…and, small world, I too saw Sleeping Beauty here. It was on May 7, 1959, a matinee. That evening I went to the senior prom. I saw Ben-Hur here in July of 1960. Utterly spectacular presentation, as always during the Elmwood’s decade or so of glory.
Fascinating comments, especially since there is such a dearth of info on Fall River movie theatre history. You mention the Elmwood in Providence again, and Ben-Hur. That’s where I saw it when it came out. I went July 3, 1960.
…and I don’t know about Anne of a Thousanad Days, but Taming of the Shrew played at the R.K.O. Albee, although that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a move-over. In fact I photographed the theatre when the marquee showed that title. Here it is. The loss of the R.K.O. Albee was the greatest theatre-tragedy in Providence, in my opinion, akin to the demolition of the Durfee in Fall River.
This place, which was located in the mall, is not to be confused with the later-built Regal Swansea Stadium 12 that is part of an entirely new set of buildings across the access road and is not within a mall.
The exterior of this theatre is a tad more appealing than many multiplexes. The corridor passage to the screening rooms is a bit narrow, and the entrance/exit area seemed congested. Seat comfort was fine. Projection and sound were good, but the screen seemed invariably set to CinemaScope ratio, with a fixed black border and no adjustable masking from any direction. I assume that standard-ratio films mean a white screen area will appear at the sides of the image, judging by the auditorium I sat in for the Scope Sky High, which the audience of adults with their kids seemed to lap up, but which, ugh, is not my kind of movie. The place is located across an access road from the Swansea Mall, which itself no longer has a cinema since the Swansea Mall 4 Cinemas closed a few years ago.
This first photo shows Main Street in 1920 with the Bijou on the right just beyond the bridge. Note the white dome and the figure atop it. It is an eagle.
This second photo shows that eagle now serving as a souvenir on a local lawn.
According to additional information provided by Mr. Laurence J. Sasso, Jr., editor of The Observer, an area newspaper, and a February 13, 1997 article in that paper, Diamond Hall was located in Wilkinson Block, which contained Wilkinson’s Store and Diamond Hall, situated on the second floor. That upstairs hall received its name “Diamond” from a diamond shade in darker colored wood in the center of the floor.
Over the decades of its existence Diamond Hall was used for stage plays, movies, and graduations, and, no doubt, for meetings, dances, and other social events. Greenville Grammar School was located diagonally across Austin Avenue. There was a fire in the 1930s, according to the recollections of many locals, and the building was torn down after that. It is not yet clear what year that was, and as I wrote above, the place is listed in a 1935 business directory as showing movies during that time. The spot where the building once was is now occupied by a cleaning establishment.
The name of the place was also Wilkinson Hall, according to an October 11, 1913 program for a minstrel show, put on by a local group, “20th Century Minstrel Troup,” under the leadership of musical director Phil McConnell.
Rhode Island had many such local halls built for a multitude of purposes and showing movies on either a regular or part-time basis. Others that come to mind are Myrtle Hall in Johnston, Peacedale Opera House in Peacedale, Music Hall in Pascoag.
Interesting that roadshow-type films played here, way out in a neighborhood, rather than in or near downtown. That’s pretty much like the Elmwood in Providence. A gas station now occupies the spot that was once the Baylies Square/Arcade Theatre. I drove up there a few months ago looking for the spot.
Here is a photo of Main Street in Pembroke. The caption in Roger Davies' book of photos, Old Pembrokeshire, reads:
“A view of Main Street, Pembroke looking into Castle Terrace and showing the Castle in the background. On the right is Williams' Shoe Shop with its impressive portico, alas no longer standing; then there is Halls the Bakers, next to Pembroke Cinema. Another impressive card by Mortimer Allen of Tenby.”
Information from various websites indicate this was also known as Filmmakers' Cooperative, an intended permanent home for a peripatetic group of that same name, founded by Jonas Mekas, and which ultimately, after assorted peregrinations, became the Anthology Film Archives. The organization promulgated the work of mostly American independent experimental filmmakers.
With Shirley Clarke and Lionel Rogosin, Mekas organized the Film-Makers' Distribution Center to serve what they hoped would be a circuit of art theaters showing at least the feature-length works of the avant-garde. The artists screened their films at a place called The Filmmakers' Cinematheque, which was in the basement of the now-demolished Wurlitzer building on West 41st Street in New York. Increasing losses eventually forced Mekas to discontinue the Cinematheque at the Forty-First Street theatre.
On September 10,1966 Andy Warhol’s two-projector The Chelsea Girls opened here to a good deal of acclaim, and continued a run later at the Regency on Broadway.
