Star Theatre
537 Hope Street,
Bristol,
RI
02809
537 Hope Street,
Bristol,
RI
02809
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This long-gone and forgotten theatre in the center of Bristol, not far from the later Pastime Theatre on Bradford Street, was next to Rogers Free Library on Hope Street and existed in the pre-World War I era and perhaps later. A picture of it appears on an early postcard that shows it with the library. More information about the history of this place would be appreciated.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The address for the Star Theatre was 537 Hope Street, according to a 1922 directory. How long the theatre existed in the 1920s is unclear. How long it co-existed with the Pastime Theatre is unclear as well.
Here is a postcard image of the Rogers Free Library and the Star Theatre next to it, circa 1916. The Star was in the red brick building. It’s entrance is to the left and the “Star” sign can be faintly made out. The theatre auditorium may have occupied an upper floor.
The building which housed the Star Theatre many decades ago has been demolished just this past week. I was told that it had been a furniture store. Around the corner on Bradford Street the Pastime Theatre is history. It too has been recently demolished.
In this photo from around the 1920s the Star Theatre entrance can be clearly seen to the right of picture center. The entrance must have led to a staircase that went to an upper level where the theatre auditorium itself was located.
Red Cross Christmas drive in Bristol begins. Col. John E. Bailey addressed audience at the Star Theatre in 1918:
NEWSPAPER PIECE
I recall the furniture store Mr. DeLuca mentions, though I never went inside. The building was demolished to make way for a much needed expansion of the library, which had been both cramped and needing repairs for decades. I was visiting home in Bristol the weekend before last, and checked out the new library for the first time—compare the main photo on the History page linked below (the “old” post-1957 library) with the ones (linked) above and the ones in the photo gallery and the library’s Web site banner photo.
http://rogersfreelibrary.org/history/
http://rogersfreelibrary.org/photo-gallery/
How can I find out the history of this theatre? I am doing some research on the 4th of July parade of 1913, and according to a newspaper article, the Star Theatre filmed the parade that year (500 feet of film) and was planning on showing it later. Who owned the theatre and where would the films have gone?
newenglander, That’s a difficult task. If there is a Bristol “historical society”, you might want to start with them. If the film footage was donated to someone, it MAY have wound up in the archives of the RI Historical Society in Providence. They have an archive of film shot in RI.
There is a historical society, in the old town jail, a block and half from the Star Theatre’s site.
Bristol Historical & Preservation Society
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bristol-Historical-Preservation-Society/176618392382863
https://plus.google.com/109403472374843378200/about
http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/what-to-see/museums/202/bristol-historical-and-preservation-society-museum-and-library/