According to this very short article(which includes photos), it was demolished in mid-November 2009. They didn’t even save the old Chevrolet sign or concrete relief Buzzards Bay Garage sign. Depressing.
This Sentinel & Enterprise article from March 9 describes the beginning of construction on the housing complex being built here. The screen has been removed, and the foundation is being set for the new building. Now you CAN list the Tri-Town as “Closed/Demolished”. Truly, the end of an era. How many drive-in’s can say they were open for 50+ years continuously, under virtually the same ownership?
Here’s a set of photos from Facebook(no login needed) posted by various people. They range from movie posters a former employee kept, to photos of the screen and marquee in the process of demolition.
Was the Capri another name given to the Ritz? Because according to a 1957 photo posted on the Ritz’s page…it was next to the Alston building. And the lobby building is the same.
OK……I’m not sure what the issue is here. I never said they were in the theatre lobby, and if I unintentionally implied it, I apologize. I merely thought it would be interesting to read about the fire from the perspective of a tenant who’d been in the space for almost 75 years. They saw the movie theater rise, fall, rise again, fall again, and then literally fall.
Sorry about that, Chuck. The second link does work. Here are a couple to replace the first one:
Here’s a post on a local news blog from when the fire broke out, including a photo of the burning building.
Here’s the website for Public Drug Co. , who operated out of the first floor store front for 74 years before the fire wrecked it. They now operate from a new location, and the website tells the story of the fire from their end.
Sounds like it was gutted inside, and is just a shell now. Apparently the job time and neglect started when the auditorium caved in 30+ years ago is now done.
I’m not sure this isn’t a redundant entry, as The Flying Monkey is the former Plymouth Theatre(already listed) renamed. Perhaps the Plymouth’s entry should be changed to reflect the new name and this one deleted?
This is closed, but it is not demolished. Located at the intersection of W. Main Street(Routes 74 & 221) and North State Road(credit to SiliconSam). Screen, marquee, speaker poles still stand.
According to our friends over at CinemaTour, SiliconSam’s aerial is the Tri-City Drive-In(the other drive-in in town, already listed here on CT). I can find very little about the Midway, unfortunately.
According to this Patriot Ledger article, Loring Hall was burgled earlier this week. Apparently, the 300-pound safe was stolen from the building, raided, and dumped in a sewer grate. The safe was recovered by Hingham police, with an underminate amount of cash and movie passes stolen.
Looks like the entrance was actually on Forstall Street. If you search for 756 Forestall Street, you’ll be looking at what was apparently the entrance to the theater. Appears vacant and abandoned.
Hard to say if this one is still standing. The address belongs to a paint store. Google Street View maps to W. 52nd Street around the corner. There is a building there that certainly LOOKS old enough to have housed the lobby…but it’s on the wrong street scratches head. Anyone else have some insight here?
Apparently I was not paying attention when I was typing my previous post. It was DEFINITELY in Lunenburg, not Fitchburg. The drive-in was down the road from Whalom Park. The screen burnt down some years after it closed. So, I apologize for my “brain fade” earlier.
There IS an Electric Avenue in Fitchburg, but there are no theatres along that short span of road.
Well, I’ve been made to be a liar. As of Jan 28, the drive-in remained untouched. The developer is still trying to secure funding for Phase 1 of the project, according to a Jan 28, 2010 Sentinel & Enterprise article. Makes one wonder if the project will ever get funded, or if the drive-in will continue on in it’s dogged determination.
SO…this drive-in IS closed for the time being, but NOT demolished. Please change the status accordingly, and my apologies.
There appear to be two entries for this drive-in on Cinema Treasures; this one listing it in Lunenburg, and another listing it in Fitchburg. One of them needs to be removed, and if my understanding is correct…it should be the Fitchburg entry. Either way, we only need one entry for this drive-in.
If we keep this one, change it to ‘Closed/Demolished’. It’s long, long gone.
This one’s long gone, closed and demolished – a packaging company now sits on the site. However, if you look at the aerial on Google maps, it’s fairly obvious what it used to be – the footprint is still there.
The image on Google Maps Street View is so washed out by the sun you can make out the outline of the building, and no more. Not much use, that is.
blinks Wow, that is some crazy spam right there.
According to this very short article(which includes photos), it was demolished in mid-November 2009. They didn’t even save the old Chevrolet sign or concrete relief Buzzards Bay Garage sign. Depressing.
Other links:
Video shot during the demolition
Worcester, MA.
It’s a slide show. The “Previous/Next” buttons are in the upper right -hand corner, above the photo. Sorry for any confusion.
