The City of Manchester announced they have partnered with the Palace Theater to renovate the historic Rex Theater.
October 16. 2018 10:13PM
Manchester aldermen OK partnership to renovate Rex Theatre
By PAUL FEELY
New Hampshire Union Leader
MANCHESTER — City aldermen voted Tuesday night to approve a partnership between the Manchester Development Corporation and The Palace Theatre to renovate and operate the Rex Theatre as a performance venue.
Under the agreement, the Manchester Development Corporation (MDC) will loan the Palace Theatre $1.7 million to renovate the building into a 300-seat multi-use theater and function space.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Palace Theatre would repay that loan over 10 years, plus 2 percent interest annually.
Palace Theatre officials also proposed a yearly $7,500 payment in lieu of taxes, but board members — on a motion by Alderman-at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur — voted 11-3 to approve the plan without requiring the annual payment. Palace Theatre officials hope to have the renovations of the circa 1920 building completed by Oct. 19, 2019.
Voting in opposition were aldermen Keith Hirschmann, Tony Sapienza, and Elizabeth Moreau.
“Our goal is to turn this building into something that brings people downtown, something more than more office space or a bar,” said Will Craig, chairman of the Manchester Development Corporation.
“I’m very proud to be here,” said Peter Ramsey, president and CEO of the Palace Theatre. “About six months ago the mayor approached me and said, ‘We have this Rex Theater, is there a partnership we could develop here?’ There is value in the Rex.”
“I want to share just what great news we think this is,” said Mike Skelton, president and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. “We think this has ballpark/civic arena potential in terms of impact on the city. Based on the research we’ve done, this is exactly the type of amenity young people want to have in the community.”
“Frankly, it’s a risk,” said Ramsey. “I think we can make it a success, but it’s a risk. I think we can make it work, and I think it’s a great public/private partnership with the city.”
“It’s time for that thing to grow, it’s time to make something happen,” said Levasseur.
In 2001, Manchester officials temporarily closed a club there because of crowding they deemed life-threatening, and for other safety code violations. A fire that same year also temporarily shuttered the club, which came under scrutiny because of patrons getting arrested after leaving. The club finally closed permanently several years later.
A purchase and sale agreement for the property between the MDC and The Rex LLC — a partnership between philanthropist Liz Hitchcock and Gray Chynoweth, chief membership officer for the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute — fell apart earlier this year when the pair pulled out of negotiations with the city, saying their plan to use the site as a performance venue was no longer “economically viable.”
That marked the second time in less than a year a potential buyer walked away from a proposal for the property. In March 2017, Matt Wilhelm, executive director of Old Sol Music Hall, Inc. — who proposed a live music venue for the site — said after months of negotiations, Old Sol Productions and the MDC were unable to agree to terms for a purchase and sale agreement.
In 2001, Manchester officials temporarily closed the club because of crowding they deemed life-threatening and for other safety code violations. A fire that same year also temporarily shuttered the club, which also came under scrutiny for patrons getting arrested after leaving. The club finally closed permanently several years later.
Following an affirmative vote by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on July 7, 2015, MDC entered into an agreement to purchase the property. As previously reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader, the MDC bought the property from club owner Timothy Gage.
The city paid $412,500 — using development corporation funds, not city funds — for the property, located one block away from the busy Elm Street corridor and next to the Circuit Court building, once home to the Union Leader.
A local publication recently ran an article about the Colonial theater with a nice photo. Here is a scan of the article. http://s290.photobucket.com/user/tallboyyyy/media/IMG_0005.jpg.html
I remember seeing “Alien” here in 70mm sometime in the early 90’s. I also remember that before the Putnam theater opened films used to be shown in Drenan Auditorium. I remember seeing the original “To Be or Not To Be” starring Jack Benny there
Here’s a short video discussing the history of the Keene Drive-In. Also shows a picture of the box office of the Pine Island Drive-In in Manchester, NH. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRfXM8Otos
I remember going to this theater one time back around 1981 or 1982 when I was in high school. Only thing I can remember was one of the movies I saw was Ghost Story. Other than that I have no other memories of the place or what it looked like. I do remember that the reason I went there at all was I was given a free pass for a car load of people from the manager who I let use the phone at a public beach snack bar I worked at one summer.
