Chatham Orpheum Theatre
637 Main Street,
Chatham,
MA
02633
637 Main Street,
Chatham,
MA
02633
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Showing 1 - 25 of 26 comments
I spent a holiday in Chatham a few years ago and visited a retail store in the main street. The lady serving at the checkout told me that the building was previously a cinema…can you verify this?
The New York Times, in a story today about Chatham and sharks, indicates that the theatre is open. It shows “Jaws” twice a day during summer vacation season and other movies, too. http://nyti.ms/1pvOAOb
The business news of the Quincy Patriot Ledger of Sat Nov. 26, 2011 carried a long article about this theater “Group Seeks reprise of Orpheum Theater – Nonprofit plans to restore Chatham movie house”.This group has energy, ideas, plans, drawings, specs, etc. Missing is $2.7M needed for the project. They would restore the facade to something like original. There would be a 30-seat cafe in front and 2 screens, one with 50 seats and one with 160 seats; the latter would have a stage. (the article points out that live performances were given here in the few years leading up to the 1990 take-over by CVS.) They give the dates of movie operation as 1915-1988. CVS moved out in Oct to a new store down the street. At the same time, according to the article, Regal cinemas closed their operation in Harwich. The group wants to buy the Orpheum building. The Patriot Ledger article is by Doreen Leggett, Wicked Local Cape Cod.
Our company, Oberleitner Associates Cinema Consultants, Could probably be of great service to your project. We have over 40 years of experience in working with non-profit groups, small and medium theatrical,cinema ventures.
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The 1927 Film Daily Yearbook lists one movie venue for Chatham, Mass., the Orpheum Theatre with 600 seats, open 6 days per week. There is a posting above by Richard D which says that the original name for the Chatham Th. was “Orpheum”.
ken mc
Nice photos….I was manager and projectionist for many years.(More that I like to remember.)
ken mc’s CVS store photo shows the facade looking something like it did in the Chatham Theatre’s May 1941 photo on the MGM Theatre Report, complete with the row of large “X” shapes along the upper part of the facade. In the 1983 theater photo, the facade is much modernized compared to its more traditonal appearance in 1941. The theatre had a peaked roof and shingled sides, fronted by a big rectangular false front.
Address should be 637 Main Street.
The CVS store/former theater can be seen in this photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cy82jd
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cd2zkm
“the 1940 population of Chatham was 2,100”
I can remember nights in the 1980’s when it seemed like there were more than 2,100 people drinking in The Chatham Squire!
In May or June 1980, I saw “The Empire Strikes Back” there (with my date, the delightful Heidi Leugers).
Thanks for the info!
This was one of the many Cape Cod theaters that had their own booking “plan” during the summer months in the 40’s.50’s,60’s.
The exchanges would send X amount of prints to the Cape and they would play for one – two days and then sent on to another theater. The management would be responsible for moving the prints from one location to another. Each theater would play a picture 10-15 times during a summer season. Worked well as the mostly tourist audience turned over all the time.The print would leave the exchange in June and they would never see it until October.
Where do you get this information? Its great!
There is a MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Chatham Theatre on Main St. It has an exterior photo taken in May, 1941. There was a center entrance with 3 pairs of double doors with poster cases on each side and a canopy with the theatre name on it above. The Report states that the Chatham was been a MGM customer for over 10 years; that it was over 15 years old; that it was in Fair condition, and had 564 seats, all on one floor. The Report indicates that there were no competing theatres in Chatham; the 1940 population of Chatham was 2,100.
When did this theatre officially close?>
Very interesting! I loved going to movies there even the musty smell was ok! Now I am in New York City and there are only megaplexes only a few single screens left!
In the silent days the screen was on the back wall. When sound arrived they added a small addition to house the speakers, which of course were real large in those days. The accompaniment was piano and drums.
A small building in the rear of the theater housed a generator for electricity. A generator operator was on the payroll.
Yes we are! Your my cousin.
Forrest136 I think we are related.
I was manager and projectionist at the Chatham for a total of almost 30 years. It was built in 1920 and locally owned It was bought by Interstate Theaters Corp. Boston until sold to Hoyts. Hoyt sold it almost immediately to a local promoter that operated it for live entertainment. I remember seeing an ad for Ray Charles. It only lasted for a couple of years.It was then sold to CVS and is presently a CVS drugstore.
Chatham Theater for many years was the only auditorium large enough to hold local events such as Town Meeting, H.S. Graduation, Plays, some vaudeville and local charity events.
Until Interstate took over it was known as the Orpheum.
Chatham Theater had 500 seats. Single screen.
The Monomoy Theatre is a Playhouse located a few blocks from the Chatham Cinema.
The theatre was operational into the 1980’s, it is now a CVS!
I believe it WAS the Monomoy.