Ha ha! That’s great. I too “appreciated” Yul Brynner. Do you have any other recollections that you could post about the Durfee on its page? Growing up in the Providence area, I never had much opportunity to go to Fall River theatres. The Academy was the only one I visited, much later, when it was the only one left. And I regret most not having been to the Durfee, especially the night Lillian Gish appeared there to show some of early films and also because it was considered Fall River’s finest.
There was at least one very big auditorium here for many years after it opened. By the late 1990s everything had been subdivided into bite-size cinemas.
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
By an unknown author, as quoted in Oliver H. Stedman’s A Stroll Through Memory Lane, 1978:
What flushed me out of semi-retirement was the news report that Fagan’s is going to be torn down. Fagan’s Opera House still stands, at least for now, in the business center of Peace Dale Flats in South Kingstown. Ah, what memories, those great Saturday nights at Fagan’s. We young fellows came down from upper South County, while others arrived from the Pier [Narragansett] or as far south as Westerly. Still others, students, came down the line from the then R.I. State College [later University of R.I.] The Opera House was strictly a family movie theatre, but on Saturday nights we were all drawn there for the later dancing with the local belles.
Ah, what belles. They really rang our chimes, and they didn’t have to blow in out ears to follow them through any steps they cared to do on the dance floor.
When the movies had ended each Saturday night about ten o'clock, the crowd flocked to the rear of the theatre while the staff pushed back against the wall the rows of chairs with folding seats. The peanut shells, empty popcorn boxes and candy wrappers were swept away, and the orchestra set up in a corner near the stage that held the movie screen.
[A long description of the music and the dances ensues.]
Fagan’s soon will be but a memory, but what a happy memory…
Illicit Love is the 1949 Italian film Ho sognato il paradiso, released in the U.S. in 1952 with another title: Streets of Sorrow.
The theatre on Brightman Street was the Royal, a.k.a. Pastime, and it is posted here.
…and, small world, I too saw Sleeping Beauty here. It was on May 7, 1959, a matinee. That evening I went to the senior prom. I saw Ben-Hur here in July of 1960. Utterly spectacular presentation, as always during the Elmwood’s decade or so of glory.
Fascinating comments, especially since there is such a dearth of info on Fall River movie theatre history. You mention the Elmwood in Providence again, and Ben-Hur. That’s where I saw it when it came out. I went July 3, 1960.
…and I don’t know about Anne of a Thousanad Days, but Taming of the Shrew played at the R.K.O. Albee, although that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a move-over. In fact I photographed the theatre when the marquee showed that title. Here it is. The loss of the R.K.O. Albee was the greatest theatre-tragedy in Providence, in my opinion, akin to the demolition of the Durfee in Fall River.
Dick, you mention Somerset. I recently photographed what’s left of the Somerset Theatre. If you remember that at all, here is its page.
This place, which was located in the mall, is not to be confused with the later-built Regal Swansea Stadium 12 that is part of an entirely new set of buildings across the access road and is not within a mall.
The exterior of this theatre is a tad more appealing than many multiplexes. The corridor passage to the screening rooms is a bit narrow, and the entrance/exit area seemed congested. Seat comfort was fine. Projection and sound were good, but the screen seemed invariably set to CinemaScope ratio, with a fixed black border and no adjustable masking from any direction. I assume that standard-ratio films mean a white screen area will appear at the sides of the image, judging by the auditorium I sat in for the Scope Sky High, which the audience of adults with their kids seemed to lap up, but which, ugh, is not my kind of movie. The place is located across an access road from the Swansea Mall, which itself no longer has a cinema since the Swansea Mall 4 Cinemas closed a few years ago.
Here are two photos relating to the Bijou:
This first photo shows Main Street in 1920 with the Bijou on the right just beyond the bridge. Note the white dome and the figure atop it. It is an eagle.
This second photo shows that eagle now serving as a souvenir on a local lawn.
According to additional information provided by Mr. Laurence J. Sasso, Jr., editor of The Observer, an area newspaper, and a February 13, 1997 article in that paper, Diamond Hall was located in Wilkinson Block, which contained Wilkinson’s Store and Diamond Hall, situated on the second floor. That upstairs hall received its name “Diamond” from a diamond shade in darker colored wood in the center of the floor.
Over the decades of its existence Diamond Hall was used for stage plays, movies, and graduations, and, no doubt, for meetings, dances, and other social events. Greenville Grammar School was located diagonally across Austin Avenue. There was a fire in the 1930s, according to the recollections of many locals, and the building was torn down after that. It is not yet clear what year that was, and as I wrote above, the place is listed in a 1935 business directory as showing movies during that time. The spot where the building once was is now occupied by a cleaning establishment.
