I’m surprised to see the Castle is having trouble. I thought the cinema cafe concept was a good one, even though Providence also has the Cable Car Cinema & Cafe. The Castle NEVER should have stopped showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show which they dropped last year after a long run.
This should be listed as the State Cinema, not the State Theater.
The theatre’s second screen just opened last week in it’s former stagehouse. The new auditorium seats 97 people and has stadium seating. A hallway had to be cut through the main auditorium to allow access. Seats were removed for this hallway and because the city will not allow the State Cinema to add any more seats. Total seating capacity is 500.
The other two screens that were to have been built in the basement have been delayed due to difficulties, and may never actually be constructed. So, this theatre should be listed as a twin rather than a fourplex.
When the Colonial reopens seating capacity will actually be about 950 since they are removing the wooden benches from the balcony and putting in real theatre seats.
Robert, it has been abandoned for nearly 30 years, so restoration would cost many millions of dollars. Also, the problem would be in finding a niche for it. To use as a cinema it would have to be carved up as one large auditorium is not feasible these days. It could not make it as a performing arts center because the renovated Garde Theatre a couple of blocks away has already fulfilled that need in downtown New London. Also, some genius decided to build directly behind the theatre’s stage area leaving no room to expand the stage which is too small for modern productions.
I never went into the Art Theatre (these photos were taken at 8:00 AM one morning and I was out of town long before it opened for the day) but I would guess they go to the booth as I have been in theatres which have similar portholes that go to the booth.
Ed: The owner wanted to rebuild within the shell, but the city said all the walls needed to come down. Demolition may have already occured. The owner was so mad that he will not rebuild in the city now. The marquee has been salvaged and is being moved to a nearby shopping center that is under construction. Its use there is not yet determined, but apparently there is a spot in the plaza that could be perfect to fit a new movie theatre into.
Yes, Michael. It is wonderful that the people of Broome County now have nowhere to go to see an art film. It is super that a landmark city building that had stood for 85 years has been turned into another vacant lot in a city that already has too many of those. Nobody burned it down. Faulty wiring and oil paints caused this fire.
Richard, since the current owner had bought it in 1987 and switched from porn to art movies it had done well and had just undergone renovations. Unfortunately, it does not look like the guy is going to reopen anywhere in Binghamton. He is currently screening his movies in Owego.
Shulman also owned those two theatres in addition to the since-demolished Rivoli near the corner of Park & New Park in Hartford. Shulman’s family still owns and operates the Webster Theatre.
The Rivoli was part of a chain that included the Webster Theatre in Hartford (now a live music venue) and the Plaza Theatre in Windsor (abandoned since 1997 and sitting there empty).
Kevin, I think it is too late. I stopped by the Downtown Cinema (which opened as the Bijou nearly 100 years ago) in January and the marquee had been removed along with the for sale sign. It is also no longer listed on the John D Hastings Realty web site. Who bought it or what the future holds, I have no idea.
P.S.: Kevin, it seems you must live in Connecticut as do I. E-mail me by clicking on my name and following the E-Mail link in my profile.
477 Congress Street is Merrill Auditorium, formerly the City Hall Auditorium, opened in 1912 as part of the city hall complex. It seats 1900 people. I don’t think that this is the building pictured in the postcard on this page, and I’m not sure it is the building described either.
I’ll have to drive by tomorrow and check it out! It’s sad how many old theatres were just abandoned and not even cleaned out. I have seen dozens that still have posters, soda fountains, rolls of tickets, napkins, and everything else still sitting where they were the day the theatre closed, even if it was over a decade ago.
There is also a slideshow of a few renovation photos of the Palace on the NVDC’s site at View link – one of them contains our soon-to-be-impeached governor!
The lobby building still stands, and in the parking lot behind the lobby you can see a small part of the remains of one of the theatre walls.
I’m surprised to see the Castle is having trouble. I thought the cinema cafe concept was a good one, even though Providence also has the Cable Car Cinema & Cafe. The Castle NEVER should have stopped showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show which they dropped last year after a long run.
Also, that date up top that says it opened in 1927 is the date it started showing movies, but it was around as a legitimate theatre before that.
