Auditorium Theatre
21 Andrew Street,
Lynn,
MA
01902
21 Andrew Street,
Lynn,
MA
01902
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Lynn Auditorium, Colony Theatre
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Opened on September 1, 1905 with vaudeville and movies, the Auditorium was an old theatre in downtown Lynn which became a full-time movie house and was operated at one time by the Charles Morse circuit of Boston.
Contributed by
Ron Salters
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
The Lynn Auditorium was included in the MGM Theatre Report and Photograph project. There is an exterior photo dated 1941. The theatre had a fairly wide entrance in the middle of a commercial building at least 3 stories high. It had a rectangular marquee with “Auditorium” on the front, with a sun-burst above the name. Above the marquee was a vertical blade sign. There were poster cases on either side of the entrance. The building looks like a typical 1920-era business building. The Report states that the Auditorium is not a MGM customer; that it was built around 1890; that it’s in Poor condition, and has 443 seats on the main floor and 367 balcony seats, total: 810 seats. The Auditorium is listed in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Yearbook as being operated by Charles Morse theatres of Boston.
The Auditorium opened on Sept. 15, 1905 as a live theatre. It had its own stock company in residence there for years. It closed for awhile in the 1920s and then reopened as a cinema. It was known as “the Audie” by locals and presented popular film fare. It later closed due to problems with the building, but reopened as the Colony Theatre in Dec. 1950. Its address as the Colony is listed as 21 Andrew Street. This operation lasted a few years; and it was finally demolished, apparently around 1968, to make way for a parking area at Bob Brest Buick. This info is from research by CT member Barry Goodkin at the Lynn public library, including an article written by Elmo Benedetto around 1972.
Are there any disused theatres still standing in Lynn? It’s a pretty large city to have no movie theatres at all in it. (Closest is the Museum Place triplex in Salem.)
As of the time of the reports that Barry Goodkin found at the Lynn library, which date from the early 1970s, the theatres still standing were: Capitol (ex-Central Square); E.M. Loew’s Cinema (ex-Strand/Warner); and the E.M. Loew’s Lynn Open Air drive-in. Also, it appears that the Uptown Th. in West Lynn was still standing, possibly converted to other uses. There is also the Lynn Auditorium, part of the City Hall complex, which today is a live theatre. I don’t know the status today of the ones which were still around in the early-1970s.
There are some 1920s and 1930s movie programs from the Auditorium offered for sale on the-forum.com
http://www.the-forum.com/ephemera/audit.htm
As mentioned above, this old theater should not be confused with today’s Lynn Auditorium at 3 City Hall Square in Lynn. According to the entertainment pages of yesterday’s Boston Herald, there are at least 4 concerts upcoming there, featuring Kenny Rogers, Julio Iglesias, the Rat Pack, and others. All one-night stands.
The Auditorium was among Lynn theaters on a long list of Massachusetts theaters and halls receiving licenses during the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 1914. Other Lynn theaters on the list: Central Square, Dreamland, Lynn Theatre, Olympia, Theatre Comique, and the Lynn Womens Club auditorium; plus other function/fraternal halls.
Opened September 1st, 1905
Lynn Auditorium opening 31 Aug 1905, Thu The Daily Item (Lynn, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com