Here are links to several new photos of the Colonial taken on October 13, 2008 on a recent trip to Keene. Here’s the front Marquee View link Here’s the nameplate at the top of the building View link Here’s a pic of a truck loading/unloading stuff at the backstage loading dock View link And here’s a pic of the back showing the upgraded heating/AC system View link
Here’s a view of the auditorium building from Main St looking down Lampson St. You can see in the lower left the dumpster with the double doors with the yellow sign behind it that I previously mentioned. View link
Here’s a photo of the only part of theater that is currently in use. It’s the former entrance which was a long narrow passage that basically took you through the Main St building and out the back into the large auditorium building. It is now a Subway sandwich shop. View link
I have some information on what remains of the Latchis Theater. The building was to be divided into retail and restaurant space in the late 80’s. Work was begun and the theater’s auditorium was gutted out to the bare walls. Steelwork was begun to divide the space up but in the fall of 1989 all work ceased when the country was heading into recession and the bank that was financing the project pulled out. The building has sat unfinished since then. If you are visiting Keene on Lampson St there is a double doorway behind a dumpster that the doors are chained closed but do open a crack so you can see into the old auditorium space. I wasn’t able to get any photos of the space but did get several of the outside of the building. I’ll post these seperately.
Here’s a more current news story from Thursday September 25, 2008 discussing the plans for the future as well as an interview with previous and current owners of the theater. View link
I remember going here occasionally as a kid. I more often went to the Colonial as that theater generally ran more family movies(Disney) then the Latchis did. It seems to me the Latchis in the 70’s and early 80’s ran mostly R rated films. I remember toward the end we used to have to dress accordingly if we were going to see a film in the Latchis during colder times of the year as their heat wasn’t very good. Mostly what I remember about the inside was the ceiling had a large oval decoration attached to it of which ½ of it was missing. I’m thinking that it must have been installed in two parts originally and one of them came down or was removed for safety reasons.
The City of Manchester announced they have partnered with the Palace Theater to renovate the historic Rex Theater.
October 16. 2018 10:13PM Manchester aldermen OK partnership to renovate Rex Theatre
By PAUL FEELY New Hampshire Union Leader
MANCHESTER — City aldermen voted Tuesday night to approve a partnership between the Manchester Development Corporation and The Palace Theatre to renovate and operate the Rex Theatre as a performance venue.
Under the agreement, the Manchester Development Corporation (MDC) will loan the Palace Theatre $1.7 million to renovate the building into a 300-seat multi-use theater and function space.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Palace Theatre would repay that loan over 10 years, plus 2 percent interest annually.
Palace Theatre officials also proposed a yearly $7,500 payment in lieu of taxes, but board members — on a motion by Alderman-at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur — voted 11-3 to approve the plan without requiring the annual payment. Palace Theatre officials hope to have the renovations of the circa 1920 building completed by Oct. 19, 2019.
Voting in opposition were aldermen Keith Hirschmann, Tony Sapienza, and Elizabeth Moreau.
“Our goal is to turn this building into something that brings people downtown, something more than more office space or a bar,” said Will Craig, chairman of the Manchester Development Corporation.
“I’m very proud to be here,” said Peter Ramsey, president and CEO of the Palace Theatre. “About six months ago the mayor approached me and said, ‘We have this Rex Theater, is there a partnership we could develop here?’ There is value in the Rex.”
“I want to share just what great news we think this is,” said Mike Skelton, president and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. “We think this has ballpark/civic arena potential in terms of impact on the city. Based on the research we’ve done, this is exactly the type of amenity young people want to have in the community.”
“Frankly, it’s a risk,” said Ramsey. “I think we can make it a success, but it’s a risk. I think we can make it work, and I think it’s a great public/private partnership with the city.”
“It’s time for that thing to grow, it’s time to make something happen,” said Levasseur.
In 2001, Manchester officials temporarily closed a club there because of crowding they deemed life-threatening, and for other safety code violations. A fire that same year also temporarily shuttered the club, which came under scrutiny because of patrons getting arrested after leaving. The club finally closed permanently several years later.
A purchase and sale agreement for the property between the MDC and The Rex LLC — a partnership between philanthropist Liz Hitchcock and Gray Chynoweth, chief membership officer for the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute — fell apart earlier this year when the pair pulled out of negotiations with the city, saying their plan to use the site as a performance venue was no longer “economically viable.”
That marked the second time in less than a year a potential buyer walked away from a proposal for the property. In March 2017, Matt Wilhelm, executive director of Old Sol Music Hall, Inc. — who proposed a live music venue for the site — said after months of negotiations, Old Sol Productions and the MDC were unable to agree to terms for a purchase and sale agreement.
