Gary Theatre

Yes thats great The other side of the marquee had the painting of the album cover! That was a great theatre to see films in! Such a large screen and great sound! Cannot find that today even here in NYC!

Since Visconti’s The Leopard did not open in New York until August of 1963, this photo is probably a bit after that in 1963. It opened in Providence in October of 1963.

Did “Finians Rainbow” play the Gary?

During the 1940s and to mid-1950s, the Plymouth was a very busy Shubert legit house , booked up almost every week from Sept to May of each year. Hard to believe today. It had 2 balconies and close to 1500 seats. The entrance faced the side of the Shubert. The auditorium and stage were directly behind the Majestic. The rear orchestra foyer was directly behind the rear stage wall of the Majestic/ Saxon. It presented mostly straight plays, no musicals. In February 1953, I saw a young Paul Newman in the pre-Bway tryout of the play “Picnic” by William Inge. Sat in the first balcony. Full house. After Sack took it over and renamed it Gary, a new marquee was mounted. I think that Sack closed off the 2nd balcony, but am not sure of that. At first, and for a long while, it was used mostly for “roadshow” film engagements. Demolition in 1978 sounds about right to me. The new State Transportation Building occupies the Gary’s entrance and lobby, but the auditorium and stage area were covered with gravel and not built upon until Emerson College constructed its new Tufte Building on the site circa 2002. In fact, for a while Emerson placed a one-story pre-fab building containing dressing rooms right up against the Majestic’s rear stage wall. This pre-fab building occupied the site of the Gary’s inner foyer. My memory is that “Gary” was Ben Sack’s son, nephew or grandson.

This theatre was such a showplace! I remember seeing “Sound Of Music” , STAR!, and “Goodbye Mr. Chips” as roadshows here in the 60’s! The sound and projection was great!

I can attest to the plaster falling durin Earthquake!!! I was there with a so called girlfriend and also lived in the apartments next door during 75 We had cards that let us in any of the sack theaters as they were known then for 50 cents for certain shows!!!Man I would love to relive those days!!! Marty

From the Bostonian Society Library, here’s a 1958 photo of the Gary Theatre, along with the accompanying description.

The marquee reads “AND GOD CREATED WOMAN / THE DEVIL IS IN / BRIGITTE BARDOT”. The “1-2-3” sign next door refers not to multiple screens, but rather to the address of a neighboring barroom.

From the Boston Globe’s “Ask the Globe” column, December 25, 1984:

Q. There used to be a small theater, similar to the Wilbur, on Stuart street in Boston. What was its name? – B.H., Lexington.

A. That was the storied Plymouth, which opened Sept. 23, 1911, with the Abbey Theater Company of Dublin performing John Millington Synge’s “The Playboy of the Western World.” Designed by Clarence H. Blackall, a noted theater architect of the time, the Plymouth was built for Liebler & Co, and was considered one of the most modern playhouses in the country. The Shubert Organization of New York bought the Plymouth in 1927 and used it largely for tryouts of plays headed for New York or going on tour, and for some long run performances. The Shuberts sold the theater to the Sack movie chain in 1957, and it was renamed the Gary. That fell to the wrecking ball in 1978.

An odd story I have never been able to confirm is that during the run of Earthquake the Sensurround caused plaster to fall giving added realism to the disaster movie.
I can confirm the tunnel between the Gary & Saxon theatres. I worked at the Saxon and it was still there even after the Gary was torn down. It was supposed to go to a now closed subway stop.

I don’t believe that the “King Kong” remake was the final film shown at the Gary, unless it was a reissue (and I would be surprised if Paramount would have reissued that bomb). I made the mistake of seeing “King Kong” in Boston in December 1976—-the film was shown in the large auditorium of the Savoy, now the Opera House. Also, there are some photos of the Gary in the Cinematour.com website—-see URL in one of the above posts—-that show “Crossing Swords” on the marquee. “Crossing Swords” was a 1978 release; this may have been the final film shown at the Gary. On a semi-related note, “Crossing Swords” was one of, if not the final, film shown at Radio City Music Hall before Radio City was converted to concert use.

I have a booklet called “Boston Theatre District: A Walking Tour”, published by the Boston Preservation Alliance in 1993. It says:

The ill-fated Plymouth Theatre, at 131 Stuart Street, opened in 1911. Designed by C.H. Blackall, it hosted many major openings including “The Man Who Came to Dinner” and the American premier of “Playboy of the Western World.” It became the Gary Cinema in 1958 and was demolished for the State Transportation Building in 1978.

The booklet also mentioned an abandoned system of pedestrian tunnels linking the Plymouth, the Majestic, the Colonial, and the Little Building to the Boylston subway station.

The Gary seemed to be Sack’s theater of choice for quite a few of the big budget family entertainments of the 60s and early 70s. I remember family trips from the ‘burbs into the city for a meal at the Athens Olympia (a wonderful Greek restaurant a few doors to the east of the Gary on Stuart Street) and then to the Gary to see films such as “Mary Poppins,” “The Sound of Music,” “Doctor Doolittle” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks.” Perhaps “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” as well (although that might have been the Cheri). More adult oriented musicals played there exclusively, such as “Cabaret” and “Star!”