to- J.V.Roy: I read about the Lawrence Opera House in an article in the “B&M Bulletin”, the magazine of the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society. The article was about the secondary B&M rail station in Lawrence. There were a couple of photos, circa-1900, showing the tracks coming from the station, the platforms in the distance, and to the rear was the back wall of the stage house of the theater. The article pointed out that to get out to the street from the passenger platforms, you went through a passageway under the Lawrence Opera House stage and auditorium.
The lot occupied by the Abington Drive-In remained vacant for many years after it closed. Right into the 1990s one could still see the frame of the screen in back, and the 1950s-style marquee out on the edge of the street. The lot was full of saplings and bushes.
The Aurora Opera House is listed under Aurora IL in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. J.H. Plain was Mgr. Seating capacity listed as 1,202. Tickets ranged from 25 cents to $1. It was on the ground floor and had both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 32 feet wide X 39 feet high, and the stage was 43 feet deep. There were 7 members of the house orchestra. There were 4 daily newspapers. Hotels for show folk were the Bishop, Evans, O'Neill, Northwestern and City. The 1897 population was 25,000.
The Stone Opera House is listed under Binghamton in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The Mgr. was J. Clark. No seating capacity is listed. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. The theater had both gas and electric illumination and was on the ground floor. There were 6 – 8 members of the house orchestra. The proscenium opening was 35 feet wide X 34 feet high, and the stage was 42 feet deep. The theater had “a big scene room”. There were 3 daily newspapers and 3 weeklies. Hotels for show folk were the Bennett, Arlington, Exchange, Crandall and Lewis. The 1897 population was 45,000. There was also a Bijou Theatre in Binghamton with 800 seats. It had a smaller stage.
Looking at the 2 images posted by J.V.Roy on Feb 4, there is no question that it is the same building as in the June 1950 MGM photo of the Allen. And I’m about 60% sure that it’s the same building as in the NETOCO photos from circa-1920s. JV Roy, contact me at and I will make copies for you.
If you can’t access the Boston Herald photos anymore, go to the Paramount’s page here in CT and scroll down to near the bottom where there is a link to an Emerson College 5-minute video tour of the new theater and adjacent spaces. Emerson did a very high-quality refurbishment on the old junky rundown Paramount.
Listed under Middletown CT in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide is “The Middlesex” (Theatre). It was run by the Middlesex Mutual Association. It had 1,076 seats, and ticket prices ranging from 25 cents to $1. There was both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 36 feet wide X 33 feet high and the stage was 44 feet deep. The theater was on the first floor. There were 7 members of the house orchestra. Newspapers were the Penny Press and the Tribune. Hotels for show folk were the Chafee, McDonough and the Phoenix. There was also a McDonough Theatre in Middletown, with 800 seats. The 1897 population was 18,000.
According to the Patriot-Ledger of Feb 3, it is hoped to demolish the Quincy Fair Mall building, containing this cinema, in May. It is now totally vacant.
Forepaugh’s Theatre is listed under Philadelphia in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The Mgr. was Mrs. John A. Forepaugh. Ticket prices ranged from 10 cents to 50 cents. The seating: Orchestra, 550; Balcony: 500; Gallery: 1,400; total: 2,450. There were also 400 standing spaces on the orchestra floor. The theater had both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 29.5 feet wide X 32 feet high; the stage was 24 feet deep, and there were 7 members of the house orchestra. The auditorium was on the ground floor.
I have read about the Star Theatre in Taunton a couple of times in newspapers 15 to 20 years ago. There were efforts back then to do something with it. My memory is that at one time there were fairly firm plans to restore it, but they obviously have come to nothing.
A friend who works in downtown Boston told me that late yesterday afternoon she noticed that the lights in front of the Paramount were all on and that it looked great. Until recent days, the marquee and the vertical outside have been dark.
To Ron Newman- No, I did not find seating charts; the seating capacities were mentioned in the text of the website. I would suspect that the seating is flexible in the Black Box. I got the impression that you access the Black Box by climbing the staircases from the Paramount’s lobby. There must be a connection upstairs into the Arcade Building.
According to Emerson’s website, the seating at the Paramount is 596 seats; the Bright Film Screening Room has 170 seats, and the Black Box Theatre (which is upstairs at the front of the Arcade Building, has 125 seats.
Someone knowledgeable about movie theaters in the Roxbury area told me that the Eagle was converted from retail (possibly a shoe store), and that the person running it later built the Dudley Theatre across the street, as well as the Warren Theatre not far away. He thinks that the Eagle closed when the Dudley opened. He says that the Eagle was converted back to retail use and is still there today.
I have been told that the organ from the Rivoli went to the auditorium of the community center at the Dudley Street Baptist Church. The rear of the Rivoli could be seen from the Church property. The church was later demolished and there is now a police station on the site.