This should be listed as the State Cinema, not the State Theater.
The theatre’s second screen just opened last week in it’s former stagehouse. The new auditorium seats 97 people and has stadium seating. A hallway had to be cut through the main auditorium to allow access. Seats were removed for this hallway and because the city will not allow the State Cinema to add any more seats. Total seating capacity is 500.
The other two screens that were to have been built in the basement have been delayed due to difficulties, and may never actually be constructed. So, this theatre should be listed as a twin rather than a fourplex.
The official website listed above no longer works.
When the Colonial reopens seating capacity will actually be about 950 since they are removing the wooden benches from the balcony and putting in real theatre seats.
The Johnston Cinema is still open with the Amazing Express showing porno movies in the auditorium, isn’t it?
Robert, it has been abandoned for nearly 30 years, so restoration would cost many millions of dollars. Also, the problem would be in finding a niche for it. To use as a cinema it would have to be carved up as one large auditorium is not feasible these days. It could not make it as a performing arts center because the renovated Garde Theatre a couple of blocks away has already fulfilled that need in downtown New London. Also, some genius decided to build directly behind the theatre’s stage area leaving no room to expand the stage which is too small for modern productions.
The Plaza was also known as the Family Theatre at one point.
I never went into the Art Theatre (these photos were taken at 8:00 AM one morning and I was out of town long before it opened for the day) but I would guess they go to the booth as I have been in theatres which have similar portholes that go to the booth.
Ed: The owner wanted to rebuild within the shell, but the city said all the walls needed to come down. Demolition may have already occured. The owner was so mad that he will not rebuild in the city now. The marquee has been salvaged and is being moved to a nearby shopping center that is under construction. Its use there is not yet determined, but apparently there is a spot in the plaza that could be perfect to fit a new movie theatre into.
I believe the Peacedale was known as the State Theatre at one time.
Yes, Michael. It is wonderful that the people of Broome County now have nowhere to go to see an art film. It is super that a landmark city building that had stood for 85 years has been turned into another vacant lot in a city that already has too many of those. Nobody burned it down. Faulty wiring and oil paints caused this fire.
Richard, since the current owner had bought it in 1987 and switched from porn to art movies it had done well and had just undergone renovations. Unfortunately, it does not look like the guy is going to reopen anywhere in Binghamton. He is currently screening his movies in Owego.
Shulman also owned those two theatres in addition to the since-demolished Rivoli near the corner of Park & New Park in Hartford. Shulman’s family still owns and operates the Webster Theatre.
The Strand Theater has a website at http://www.strandtheater.com/ . It has 3 screens and is located at 93 Main St.
This has got to be the second coolest movie theatre name I have ever seen! (The coolest was the Flicker Shack in Sedona, AZ.)
The Victory and the Empire were separate theatres. However, I have the Victory listed at 440 Westminster St.
It now houses a furniture and mattress store.
The Rivoli was part of a chain that included the Webster Theatre in Hartford (now a live music venue) and the Plaza Theatre in Windsor (abandoned since 1997 and sitting there empty).
Kevin, I think it is too late. I stopped by the Downtown Cinema (which opened as the Bijou nearly 100 years ago) in January and the marquee had been removed along with the for sale sign. It is also no longer listed on the John D Hastings Realty web site. Who bought it or what the future holds, I have no idea.
P.S.: Kevin, it seems you must live in Connecticut as do I. E-mail me by clicking on my name and following the E-Mail link in my profile.
477 Congress Street is Merrill Auditorium, formerly the City Hall Auditorium, opened in 1912 as part of the city hall complex. It seats 1900 people. I don’t think that this is the building pictured in the postcard on this page, and I’m not sure it is the building described either.
I’ll have to drive by tomorrow and check it out! It’s sad how many old theatres were just abandoned and not even cleaned out. I have seen dozens that still have posters, soda fountains, rolls of tickets, napkins, and everything else still sitting where they were the day the theatre closed, even if it was over a decade ago.
The Roosevelt Theatre is closed.
There is also a slideshow of a few renovation photos of the Palace on the NVDC’s site at View link – one of them contains our soon-to-be-impeached governor!