E.M. Loew's Center Theatre
144 Main Street,
Pawtucket,
RI
02860
144 Main Street,
Pawtucket,
RI
02860
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Showing 26 - 35 of 35 comments
Great — I’ll check it out! I’ll be hoping to hear about your progress with the “Music Hall” investigation. I’m thinking that if the Capitol was at 156 Main, then the Music Hall would have been at about 185 to 199 Main. It’s amazing to me that virtually nothing is left of that bustling downtown, the one I knew so well growing up in Pawtucket.
Marialivia, thanks. You and Roland Lavallee have provided plenty of information about Pawtucket to whet my appetite. Having grown up in Johnston, my knowledge of the Pawtucket theatres is very indirect. I visited the Strand once, saw the closed Capitol or whatever it was called in the late 1950s and wondered about it, saw the exterior of the Broadway, visited the Fairlawn a couple of times, the Leroy a few times, and the Darlton many times. I paid $32 for Temples of Illusion. It is out of print now, but you could check from time to time with www.abebooks.com to see if more used copies become available.
Yes, I’ve seen many of your postings, as I receive notice when there’s a new posting relating to something I’ve previously submitted. You really are a movie theater “maven,” to say the least! How expensive is that book “Temples of Illusion”? The original location of the Peerless was on Main St., maybe halfway between East Ave. and Broad Street. Pawtucket Institution for Savings was at the corner of Main st. and Maple Street (which leads up to the library). If you are standing in front of that bank, walk DOWN towards East Ave. Just a few doors down from that bank was Peerless Co., which I believe might be the former location of the Music Hall. The etchin sign might still be there. Sadly, so many buildings have been razed since I lived (sadly — I loved it there), I can’t even figure out a street number!
Was it closer to East Avenue or up where Broad Street begins? I’m going to check for ads for it in pre-1935 Pawtucket Times years on microfilm. This will merit a listing. Incidentally I have posted a great deal of information on the downtown Providence theatres. Roger Brett’s book Temples of Illusion has been a big help, and I am finding a lot of early Journal articles by using the card file at the Providence Public Library.
Hi Gerald: As a child in the early 40s, I heard tell of the Music Hall Theater and had great curiosity about it, as I loved movies and wondered why any theater anywhere would close! I believe it was on Main Street, either in the building that later housed the ORIGINAL Peerless Store or the building adjacent to it. (The Peerless later moved down Main Street to the corner of High Street). When waiting for a bus across the street remember that the name of the theater was etched into a stone section of the buidling, — in fact, I wonder if it’s still there? I haven’t visited Pawtucket’s downtown in many years but would be interested in looking for this, IF the building is still standing!
I found a 1935 listing for a “Music Hall” in Pawtucket. Any idea of what or where this was? Other names?
A 1919 Pawtucket city directory lists a theatre at this address called the Scenic Theatre.
A Providence Journal article from April 27, 1958, documents the history of the Center Theatre in an article headed Final Curtain Descends. Here is a capsule summary:
The annals of the theatre depict a place that saw vaudeville, silent movie, the coming of sound, burlesque, and even a church used for pre-Lenten services. At the end of each vaudeville season a special feature was the Pawtucket Follies, which relied on local talent. During the theatre’s burlesque or “burleycue” shows, as many locals called it, the advice was “to catch the first show. It’s liable to be closed up.” After vaudeville began to wane in the late ‘30s, the Center became a full-time movie house, pretty much. By the end of summer of 1958, the theatre would be leveled to create a parking lot for Park and Shop Pawtucket, Inc.
This was known as the Capitol during the 40s and was pretty rundown. It closed for a time, was remodeled and opened as The Center in 1948. There was a nice “soda shop” after the re-opening that was part of the theater. They showed “A Date With Judy” starring Liz Taylor in late 1948, much to the dismay of the manager of the Strand, which was just around the corner. The Strand showed MGM films and there was some acrimony about the fact that the distributor chose to show this film at the new Center Theater. It did not last long in its new identity.
This was a first-run movie theatre programming American films. In January of 1947, however, they did show Rossellini’s neo-realist Italian film OPEN CITY.