In 2001, Manchester officials temporarily closed the club because of crowding they deemed life-threatening and for other safety code violations. A fire that same year also temporarily shuttered the club, which also came under scrutiny for patrons getting arrested after leaving. The club finally closed permanently several years later.
Following an affirmative vote by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on July 7, 2015, MDC entered into an agreement to purchase the property. As previously reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader, the MDC bought the property from club owner Timothy Gage.
The city paid $412,500 — using development corporation funds, not city funds — for the property, located one block away from the busy Elm Street corridor and next to the Circuit Court building, once home to the Union Leader.
A local publication recently ran an article about the Colonial theater with a nice photo. Here is a scan of the article. http://s290.photobucket.com/user/tallboyyyy/media/IMG_0005.jpg.html
This link shows a large series of pictures of the demolition.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.284580131661379.66699.133034243482636&type=1
I remember seeing “Alien” here in 70mm sometime in the early 90’s. I also remember that before the Putnam theater opened films used to be shown in Drenan Auditorium. I remember seeing the original “To Be or Not To Be” starring Jack Benny there
Here’s an update. The auditorium building is being torn down after sitting since the fall of 89.
The Shakour family still owns and operates the Northfield (MA) Drive-In according to their website.
Here’s a short video discussing the history of the Keene Drive-In. Also shows a picture of the box office of the Pine Island Drive-In in Manchester, NH. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRfXM8Otos
I remember going to this theater one time back around 1981 or 1982 when I was in high school. Only thing I can remember was one of the movies I saw was Ghost Story. Other than that I have no other memories of the place or what it looked like. I do remember that the reason I went there at all was I was given a free pass for a car load of people from the manager who I let use the phone at a public beach snack bar I worked at one summer.
Here is a video discussing the history of the State theater from it’s 1929 opening to it’s 1978 demolition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrmp71Rsn-g
Here are links to several new photos of the Colonial taken on October 13, 2008 on a recent trip to Keene. Here’s the front Marquee View link Here’s the nameplate at the top of the building View link Here’s a pic of a truck loading/unloading stuff at the backstage loading dock View link And here’s a pic of the back showing the upgraded heating/AC system View link
Here’s another photo of the same side of the building looking from the other way toward Main St. View link
Here’s a view of the auditorium building from Main St looking down Lampson St. You can see in the lower left the dumpster with the double doors with the yellow sign behind it that I previously mentioned. View link
Here’s a photo of the only part of theater that is currently in use. It’s the former entrance which was a long narrow passage that basically took you through the Main St building and out the back into the large auditorium building. It is now a Subway sandwich shop. View link
I have some information on what remains of the Latchis Theater. The building was to be divided into retail and restaurant space in the late 80’s. Work was begun and the theater’s auditorium was gutted out to the bare walls. Steelwork was begun to divide the space up but in the fall of 1989 all work ceased when the country was heading into recession and the bank that was financing the project pulled out. The building has sat unfinished since then. If you are visiting Keene on Lampson St there is a double doorway behind a dumpster that the doors are chained closed but do open a crack so you can see into the old auditorium space. I wasn’t able to get any photos of the space but did get several of the outside of the building. I’ll post these seperately.
Here’s a better Picture of the Scenic. View link
Here’s a more current news story from Thursday September 25, 2008 discussing the plans for the future as well as an interview with previous and current owners of the theater. View link
This is an old postcard of South Main St in Rochester. I’m not sure but I believe that the Colonial is shown on the left. View link
here is a 1940’s postcard pic. View link
It appears as though the Scenic may be rising from the dust. See the news story here View link
The theater is actually ½ in Northfield MA and ½ in Hinsdale, NH. Not Vermont.
Here is a photo of Main St. in Keene in the late 30’s or 40’s showing the Latchis on the left. View link
I remember going here occasionally as a kid. I more often went to the Colonial as that theater generally ran more family movies(Disney) then the Latchis did. It seems to me the Latchis in the 70’s and early 80’s ran mostly R rated films. I remember toward the end we used to have to dress accordingly if we were going to see a film in the Latchis during colder times of the year as their heat wasn’t very good. Mostly what I remember about the inside was the ceiling had a large oval decoration attached to it of which ½ of it was missing. I’m thinking that it must have been installed in two parts originally and one of them came down or was removed for safety reasons.