Bijou Theatre

The first three full-time downtown Providence movie theatres were these: Nickel, Scenic Temple, Bijou. There are others that did show films previously but they were sporadic showings, or in the case of the Lyric, short-lived. Movies were the main policy, though the Scenic Temple did include vaudeville acts. This ad from August 1, 1908 makes clear the growing trend: moving pictures are here to stay! They are not a mere innovation.
NICKEL, SCENIC TEMPLE, BIJOU

In September 1922 this theatre was part of Rhode Island’s Paramount Week. Click to see the ad in Providence News, September 1, 1922, which contains a list of all participating theatres as well as the films shown that week.

PART ONE OF AD
PART TWO OF AD

This theatre was part of the September 1923 6th Paramount Week. In this advertisement from the (Providence) Evening Tribune, September 1, 1923, we see a fascinating list of Rhode Island area theatres, many long-gone and long-forgoten, or even unheard of, as well as what they were showing during that week. Rudolph Valentino in Blood and Sand was one of the offerings here. CLICK HERE and move image to see all theatres.

Good Morning! Yes, the “replacement” Howard Bldg. is still there. I retired from my job in Prov. in Oct. of 2003, but I seem to remember the “old days” much more clearly! I loved the OLD Arcade (before it was “spruced up” and miss the nice restaurants and tearooms). Thanks so much for the link — can’t wait to look at it! ML

Ah, success!! (It’s actually 6:08pm, not 3:08, however.) First, the postcards are wonderful! The later one, with Union Trust on the right side, is across from the Howard Building, where I worked for 4 years from 1950-54 — the building was irreparably damaged by one of the hurricanes (Hurricane Carol maybe?) Also, we hung out in Gibson’s (later McGarry’s) at street level. I was in error in a previous posting when I referred to the Prov. Gas Company being located at Westminster and Orange. Actually, it is at the corner of Weybosset and Orange, a block away. This Bijou was before my time — it’s the other one I remember, the one further west on Westminster. (The Howard Bldg. was at 171 Westminster and the Union Trust at 170. I believe these are still the addresses.) SO the Bijou would have been close to them at 164. Marialivia

Oh, I was faulting the postcard. It has that caption! It is oddly phrased.

Gerald, re: “Here is a postcard from the 1920s”, that is indeed a great picture. However, I think it’s mislabeled. Since the Union Trust (now Federal reserve) is in the photo, it must be taken from another building.

From The Providence Journal, June 20, 1925, in an article announcing the imminent closing of the 17-year-old Bijou:

“Since it was built in March, 1908, the Bijou seldom failed to yield a profit to its owners. Summers, always dull periods for theatres, failed for a number of years to affect the profit and loss column of the Bijou. But the last two summers have witnessed a falling off in patronage. This decline, according to Frank E. Page, for a number of years the manager of the Bijou and one of its builders, was caused by daylight saving, automobiles and stronger competition from the larger theatres which for some seats brought their price range within that of the Bijou.”

Roger Brett wrote in Temples of Illusion about Spitz and Nathanson’s Bijou Theatre:

“With its unveiling on March 28, 1908, Abe and Max became the city’s first showmen to operate three theatres at once. This was the original Bijou at the corner of Westminster and Orange Streets, nestled against the big Union Trust Building. A rarity among Providence Theaters, it had only one name and policy, movies, from its inception until its closing in July of 1925.

“Like the short-lived Lyric, it was a converted store and took up the entire ground floor of a high-ceilinged wood framed building dating from the early 1800’s. It was razed in 1925 and the present [1976] concrete building, for many years occupied by a Waldorf Restaurant, immediately replaced it. (…) When it became a theater a huge false front was erected and the roof appeared to be flat when viewed from Westminster Street.

“In style, this façade can best be described as ‘High Coney Island.’ It was elaborate in the extreme, painted white, and contained 2000 light bulbs. These were not in a sign but were actually mounted on the woodwork and traced the curves, arches, and parapets in brilliant relief for the benefit of evening crowds. Grime, generated by the city’s traffic and chimneys in the early 1920s, forced the management to abandon white paint in favor of green and the Bijou lost some of its amusement park glamour towards the end.

“The Bijou sat 407, all on one level. From the beginning the theater was very popular and consequently very sucessful. Although the term was not in use at the time, the Bijou, along with the Nickel, were Providence’s first-run movie houses. Abe Spitz, improving upon Charlie Lovenberg’s initial booking arrangements, had the necessary contacts with the right people to insure getting the very best films for his theaters. The policy here, as at the Nickel, was always movies and illustrated songs, but no vaudeville.”

PROVIDENCE THEATRES: “TEMPLES OF ILLUSION"
A book called "Temples of Illusion,” by Roger Brett, was published in 1976. It is Mr. Brett’s detailed history of all the old downtown area theatres of Providence from 1871 to 1950. It includes numerous rare photos, a list of theatres with name changes, and a map to show exactly where they all were. The book is an invaluable resource and is owned by many libraries in the R.I. CLAN system. I found a copy for sale online and will use it as a reference for future postings.

I believe that the Providence Gas Company now occupies one corner of Westminster and Orange, and when I last worked downtown there was an office furniture dealer on the other. (Orange Street does not cross Westminster, the Arcade is across the street.) As i’ve mentioned before, I never knew there was a theater at this location. But then I wasn’t around back then! I did see the final days of the other Bijou though, just up the street from this one.

The seating capacity for this Bijou was 407, according to the 1925 Providence Journal Almanac.

Childs was there in my day too and I ate there several times. I believe their pancakes were legendary. I have another (low-quality) photo of the first Bijou, published in the Providence Journal in 1996. Here it is:
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