Today’s Boston Sunday Herald has a feature article about the Paramount restoration written by Tenely Woodman. There are 4 photos. The theater will open in March with attractions presented by the Boston Celebrity Series. The Grand Opening will be in September. The auditorium has 550 seats (compared to nearly 1800 in the original). The main floor is a steeply-raked stadium-style. There is a balcony with about 9 rows. The only original decor is the wood paneling along the staircases. Everything else is a recreation. There appear to be 3 boxes along each sidewall, extending down from the balcony front. The original had a narrow side-gallery along each side-wall. There is a nice, deep stage. The street-level lobby looks a good deal larger than what I remember. The decor is really beautiful.
Emerson College’s footprint extends next door (to the north) in what they call the “Arcade Building” (because there was a game arcade in there years ago) but what could really be called the “Bijou Building” or even the “Keith Building”. They have a 200-seat screening room, plus a “black-box” theater. Emerson has one person who is responsible for arranging attractions for all of these venues: Paramount, Majestic, screening room and black-box theater.
There is a Photo Gallery of nice color photos of the Paramount at www.bostonherald.com/entertainment (These photos may not remain posted for too long.)
From two different souces I have heard that this building is still intact, although the theater was remodeled out of existance a long time ago. More or less the same facade is still there. The Eagle was originally a retail store and was converted into an early movie theater. After it closed to movies, it reverted back to retail.
I heard from someone who talked with someone who attended the open house on Nov 20 and who says that the theater is still intact, but very shabby inside. At the showing, the original address was stated as being # 724.
There is a “Royal Opera House” listed under Guelph ON in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. Unfortunately, there are no street addresses in this Guide. It had 1,500 seats and was managed by R.G. Hunt. The proscenium opening was 28 feet wide X 27.5 feet high, and the stage was 33 feet deep. The auditorium was on the ground floor. The 1897 population of Guelph was 12,000.
Michael Cummings Jr- I don’t know what flick was playing at the Wollaston on Fri Nov 22, 1963 but it was not raining that day. It was a sunny, mild afternoon. I was on a bus from Fields Corner station to Quincy Center running down Hancock St. right past the Wollaston Th. and recall the news headlines: Patriot Ledger: “Kennedy Assassinated” and Boston Traveler: “JFK Slain”. It was a shocking event, even for people who weren’t particularly fans of the president.
In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Universal in Fitchburg is listed as part of E.M. Loew’s Theatres of Boston. At the time, that circuit also ran the Lyric and the Majestic in Fitchburg.
The Eagle in Roxbury is not to be confused with another Eagle Theatre in Boston which was located on Haverhill Street in what today is the North Station area. That theater operated in the 19th Century and was long gone when this Eagle opened.
to- J.V.Roy: I read about the Lawrence Opera House in an article in the “B&M Bulletin”, the magazine of the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society. The article was about the secondary B&M rail station in Lawrence. There were a couple of photos, circa-1900, showing the tracks coming from the station, the platforms in the distance, and to the rear was the back wall of the stage house of the theater. The article pointed out that to get out to the street from the passenger platforms, you went through a passageway under the Lawrence Opera House stage and auditorium.
The lot occupied by the Abington Drive-In remained vacant for many years after it closed. Right into the 1990s one could still see the frame of the screen in back, and the 1950s-style marquee out on the edge of the street. The lot was full of saplings and bushes.
The Aurora Opera House is listed under Aurora IL in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. J.H. Plain was Mgr. Seating capacity listed as 1,202. Tickets ranged from 25 cents to $1. It was on the ground floor and had both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 32 feet wide X 39 feet high, and the stage was 43 feet deep. There were 7 members of the house orchestra. There were 4 daily newspapers. Hotels for show folk were the Bishop, Evans, O'Neill, Northwestern and City. The 1897 population was 25,000.
The Stone Opera House is listed under Binghamton in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The Mgr. was J. Clark. No seating capacity is listed. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. The theater had both gas and electric illumination and was on the ground floor. There were 6 – 8 members of the house orchestra. The proscenium opening was 35 feet wide X 34 feet high, and the stage was 42 feet deep. The theater had “a big scene room”. There were 3 daily newspapers and 3 weeklies. Hotels for show folk were the Bennett, Arlington, Exchange, Crandall and Lewis. The 1897 population was 45,000. There was also a Bijou Theatre in Binghamton with 800 seats. It had a smaller stage.
Thanks to Jeffrey Gonyeau of HBI for researching and posting these details about the Fairmount Theatre.
Looking at the 2 images posted by J.V.Roy on Feb 4, there is no question that it is the same building as in the June 1950 MGM photo of the Allen. And I’m about 60% sure that it’s the same building as in the NETOCO photos from circa-1920s. JV Roy, contact me at and I will make copies for you.
If you can’t access the Boston Herald photos anymore, go to the Paramount’s page here in CT and scroll down to near the bottom where there is a link to an Emerson College 5-minute video tour of the new theater and adjacent spaces. Emerson did a very high-quality refurbishment on the old junky rundown Paramount.
Listed under Middletown CT in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide is “The Middlesex” (Theatre). It was run by the Middlesex Mutual Association. It had 1,076 seats, and ticket prices ranging from 25 cents to $1. There was both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 36 feet wide X 33 feet high and the stage was 44 feet deep. The theater was on the first floor. There were 7 members of the house orchestra. Newspapers were the Penny Press and the Tribune. Hotels for show folk were the Chafee, McDonough and the Phoenix. There was also a McDonough Theatre in Middletown, with 800 seats. The 1897 population was 18,000.
