Colonial Theater
492 Farmington Avenue,
Hartford,
CT
06105
492 Farmington Avenue,
Hartford,
CT
06105
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: James A. Tuck
Styles: Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Cinerama Theatre
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 31, 2013 — "2001: A Space Odyssey" 45th Anniversary – The Cinerama Engagements
- Sep 21, 2009 — Remembering Cinerama (Part 41: Hartford)
The Colonial Theater was once a beautiful, Neo-Classical style treasure in Hartford’s West End. Opened on September 13, 1926 with Viola Dana in “Bred in Old Kentucky”. It was equipped with a Marr and Colton organ. By 1933 it was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. The Colonial Theater became a venue for Cinerama from September 20, 1961 playing “This Is Cinerama”. It closed in July 1984 after surviving on a diet of Spanish-language, kung fu, blaxploitation and adult porn films.
After an almost 20 year silence, preservationists fought a tough battle against developers in 2000 - and lost. Most of the theater has now been demolished and only its skeleton remains.
A new restaurant was built behind the façade of the Colonial Theater and opened in July of 2004.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 23 comments)
Hi Chuck,
I would love to see pictures of the Colonial when it was a Cinerama theatre.
Thanks!
Roland
Article on The Colonial as a kung-fu house circa 1983 here.
If anyone wants more information on the Colonial/Cinerama theatre, email to I worked as a projectionst at the theatre for 15 years. ED Glazer
Ed
When were you there? Was it during the Lockwood & Gordon years or later?
This opened on September 20th, 1961. Grand opening ad in the photo section
Found on Newspapers.com powered by Newspapers.com
I will be updating my web site in the future with ads and articles on the Cinerama aka Colonial theatre.
http://incinerama.com/ctcolonial.htm
Mid `60’s photo as Cinerama added courtesy of Theo Tersteeg.
Just updated Cinerama aka Colonial theatre with ads and articles from 1961 to 2000 – http://www.incinerama.com/ctcolonial.htm
Another classic roadshow cinema that turned overnight into a porn exploitation palace.
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The Cinerama’s lengthy run is mentioned in the piece.