Comments from samuel

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samuel
samuel commented about Rialto Theatre on Mar 6, 2007 at 3:11 am

To Ron…..My recollection of the Rialto only goes back TO THE 1950s
I am not familiar with Charles Morse theatres. In the 1950s the theatre was operated by a gentleman named Bob Rappa. At that time it was a second run theatre located in Glendale Square. It was struggling to survive. It had two distinct disadvantages. It never installed Cinemascope so it was limited to showing “flat” films. Also it did not have a sloped floor…..It closed in the late fifties. If memory serves me correct I believe it survived the Capitol…..After it closed the building became a bowling alley.
I dont know what is there now. Sam S

samuel
samuel commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 4, 2007 at 1:35 pm

Additional info on Capitol Theatre…..Its interesting to note that in the 50’s before the Capitols initial closing Everett in effect had 2 first run theatres. The PARK and the CAPITOL. Through a formula first run product was split between the two theatres. This made for great choices for Everett moviegoers., One particular weekend comes to mind when the PARK ran White Christmas and the CAPITOL ran A Star is Born…..Not bad for a city the sizes of Everett.

samuel
samuel commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 4, 2007 at 2:12 am

To Ron Salters Re …..Capitol and Rialto theatre in Everett Ma.
The Capitol indeed was operated by Warner Brothers. They did not own the building and were tied to a lease. When TV came in they did not survive. They never even air conditioned the Theatre although they did air condition the lobby entrance. In the fifties they closed then reopened as a real cheapie. I believe they charged 10cents to see real oldies. Eventually they closed and the building became an Assembly of God church. That lasted for a number of years snd the building then was converted to office space which is what it is now. Rialto info to follow……Sam S

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Feb 25, 2007 at 2:14 am

PopcorNRoses……RE your Everett question….There was never a theatre on the site of Mckinnons butcher shop. Perhaps you Are rhinking of the Capitol Theatre which was located a few blocks beyond Mckinnons towards Everett Square. But that was never a multiplex. It was a single screen theatre that closed in the 1950s.Everett never had a multiplex. There were three theatres
PARK CAPITOL RIALTO… The Park was the only one that survived when television came in………….Sam S

samuel
samuel commented about Parkway Plaza Theatre on Oct 18, 2006 at 9:12 pm

Just as an aside..Broadway Chelsea had 4 theatres,, The Olympia, The Broadway, The Strand and the Chelsea

samuel
samuel commented about Granada Theatre on Apr 18, 2006 at 10:46 pm

Really enjoyed jtomasellos history of Malden Theatres…Just one additional note. Malden had still another theatre. The MAPLEWOOD located in Maplewood Square.. A bank now occupies that site. All the Malden theatres except the Capitol in Suffolk Square were owned and operated by Middlesex Amusements….

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Mar 15, 2006 at 10:42 pm

TO JANCY……We will be back on April 4… Although we now live in Salem NH We still consider ourselves Everettites and are in Everett several times a week. My wife (Leos daughter) graduated Everett High in 1951…..How do we post our E Mail addresses.? The PARK was part of our lives for so many years. We have enough info to fill a book. Please reply

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Mar 15, 2006 at 1:36 am

TO Jancy……We have Park Theatre pictures. If you read the write up in Cinema treasures. My late father inlaw was Leo Brotman. My wife literally grew up in the theatre where Leo was the manager for 28 years and projectionist for ten years prior to being manager. We have several photos and a history that we wrote for the Everett Leader Herald on its 100th anniversary. Right now we are in Florida until April. We will be back in New England in April and would like to communicate with you at that time. Are you an Everett native?…..Please reply

samuel
samuel commented about Parkway Plaza Theatre on Feb 11, 2006 at 12:23 am

The Parkway Plaza was the successor to the Olympia Theatre which was located on Broadway in Chelsea.. It was a first run theatre run by M & P and susequently by New England Theatres when M & P was broken up …… Eventually they closed the Olympia and built the Parkway Plaza

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Feb 7, 2006 at 6:09 pm

Additional info on PARK THEATRE. The address was DEFINITELY 28 Chelsea St Everett. Also Ron states he has MGM info stating the original seating capacity as 820. That was probably in the very early 40s. My wife who is Leo,s daughter and literally grew up in the theatre says that there used to be fish tanks in the lobby for patrons enjoyment, In the early 40,s they were removed and other renovations were done including constructing a new candy stand. At that time she believes the seating capacity was increased. (that makes sense since Movie business was at it peak in those years)That probably explains the discrepancy. More later

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Jan 21, 2006 at 12:11 am

The correct address for the Park Theatre was 28 Chelsea St. Everett.The PARK was the first theatre in Everett to have sound. Also the first Theatre to be fully air conditioned. The marquee referred to in Ron’s article was replaced in 1946 with a then modern marquee. The first picture placed on the new marquee was “THE JOLSON STORY”. The Capital had a much larger seating capacity and was operated by Warner Bros. It could not survive the onslaught of television. The RIALTO in Glendale Square was operated by a gentleman named BOB RAPPA,, It to di not survive, The PARK survived as a full time theatre until Oct. 1965 When Leo Brotman passed away very suddenly from a heart attack,,,, Following that the theatre became a part time operation at best but never regained the stature it had in Everett… Several policy changes took place and the Theatre was finally closed in the 80’s. More history to follow at a later time.

samuel
samuel commented about Granada Theatre on Jan 16, 2006 at 2:02 am

tO THE PERSON LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE park theatre IN everett i REFER YOU TO A COMMENT i SUBMITTED TO cINEMA tREASURES LISTED UNDER park theatre everett

samuel
samuel commented about Park Theatre on Jan 10, 2006 at 4:41 pm

The PARK THEATRE in EVERETT MA. has avery rich history. My late father in law (LEO BROTMAN) spent 38 years at the theatre 28 of which were as manager. The Theatre was owned bu a gentleman named Irving Green but for all practical purposes it was my father in law who ran the theatre along with his father as one of two doormen, His daughter (my wife) as candy girl, his wife handing out the dishes on dish night and his son as one of the ushers. The theatre was built in the 1920s as THE STRAND..For a short time after that it was known as the OLYMPIA and then in the early thirties it became THE PARK. Originally it was a legitimate theatre..Then silents came in and then the Talkies. Leo Actually worked on installing the original sound system and was the projectionist until 1939 when he became the manager. The original seating caopacity was 900 but was reduced to 700 when cinemascope came in and a new screen was installed. The screen was 16x32. The largest screen in the area for a theatre that size. I have enough information to fill a book,,but I will stop now and pick it up at a later time. Suffice it to say it was a true family theatre and the only one of the three theatres in Everett to survive the new television era. Sam s