According to the Patriot-Ledger of Feb 3, it is hoped to demolish the Quincy Fair Mall building, containing this cinema, in May. It is now totally vacant.
Forepaugh’s Theatre is listed under Philadelphia in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The Mgr. was Mrs. John A. Forepaugh. Ticket prices ranged from 10 cents to 50 cents. The seating: Orchestra, 550; Balcony: 500; Gallery: 1,400; total: 2,450. There were also 400 standing spaces on the orchestra floor. The theater had both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 29.5 feet wide X 32 feet high; the stage was 24 feet deep, and there were 7 members of the house orchestra. The auditorium was on the ground floor.
I have read about the Star Theatre in Taunton a couple of times in newspapers 15 to 20 years ago. There were efforts back then to do something with it. My memory is that at one time there were fairly firm plans to restore it, but they obviously have come to nothing.
A friend who works in downtown Boston told me that late yesterday afternoon she noticed that the lights in front of the Paramount were all on and that it looked great. Until recent days, the marquee and the vertical outside have been dark.
To Ron Newman- No, I did not find seating charts; the seating capacities were mentioned in the text of the website. I would suspect that the seating is flexible in the Black Box. I got the impression that you access the Black Box by climbing the staircases from the Paramount’s lobby. There must be a connection upstairs into the Arcade Building.
According to Emerson’s website, the seating at the Paramount is 596 seats; the Bright Film Screening Room has 170 seats, and the Black Box Theatre (which is upstairs at the front of the Arcade Building, has 125 seats.
Someone knowledgeable about movie theaters in the Roxbury area told me that the Eagle was converted from retail (possibly a shoe store), and that the person running it later built the Dudley Theatre across the street, as well as the Warren Theatre not far away. He thinks that the Eagle closed when the Dudley opened. He says that the Eagle was converted back to retail use and is still there today.
I have been told that the organ from the Rivoli went to the auditorium of the community center at the Dudley Street Baptist Church. The rear of the Rivoli could be seen from the Church property. The church was later demolished and there is now a police station on the site.
Today’s Boston Sunday Herald has a feature article about the Paramount restoration written by Tenely Woodman. There are 4 photos. The theater will open in March with attractions presented by the Boston Celebrity Series. The Grand Opening will be in September. The auditorium has 550 seats (compared to nearly 1800 in the original). The main floor is a steeply-raked stadium-style. There is a balcony with about 9 rows. The only original decor is the wood paneling along the staircases. Everything else is a recreation. There appear to be 3 boxes along each sidewall, extending down from the balcony front. The original had a narrow side-gallery along each side-wall. There is a nice, deep stage. The street-level lobby looks a good deal larger than what I remember. The decor is really beautiful.
Emerson College’s footprint extends next door (to the north) in what they call the “Arcade Building” (because there was a game arcade in there years ago) but what could really be called the “Bijou Building” or even the “Keith Building”. They have a 200-seat screening room, plus a “black-box” theater. Emerson has one person who is responsible for arranging attractions for all of these venues: Paramount, Majestic, screening room and black-box theater.
There is a Photo Gallery of nice color photos of the Paramount at www.bostonherald.com/entertainment (These photos may not remain posted for too long.)
From two different souces I have heard that this building is still intact, although the theater was remodeled out of existance a long time ago. More or less the same facade is still there. The Eagle was originally a retail store and was converted into an early movie theater. After it closed to movies, it reverted back to retail.
I heard from someone who talked with someone who attended the open house on Nov 20 and who says that the theater is still intact, but very shabby inside. At the showing, the original address was stated as being # 724.
There is a “Royal Opera House” listed under Guelph ON in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. Unfortunately, there are no street addresses in this Guide. It had 1,500 seats and was managed by R.G. Hunt. The proscenium opening was 28 feet wide X 27.5 feet high, and the stage was 33 feet deep. The auditorium was on the ground floor. The 1897 population of Guelph was 12,000.
Michael Cummings Jr- I don’t know what flick was playing at the Wollaston on Fri Nov 22, 1963 but it was not raining that day. It was a sunny, mild afternoon. I was on a bus from Fields Corner station to Quincy Center running down Hancock St. right past the Wollaston Th. and recall the news headlines: Patriot Ledger: “Kennedy Assassinated” and Boston Traveler: “JFK Slain”. It was a shocking event, even for people who weren’t particularly fans of the president.
In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the Universal in Fitchburg is listed as part of E.M. Loew’s Theatres of Boston. At the time, that circuit also ran the Lyric and the Majestic in Fitchburg.
Next to the Cinema, to the left, is Showcase Live!, a concert venue with a capacity of, (I think), 1,200.
The site of the Roxbury Theatre is today a vacant lot just to the right of the African Art store at 2164 Washington St.
The Eagle in Roxbury is not to be confused with another Eagle Theatre in Boston which was located on Haverhill Street in what today is the North Station area. That theater operated in the 19th Century and was long gone when this Eagle opened.