This Sentinel & Enterprise article from March 9 describes the beginning of construction on the housing complex being built here. The screen has been removed, and the foundation is being set for the new building. Now you CAN list the Tri-Town as “Closed/Demolished”. Truly, the end of an era. How many drive-in’s can say they were open for 50+ years continuously, under virtually the same ownership?
Here’s a set of photos from Facebook(no login needed) posted by various people. They range from movie posters a former employee kept, to photos of the screen and marquee in the process of demolition.
Was the Capri another name given to the Ritz? Because according to a 1957 photo posted on the Ritz’s page…it was next to the Alston building. And the lobby building is the same.
OK……I’m not sure what the issue is here. I never said they were in the theatre lobby, and if I unintentionally implied it, I apologize. I merely thought it would be interesting to read about the fire from the perspective of a tenant who’d been in the space for almost 75 years. They saw the movie theater rise, fall, rise again, fall again, and then literally fall.
Sorry about that, Chuck. The second link does work. Here are a couple to replace the first one:
Here’s a post on a local news blog from when the fire broke out, including a photo of the burning building.
Here’s the website for Public Drug Co. , who operated out of the first floor store front for 74 years before the fire wrecked it. They now operate from a new location, and the website tells the story of the fire from their end.
Here’s a couple of YouTube videos shot during the fire: One and Two(this one takes a few seconds to start)
And, finally, here is a set of exterior photo taken the day after the fire.
All these links worked – checked them before I hit submit. Enjoy!
Apparently it was housing a church, according to this article (new window) which also has information about the fire.
More information here (new window), as well.
Sounds like it was gutted inside, and is just a shell now. Apparently the job time and neglect started when the auditorium caved in 30+ years ago is now done.
I’m not sure this isn’t a redundant entry, as The Flying Monkey is the former Plymouth Theatre(already listed) renamed. Perhaps the Plymouth’s entry should be changed to reflect the new name and this one deleted?
Any opinions?
This is closed, but it is not demolished. Located at the intersection of W. Main Street(Routes 74 & 221) and North State Road(credit to SiliconSam). Screen, marquee, speaker poles still stand.
According to our friends over at CinemaTour, SiliconSam’s aerial is the Tri-City Drive-In(the other drive-in in town, already listed here on CT). I can find very little about the Midway, unfortunately.
According to this Patriot Ledger article, Loring Hall was burgled earlier this week. Apparently, the 300-pound safe was stolen from the building, raided, and dumped in a sewer grate. The safe was recovered by Hingham police, with an underminate amount of cash and movie passes stolen.
I can only imagine how a 300lb safe was stolen…
Looks like the entrance was actually on Forstall Street. If you search for 756 Forestall Street, you’ll be looking at what was apparently the entrance to the theater. Appears vacant and abandoned.
Also, it’s “Dryades” Street, not Dyrades.
Building appears to be still standing, but vacant, from the looks of the GM Street View.
Hard to say if this one is still standing. The address belongs to a paint store. Google Street View maps to W. 52nd Street around the corner. There is a building there that certainly LOOKS old enough to have housed the lobby…but it’s on the wrong street scratches head. Anyone else have some insight here?
Apparently I was not paying attention when I was typing my previous post. It was DEFINITELY in Lunenburg, not Fitchburg. The drive-in was down the road from Whalom Park. The screen burnt down some years after it closed. So, I apologize for my “brain fade” earlier.
There IS an Electric Avenue in Fitchburg, but there are no theatres along that short span of road.
Well, I’ve been made to be a liar. As of Jan 28, the drive-in remained untouched. The developer is still trying to secure funding for Phase 1 of the project, according to a Jan 28, 2010 Sentinel & Enterprise article. Makes one wonder if the project will ever get funded, or if the drive-in will continue on in it’s dogged determination.
SO…this drive-in IS closed for the time being, but NOT demolished. Please change the status accordingly, and my apologies.
There appear to be two entries for this drive-in on Cinema Treasures; this one listing it in Lunenburg, and another listing it in Fitchburg. One of them needs to be removed, and if my understanding is correct…it should be the Fitchburg entry. Either way, we only need one entry for this drive-in.
If we keep this one, change it to ‘Closed/Demolished’. It’s long, long gone.
This one’s long gone, closed and demolished – a packaging company now sits on the site. However, if you look at the aerial on Google maps, it’s fairly obvious what it used to be – the footprint is still there.
Also changes the screen to “single” or “one” – it was never twinned, that was my mistake. Thanks!
It appears that the project slated to be developed on the Tri-Town’s site has gotten underway. Construction equipment has arrived – mark this closed.
That hurts. Too few drive-ins left.
I saw Star Trek: Nemesis and Bruce Almighty here. Unimpressive and bland, with small, shoebox theaters.