Parkway Plaza Theatre
1100 Revere Beach Parkway,
Chelsea,
MA
02150
1100 Revere Beach Parkway,
Chelsea,
MA
02150
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: New England Theatres
Architects: Henry George Greene
Nearby Theaters
Opened on December 20, 1963, through the 1960’s it was a first run movie house. Then in the late-1970’s it became a porn theatre, which closed in 1987.
Contributed by
Jeffrey Swartz
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
it was the strand
Just as an aside..Broadway Chelsea had 4 theatres,, The Olympia, The Broadway, The Strand and the Chelsea
The Parkway Plaza Theatre did indeed close in 1987. The city tore it down due to concerns over safety and a huge tax bill owed by the owner.
The plaza around the former theatre does well despite it’s “inconvenient” location. It’s actually very convenient from Rts. 1, 16, 107 and is off of two major MBTA bus routes so it’s drivable and reachable. There was a five year gap between the closing of Bradlees and the opening of Home Depot that was a low point for the plaza but it has rebounded nicely and should be expanding in the near future with a new renewed enthusiasm from the city, residents, customers, and the new owners.
Regarding the former Chelsea cinemas:
The Broadway was torn down, it’s now partly a public alley and partly a pub.
The Strand was torn down too, it’s now a parking lot.
The Olympic is abandoned and empty, it’s hard to tell it was ever a theatre as it’s masked by the cheap restaurants below.
The theatre that houses a bakery below is called the Hawthorne is housed in a former Masonic temple. The exterior was recently renovated but it is unclear whether the theatre has been renovated as well or if it lays abandonedTheatre and is house
I went by the site today and to my surprise part of the marquis for the Strand is still standing, it’s attatched to a pole as part of the parking lot but it’s shape is clearly the same as the old marquis…never noticed this until now and I pass by it all the time.
Has there been any movement to revive, renovate, re-open the theatre on Broadway?
I’m not sure which one you mean, but if you have information about any other theatres in Chelsea, please add them to this site (as separate entries).
Seating was around 800. Architect was Henry George Greene, and the original owner was New England Theatres, Inc. Originally, the theater was to be named through a contest, but it would seem that never happened. Opened around fall of 1963.
I checked out most of Boston’s(straight)porn scene in the late 70’s-early 80’s, and this was the atypical one of the bunch. A 60’s era twin screen located in a run-of-the-mill strip mall, it was a world away from the theatres located in the North End and Combat Zone. Crumbling old movie houses and porno seemed to go hand in hand. This setting was somehow too clean and modern. The flicks were standard fare for the time, however. INSIDE JENNIFER WELLES was one fond memory of the place.
December 20, 1963 opening Circuits: ABC Paramount, New England Theatres Circuit (NET)