Anchor Theatre

56-60 Main Street,
Kennebunk, ME 04043

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rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on October 14, 2015 at 11:19 am

I looked at the MGM Card with its old photo of the Anchor in the THS on-line archive, and it appears to me that the building which Joe Vogel located may have been suggested by the original (lots of peaked gables!) by it’s not the same. So it’s apparently a new building.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 12, 2015 at 3:12 pm

The Cinema Date Project page for the Anchor Theatre says that it was located in the Bowdoin Block. This web page gives that building’s address (as of March 31, 2000) as 56-60 Main Street. I’m not sure the historic building is still standing. The building at that location now has the look of one of those Ye Olde Retro interpretations of an historic style, Colonial Revival in this case. It could be either entirely new construction or an extensive rebuilding of all or part of the historic Bowdoin Block. In any case, there’s no visible clue that there was ever a theater in it.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on October 12, 2015 at 10:16 am

The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Anchor Theatre; it’s Card # 386. But no one filled out the report so there is no data, only an exterior photo with no date on it (but probably taken sometime after 1944). The CinemaData project file for this house states that it was opened in 1912 as the Acme Theatre, name changed to Anchor Theatre in 1944, with 350 seats. It lasted until 1959/ 1961 period, then was converted into a store.