Braintree Theater
381 Washington Street,
Braintree,
MA
02184
381 Washington Street,
Braintree,
MA
02184
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Lockwood & Gordon Enterprises
Functions: Office Space, Retail
Styles: Colonial Revival
Previous Names: Lyric Theater
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Braintree Theater was a typical neighborhood single screen theater. Showing first run double features. It was renovated in 1940 with interior decorations by Riseman & Lercari. I was manager for a while in the 1950’s. It was located in Braintree Square.
By 1957 it was operated by Daytz Theatre Enterprises Corp. and was also operated by Lockwood & Gordon Theaters, Boston.
It was closed around 1961 and is now retail and offices.
Contributed by
Richard Doane
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Richard—I hope you see this post. Was the Braintree Theater air conditioned? Since I could walk there easily from home (I was between 10 and 14 years old), I went to several kids matinees before it closed. Those matinees could be bedlam. Such behavior would never be tolerated today. I believe it closed around 1961 or so. It was purchased by Mr. Joseph Barile of Barile plumbing, which was directly in back of the builidng, and converted to the offices and retail you describe. It was a decent conversion, and it’s still there, though I wish it had hung on as a theater. The ZIP code is actually 02184. It was a popular theater. Friends of my folks who lived in surrounding towns would go to evening shows there.
Tom N – in the post-war era it was common for movie theatres without A.C. to close for the summer. Two examples that I can recall are the Capitol in Quincy and the Old Howard in Boston. But I can’t remember whether or not the Braintree Th. closed summers. Offhand, I would say it did not. It was a popular local cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Unfortunately, I never went into it, although I passed it many times when it was open.
Ron-I’m pretty sure it was open the year round and that they most likely had AC. I can recall going to a matinee there during the summer. The office building has been decently maintained. I don’t know who owns it now.
Ron-I’m pretty sure it was open the year round and that they most likely had AC. I can recall going to a matinee there during the summer. The office building has been decently maintained. I don’t know who owns it now.
Ken—many thanks for this great photo. Tough to date it. Late forties maybe? Not enough cars around to help with that. The buildings to the left and right still stand, though the building to the right is now a Dunkin Donuts instead of a drug store. The building on the left is a dry cleaner. Can’t tell what it was then. I’d forgot the theater had a marquee that big, some landscaping in front, and some decorative trim around the windows. The utility wires are underground now.
Re: Ken mc’s photo- judging from the car and the rear of the bus in the distance, this photo probably dates from circa-1950, plus/minus. The Braintree Theatre looks the way I remember it !
In the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook, there are no listings for Braintree MA, but there is a “Town Hall” cinema listed for South Braintree, with 900 seats, open 1 day per week. dwodeyla says that in the 1934 FDY, the Town Hall in South Braintree, 900 seats, is listed as “Closed”; and that there is a Lyric Theatre listed for Braintree, with 750 seats. Is “Lyric” an older name for the Braintree Theatre?
I believe Lyric is an older name for Braintree because in the 1938 FDY the seating capacity for the Lyric in 665. The next FDY I have is 1944 and the Lyric disappears while the Braintree appears also with a capacity of 665.
The Theatre Historical Society archive in IL has the MGM Theatre Report for the Braintree Theatre, made in 1941. Address is 381 Washington St., The theater is in Good condition and has 630 seats. There is an exterior photo taken in April 1941 and the facade looks the way I remember it from the 1950s.
Growing up in Braintree, I remember seeing the movie Psycho at the theater with my mother in 1960. I also remember getting my first, and thankfully only, bloody nose there trying to mediate a fight between two brothers I had gone to the movies with. In later years, I used to get my hair cut at Bob’s Barber Shop located in the same building after the theater had closed.