Craterian Theater at The Collier Center for the Performing Arts

Received this message from the folks at the Craterian Theater, regarding when the Ginger Rogers name was changed.

Hello David, we had a celebration concert highlighting the name change on October 27, 2013.

The Ginger Rogers name has been removed from the marquee, and changed to Collier Center. Current Craterian marquee photo added, credit the Craterian Theater Facebook page.

It is somewhat misleading to characterize the current Craterian as a historic restoration. While the project began as such, it changed along the way and ultimately the entire building was demolished except for the south wall. An entirely new building was then built on the site. The Medford Historic District’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places describes the result thusly: “Designed under the direction of local architect Peter Schmitz and constructed by S.B. James Company, portions of the structural system of the original 1924 building remain within the new design. All exterior materials, openings and other treatments were replaced or altered. While somewhat evocative of the Craterian in spirit, the new Craterian-Ginger Rodgers Theater that opened in March 1997 is essentially a new structure with insufficient connection to the original 1924 building to be considered historic.”

The Craterian is the subject of an article and photos in the issue of Boxoffice magazine for October 4, 1952:
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