Pastime Theater

In 1987 I was hired by the owners of the cinema on Bradford Street in Bristol. At that time it had two screens. Originally I sold concessions and ushered. I then became a projectionist, cutting together the films and winding them on the platts, starting them up and taking them off to pack into the film cases. I had had experience when I lived in Alaska. I remember Empire of the Sun played that year. There were two women that owned the theater and they lived close by as roomates. They had a daughter, a preteen. I left to go to the Marriott in Newport when they opened. I know that the Theater stayed open for a few years more at least. I miss this theater as it was a neighborhood fixture and I have good memories of it. http://www.thepastime.org/history.html Unfortunately this link does not work anymore. Is there another link for it?

The Theatre Historical Society has the MGM Theatre Report for the Pastime Theatre; it’s Card # 523. Address is Bradford St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. The marquee had an attraction board only on its left side. The condition is Good. The report says the Pastime was built in 1935, but then says it has been showing MGM films for “over 10 years”. There were 616 seats. The 1940 population of Bristol was 11,100.

Lostmemory’s 2007 post’s photo gave me the URL, which resulted in this:

http://www.thepastime.org/history.html

Additionally, I was visiting home in Bristol the weekend before last, and when we were discussing the theater, my father mentioned that it had originally had a single screen. I don’t remember it being that way, though I do recall that it was obvious that it had been changed. Thus the conversion must have been between 1969 (the year we arrived in town) and the late 1970s. Another name for it was the Bristol Twin Cinema.

The land is currently occupied by an expansion of the neighboring Andrews School (to stage right in the photos), as also partly implied by the marquee in lostmemory’s first photo.

Item in Boxoffice magazine, June 12, 1961:

Joseph J. Modleski buys Rhode Island Theatres
WARREN. R.I. —-Joseph J. Modleski has purchased two Rhode Island Theatres, the Lyric in Warren and the Pastime in Bristol, effective as of June 1. Modleski has been operating both of the situations on lease the last two years from the estate of Lon Vail.

Prior to leasing the Lyric and Pastime, Modleski had served as manager pf the Lyric for Vail until the latter’s death. Modleski broke into motion picture exhibition in August 1920 as an usher at the Lyric Theatre. He told BOXOFFICE that he plans to make alterations at both of the theatres.

As a kid I would attend the ten cent matinees at the Pastime. My adopted “uncle” was the projectionist (one of two, actually). We each got a quarter for the afternoon. That bought popcorn and two candy bars or popcorn and a drink.
We’d see a cartoon, the feature, and either a serial or a Three Stooges or the like.
Good times, Good times.
The Pastime was one of the first theaters in RI to get Cinemascope.

Bob Evans

The Pastime Theatre was not the only one to have existed in this town. Another Bristol theatre is the long-forgotten Star Theatre that was on Hope Street next to the Rogers Free Library. It seems to have survived into the 1920s. An old postcard image can be linked to on the Star Theatre page. Information about the Star is most welcome.

Locals who have been attempting to restore and re-open as a cultural facility the historic Pastime Theatre are not giving up and are fighting the town of Bristol. With a deadline for mortgage payment approaching, members of the Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation are organizing and attempting to garner support to reverse the Bristol Town Council’s recent decision to lease the old theater to the Bristol Warren Regional School District for use as a school. In the most recent development the Pastime Theatre received a $200,000 federal grant. The Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation is going to use the money to purchase the theatre from the town, but still needs to raise $141,000 to do it. And they have a very short timeframe, by December 3rd, in which to accomplish this. Yet none of this guarantees that the town will not take over the theatre by eminent domain.

This thumbnail entry appears in the 1990 volume History and Architectural Resources of Bristol, Rhode Island:

“PASTIME THEATER/BRISTOL CINEMA (1934): A 1-story, flat-roofed, Moderne style building of cast concrete, with its original marquee. It stands on the site of the 1784 Congregational Meetinghouse, which had been converted into a theater. Proprietor Lon Vail built the present structure after a fire destroyed the old meetinghouse/theater in 1934.”

Copy of an e-mail sent out today:

Dear Supporters of the Pastime Theatre,

At last night’s Town Council meeting, the Council voted unanimously to support the Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation in its endeavors to keep the theatre as a valued part of the downtown Bristol area. The Board of Directors of the Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation wants to thank every one of you for his or her support, especially during this past week. Whether it was through phone calls, personal meetings, letters of support, coming out to last night’s meeting, or just positive thoughts and good wishes, we want you to know that you are an essential part of the plan “…to revitalize and sustain the historic Pastime Theatre as a community-based center for the performing arts and cinema”. We thank you greatly and look forward to your continued support.

With deepest appreciation,

The Board of Directors

Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation

In Novemebr 2003, with the help of the Town of Bristol, the Bristol Pastime Theatre Foundation purchased the Pastime Theatre. The Foundation operates with the mission to revitalize and sustain the historic Pastime Theatre as a community-based center for performing arts and cinema. We are currently in the design development phase and have hired the architectural firm of Wilson Butler, Boston, MA to perform preliminary design work. We are actively raising funds for the renovation/rehabilitation of the theatre and hope to re-open in December 2006. Recent grant awards have included The National Trust For Historic Preservation, The Rhode Island Foundation, and Preserve Rhode Island.
It should be noted the 1934 Art Deco Theatre was designed by Providence based architect, Francis Chiaverini.

When the twin-screened Pastime was still open, it was the closest movie theatre to the residence of actor Anthony Quinn who lived on Poppasquash Road. I don’t know if he actually ever went to the theatre, possibly yes, since he often frequented some of the local dining and shopping establishments in Bristol. After Quinn’s death in 2001, the Pastime showed “Zorba the Greek” as a tribute to one of Bristol’s most noted residents.