White Way Theatre

For the diverse Oak Street neighborhood of New Haven, the White Way Theatre was an entertainment destination which launched in 1915. The venue transitioned to sound and had success but following the War, economic challenges took their toll on the White Way Theatre.

The White Way Theatre was parking challenged and when the city stopped the streetcar that ran in front of the theatre in 1947/8. As the television age came and urban renewal with it, the City of New Haven decided to obliterate the Oak Street neighborhood for a highway spur that wiped out the White Way Theatre’s clientele and split downtown.

The White Way Theatre suffered mightily and closed. It re-emerged as the Princess Art Cinema playing XXX adult features into the 1980’s. The economic climate combined with home video finally finished off the venue whose auditorium was razed in 1997. The only vestige is a little arched entry to the what was the lobby of the cinema at the far left side of the residential use property at 206 Davenport Avenue.

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