Lincoln Theatre

The Lincoln Theatre was the subject of the occasional “Whatever Happened to —–” feature in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of Jan 30, 2019. There is a demolition photo somewhat similar to the one posted here. The copy says that it opened in the WW I era as the Casino Theatre. It was run for over 20 years by J. Alcide “Al” Beaumier, owner of the American Anodizing Corp. in Quincy. A fire led to a renovation and re- opening in 1935. It had a new a.c. system, a system for the hearing-impaired, a mammoth chandelier, and nearly 1,000 seats. Various live events were presented. At one rally during WW 2, $ 151,000 worth of War Bonds were sold. In April 1951, an electrical fire in the bowling alley forced 40 bowlers and 100 movie goers to the street. Al Beaumier was killed in an auto accident in Quebec in 1956. The Lincoln closed in the mid-1970s and was demolished in 1980. A commercial building is on the site today.

They both were not open all the time. I don’t remember if they were seasonal(no A/C?) or only if they found someone to run them. So I don’t know when it ‘officially’ closed for good. I think the lanes lasted longer than the theater, business wise, but not much longer(fire + water damage to it).

The entry to the bowling alley was from the side alley. After entry you would desend a longish stairway to the lanes. This basement was quite deep. When the alley was closed, I would go to the other side of the building from the entrance and peer into a louvered exhust window. I was always amazed by the distance down! I don’t recall any stairs in the theater except to the balcony.

I lived in the area, 6th Ave, the street behind the theater. When I lived there they had matinees for .25, this was the late 60’s. From a street level entrance you would go up an incline to the lobby area and snack bar. The theater was 3 section-2 isle setup down to the screen area. When I attended matiness, the balcony was closed! The bowling alley had 10 lanes. The entrance was from the side alley. It had a long staircase down to the lanes. I was kind of an alleyrat back then and would sneak in to watch or bowl if I found some extra money (again .25 a string and bowling in stocking feet!!) Talking to old friends in the area after I moved away in 1970, small fires and disrepair took it’s toll and the building was taken down by the late 70’s. If you look at the street view from above looking at the r/e building, on the left is a white home which abutted the theater. The curb cut in front of the r/e building is where the alley was. From the late 60’s to the 80’s from the theater all the way down the right to the trees was lost to fires, one with loss of life.

To Ron and MB848 – The realtor’s office is the site of the theatre. My wife’s family used to live next door to the theatre. What is now the parking lot on the corner of Chubbuck St. was a small complex with a small boating supplies shop, a variety store, and a neighborhood bar. Above these businesses were rented rooms mostly occupied by workers from the shipyard. This complex was separated from the theatre by a small alleyway. At the end of the alleyway was the entrance to a bowling alley which was located under the theatre. For this reason it was necessary to go up a flight of stairs from street level to get into the theatre. There were also rooms above the theatre that were rented to shipyard workers.

I concur with mb848, I saw a ReMax on the corner. A nice size lot though in the neighborhood.

To Ron – Was the Lincoln located on a corner lot? 585 Washington street is now a ReMax real estate office. It’s parking lot is on the corner of Washington and Chubbuck streets, and the one story office is next to it. Lot certainly looks big enough to accomodate a smallish theater.

Ron, didn’t think this could have been a triplex….interesting that this theater seemed to survive into the 1970’s, though I think you stated on a different post that it closed circa 1960. Interesting how most of the Quincy theaters closed around the same time. Thanks for all of your insight on the Lincoln, Adams, Capitol, Art etc…you have provided a wealth of information that I was not aware of. I’ve been meaning to check the Thomas Crane for the back issues of the Patriot Ledger that you referenced. As for this theater, the Lincoln, do you know what is now on the site? I’m guessing it is where the current Pizza Hut building is located?

I don’t know how “Triplex” got into the above description – it was a single screen house. I never went into it since it was too far from where I lived, and a very long walk or bus ride from Quincy Square. I once talked with someone who ran a retail store near the theatre and he was very interested in leasing it as a classic repertory film theatre. This was sometime in the 1970-era, and the theatre had been dark for awhile at the time. Nothing came of his efforts.