colonial down Main Street was for family-Disney fare… I remember the black marble inside… It’s last years running were sad, with buckets left out to collect rain water… Resentful friends at funerals tell me how during the 70s I forced them to take in Woody Allen movies there!
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Latchis; it’s Card # 491. Address is Main St. There is an exterior photo dated Feb. 23, 1941. The condition is Good. The report says that it was built about 1920, and is showing MGM films. There were 700 main floor seats, and 250 balcony seats. The 1940 population of Keene was 13,800.
Circa 1950 photo added courtesy of David Kroger. Latchis Theatre marquee on the far left.