Thompson Square Theatre
179 Main Street,
Charlestown,
MA
02129
179 Main Street,
Charlestown,
MA
02129
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A former E.M. Loew’s theatre next to the elevated train tracks in Charlestown. Built around 1915, in 1928 a Marr & Colton 2 manual 5 ranks organ was installed. It was still open in 1957 but had since been closed and demolished, to be replaced by the public library branch now on the site.
Contributed by
Ron Newman
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Some relevant comments and links are posted here. I thought the original poster planned to add this theatre, but he didn’t, so I did.
The late Donald King, author of a recent history of Boston theatres, was an employee of the E.M.Loew theatre circuit from the late-1930s to the early 1950s. He told me that he occasionally went to the Thompson Square Theatre in Charlestown to get supplies and equipment because the circuit utilized space upstairs as a supply and storage room. Among the employees, that space was referred to as “E.M.’s attic.”
My original post asking for information about this theatre was in relation to the Marr & Colton pipe organ from the theatre, which I am now attempting to install in my home. I have a built a web site which discusses the organ’s history with some photos, but I have not yet found photos of the theatre interior. Enjoy!
www.suscom-maine/net~phaskell
Sorry, link should be: www.suscom-maine.net/~phaskell
Fire escape hits little boy in 1920. Little boy wins:
http://tinyurl.com/yx6bu4
The Thompson Square Theatre in Charlestown is listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook as having 1100 seats and open daily.
The theatre has been described to me as nothing fancy, basically a rectangular box, with a balcony, There was no pit for orchestra or the organ, and the stage was raised above floor level. The organ was designed for a single chamber, which was probably up by the proscenium.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Thompson Square Theatre is listed at 179 Main St. in Charlestown, near Wood Street.
A shot of it in the background… http://billnoonanfirefotos.smugmug.com/Historicphotos/Classic-black/17770084_pwfQXh#1357223494_MwfCWn7-O-LB
I live in the house that you can see in the far left of the picture. I love libraries. But I wish the building were still a theatre..