The name of the place was also Wilkinson Hall, according to an October 11, 1913 program for a minstrel show, put on by a local group, “20th Century Minstrel Troup,” under the leadership of musical director Phil McConnell.
Rhode Island had many such local halls built for a multitude of purposes and showing movies on either a regular or part-time basis. Others that come to mind are Myrtle Hall in Johnston, Peacedale Opera House in Peacedale, Music Hall in Pascoag.
Here is an image of Diamond Hall (top) from a photocopy of an old postcard.
Interesting that roadshow-type films played here, way out in a neighborhood, rather than in or near downtown. That’s pretty much like the Elmwood in Providence. A gas station now occupies the spot that was once the Baylies Square/Arcade Theatre. I drove up there a few months ago looking for the spot.
Is this the same Robert L. Lippert, film producer/distributor of many noted B-productions?
Here is a photo of Main Street in Pembroke. The caption in Roger Davies' book of photos, Old Pembrokeshire, reads:
“A view of Main Street, Pembroke looking into Castle Terrace and showing the Castle in the background. On the right is Williams' Shoe Shop with its impressive portico, alas no longer standing; then there is Halls the Bakers, next to Pembroke Cinema. Another impressive card by Mortimer Allen of Tenby.”
This is a great breakthrough. Maybe you know something about New Bedford theatres as well.
I agree with everything you say here and am just as sad. I missed Lawrence of Arabia here but I did see Around the World in 80 Days, South Pacific.
Clarification: Filmmakers' Cooperative was name of the distribution outfit. Filmmakers' Cinematheque was a name for the screening facility.
Information from various websites indicate this was also known as Filmmakers' Cooperative, an intended permanent home for a peripatetic group of that same name, founded by Jonas Mekas, and which ultimately, after assorted peregrinations, became the Anthology Film Archives. The organization promulgated the work of mostly American independent experimental filmmakers.
With Shirley Clarke and Lionel Rogosin, Mekas organized the Film-Makers' Distribution Center to serve what they hoped would be a circuit of art theaters showing at least the feature-length works of the avant-garde. The artists screened their films at a place called The Filmmakers' Cinematheque, which was in the basement of the now-demolished Wurlitzer building on West 41st Street in New York. Increasing losses eventually forced Mekas to discontinue the Cinematheque at the Forty-First Street theatre.
On September 10,1966 Andy Warhol’s two-projector The Chelsea Girls opened here to a good deal of acclaim, and continued a run later at the Regency on Broadway.
Ha ha! That’s great. I too “appreciated” Yul Brynner. Do you have any other recollections that you could post about the Durfee on its page? Growing up in the Providence area, I never had much opportunity to go to Fall River theatres. The Academy was the only one I visited, much later, when it was the only one left. And I regret most not having been to the Durfee, especially the night Lillian Gish appeared there to show some of early films and also because it was considered Fall River’s finest.
My photo of the Island from 2003.
There was at least one very big auditorium here for many years after it opened. By the late 1990s everything had been subdivided into bite-size cinemas.
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
An ad in the 1936 commemorative book Tercentenary, Providence and Rhode Island by four downtown Providence theatres, listed theatre names and managers:
PROVIDENCE DOWNTOWN THEATRES
MAJESTIC
Bernard M. Fay, Manager
R.K.O. ALBEE
Edward A. Zorn, Manager
LOEW’S STATE
Howard C. Burkhardt, Manager
STRAND
Edward R. Reed Manager
Those Saturday Nights at Fagan’s
By an unknown author, as quoted in Oliver H. Stedman’s A Stroll Through Memory Lane, 1978:
What flushed me out of semi-retirement was the news report that Fagan’s is going to be torn down. Fagan’s Opera House still stands, at least for now, in the business center of Peace Dale Flats in South Kingstown. Ah, what memories, those great Saturday nights at Fagan’s. We young fellows came down from upper South County, while others arrived from the Pier [Narragansett] or as far south as Westerly. Still others, students, came down the line from the then R.I. State College [later University of R.I.] The Opera House was strictly a family movie theatre, but on Saturday nights we were all drawn there for the later dancing with the local belles.
Ah, what belles. They really rang our chimes, and they didn’t have to blow in out ears to follow them through any steps they cared to do on the dance floor.
When the movies had ended each Saturday night about ten o'clock, the crowd flocked to the rear of the theatre while the staff pushed back against the wall the rows of chairs with folding seats. The peanut shells, empty popcorn boxes and candy wrappers were swept away, and the orchestra set up in a corner near the stage that held the movie screen.
[A long description of the music and the dances ensues.]
Fagan’s soon will be but a memory, but what a happy memory…