Palace Theater
112 Broadway,
Lawrence,
MA
01840
112 Broadway,
Lawrence,
MA
01840
2 people
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Showing 26 - 35 of 35 comments
Roloff: This is quite the “theatre row” postcard scene and it would be interesting to see this same city block today so perhaps Lost Memory will come through once again.
See the legendary “Four Theatres in a Row” on this Curteich postcard I recently purchased: View link
It must have been a wonderful sight to see so many theatres in a section of called ‘theatre row’ in its day. It’s such a shame that at least one of those theatres couldn’t have been saved and enjoyed today. I’m from a small town and we only had one theatre and today that theatre is gone so the charm that it offered the area is gone, too. I can still see, in my mind’s eye, the twinkling lights of the marquee at the corner of Main and Portage in Westfield NY.
Patsy: There were indeed 2 great theatres in Lawrence in my time. The Palace was in what was left of Theatre row. I believe that some of the other theatre buildings may have been still standing around it and may have been empty or converted to storefronts.
The Warner was about 5 or six blocks away on a street that ran perpendicular to where the Palace stood.
I’ve come to learn that there were many theatres on “theatre row” in Lawrence, but why wouldn’t the Warner be listed, too?
Jack: Did Lawrence MA have two theatres with great marquees and buildings? The Palace AND the Warner? I’ve been comparing 2 different b/w photos from each CT link and they are certainly different facades. And the theatres listed on “theatre row” doesn’t seem to mention the Warner which was located at 1 Lawrence Street according to the Warner Theatre/Lawrence CT link.
This may have been the first movie theatre that I was ever in. It closed in the late 60’s I think. It was one of 2 theatres in Lawrence when I was a child. I’m pretty sure that I saw “Mary Poppins” there. It was the classier of the 2 theaters and was where my parents would go to see movies like “Cleopatra” and “Ben Hur”.
The Lawrence Showcase Cinemas opened around the time of “The Sound of Music” and then the Palace’s days were numbered. The last movies I saw there were “Yellow Submarine” and “Planet of the Apes”. This would have been aroung 1968. I think that it closed soon after.
I remember it as being BIG – large screen, big main floor and balcony. The only other thing I remember is that there was a sort of waiting area at the back of the main floor resembling the standing room areas of Broadway theatres.
THE PALACE: In the recent issue of Reminisce Extra magazine there is an article about the once many theatres of Lawrence on “theatre row”. In the Lost Memory post the b/w etching of the Palace is beautiful So sad that the ones mentioned in your post have been demolished with the exception of one, but even that one didn’t remain a theatre. After reading the magazine article and the Palace posts I have come to sadly realize that Lawrence MA has lost so much theatre history.
The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Palace on Broadway in Lawrence has an exterior photo taken in May 1941. It certainly had a long, imposing classical facade ! The movie playing is Bette Davis in “The Great Lie”. The Report states that the Palace has been showing MGM product for over 10 years; that it’s over 15 years old; that it’s in Good condition; it had 1052 seats on the main floor and 723 seats in the balcony, total: 1775 seats. The 1940 population of Lawrence was 84,300. There are MGM Reports for 5 other movie theaters in Lawrence: Modern, Warner, Strand, Central and Broadway.
According to “Rilpey’s Believe It or Not,” the only place in the world where one could find a street with four movie theaters in a row was in Lawrence, MA. Known as “Theater Row” on Broadway, there were the STRAND (built in 1917), later renamed as the ASTOR, the MODERN (1921), BROADWAY (1910) and PALACE (1921). Along with several other theaters in downtown Lawrence, these venues entertained Merrimack Valley citizens for decades. With the popularity of the suburban malls in the early 60s, the inner-city theatres went into a steady decline. By the end of the 70s, all four had been demolished, with the exception of the STRAND, which was recycled into a shopping outlet. <p> At nearby Brooks School in the 1960s and 70s, where we presented a 35mm theatrical film every Saturday night, I enjoyed hearing the many stories of Lawrence’s “Great White Way,” from the team of Union projectionists who showed our films on two DeVry arc-lamp WWII surplus projectors. Once the photo uploading capability is up and running on this site, I have a vintage photo of the PALACE to submit. Michael B. KIng