Fine Arts Theatre
19 Summer Street,
Maynard,
MA
01754
19 Summer Street,
Maynard,
MA
01754
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The July 9, 1949 Boxoffice said that Bert Coughlin’s new Fine Arts Theatre at Maynard had opened on June 29 with the ballet picture “The Red Shoes.” The article gave the seating capacity of the original single-screen house as 425.
The theater is open now under new ownership very nice I had a nice conversation with them last time I was up there on a little vacation. Definitely come here and enjoy the movies delicious popcorn too
An update with sad news but with some hope for the future, Fine Arts Theatre Place was doing well after it reopening in 2014. Covid cause a shutdown and then a limited reopening with spaced seating. Just as things were getting more normal Steve Trumble, the owner who oversaw the renovation and really save the theatre, unexpectedly died in March 2021 and the theatre has been closed. As of the beginning of this year there are new owners who hope to open the theatre soon.
The Maynard Fine Arts Theater is open after renovation. Two screens are operating with the third promised to be operating soon. The new owners are still raising money for digital equipment. But being a film theater they were able to open Interstellar two days before the multiplexes, thanks to Christopher Nolan’s love of film.
The Fine Arts in only closed for renovation. The old web site that says it’s closed is for the former tenant. The new owners web site is http://fineartstheatreplace.com/ and their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/FineArtsTheatrePlace
The website now lists the theater as “Closed”.
THEATER # 1 IS 405
THEATER 2 —160
THEATER 3—90
THEATER UP FOR SALE OR LEASE.
THEATER SEAT COUNT IS WAY OFF—I BELIEVE ITS 630
Interesting info, Ron. Thanks again for the heads-up.
An advertisement for both the Peoples and Fine Arts theatres is on page 92 of this book:
Maynard: Postcard History Series by Paul Boothroyd
The caption under the ad says: “On May 6, 1921, Peoples Theatre on Nason Street was opened with a license to show moving pictures. In June 1949, the Fine Arts Theatre, a moving picture house on Summer Street, was opened. A few years later, Peoples was closed, and the Fine Arts became the only moving picture theatre in town.”
The FIne Arts advertised itself as ‘Showing Quality American, English and Foreign Films.’ The movies advertised for the “Week of December 31” are Madeleine and Rocking Horse Winner, both ‘English Made’. Madeleine came out in 1950 so I assume this is when the ad ran. Admission was 55 cents, or 25 cents for children accompanied by adults. There are ‘Daily Broadcasts from WKOX Framingham’ but this is not otherwise explained in the ad.
Hi, Ron. Thanks for posting the interesting preview of the book about Maynard, Ma, and for the heads-up about when the Fine Arts Theatre first opened.
The book Maynard, Massachusetts: A House in the Village, by Jan Voogd, says that the Fine Arts opened in 1949.
So….the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA still looks the same! I’ll be darned!
I remember the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA. as being another theatre that I went to a number of times back in the 1960’s, as a high school kid. It was a popular theatre, not only with Maynard residents, but with kids from Lincoln, Sudbury and some other reasonably nearby towns as well. I remember seeing a number of films there, including “Georgie Girl”, “Oliver”, “Endless Summer” and “Lion in Winter”, as well as “Easy Rider”. Again, often enough, one ran the risk of not being able to get into the movies, especially on a Friday or Saturday night if they didn’t get theire early enough to get a ticket…it was a first-come, first-served basis. Since this movie theatre was popular enough so that it drew a lot of people from Lincoln and Sudbury, MA, my friends and I would invariably meet up with other kids that we knew. What a coincidence!
btw, I recognized the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA right off of the bat. It hasn’t changed. Too bad that the proprietors of the theatre felt compelled to do up to date first-run schlock in order to stay afloat.
We had a theater like that in Bargaintown, NJ when I was a teenager. The projectionist was the same guy that took the tickets at the front door. He also came down from the booth occasionally to sell popcorn, so you had to catch him when he was manning the snackbar if you were hungry.
I was one of the managers of the Fine Arts Theater from September 1985 until March 1986. I have many fond memories of the theater. The projectors then used carbon arc rods (I think that’s what they were called) to create the light to project the film. We served premium ice cream and coffee—rare for cinemas to serve back then. One other unique thing about the theater is (or was) that the projectionist has to scamper across the roof to get to the booth for the smaller of the theaters. There were only two then now I guess there are three. I remember he had to shovel a path through the snow on the roof to get there. One night during a snow storm we went on the roof and threw snowballs down onto the passing cars. Oh, the memories!
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1950 edition with a seating capacity of 425.
The Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard was included in the MGM Theatre Photograph and Report project, but unfortunately, no one got around to filling out the Report. There is an exterior photo and, judging from the cars on the street, it was taken circa-1950, 9 years later than most of the other theatre photos for the project were taken. The building was a plain, modern box with “Fine Arts” in script letters atop the canopy over the sidewalk.