Lincoln Theatre
585 Washington Street,
Quincy,
MA
02169
585 Washington Street,
Quincy,
MA
02169
1 person
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Casino Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Casino Theatre was on the west side of Washington Street, halfway between the Southern Artery and the Fore River Bridge. It was a conversion of auto garage/tool factory which opened on June 7, 1920 with Norma Talmadge in “Daughter of Two Worlds”. It screened films and had live acts on the stage. It had a refresh and reopened on October 22, 1926 as the Lincoln Theatre. Following a fire in 1935, it was renovated and reopened as the Lincoln Theatre, but featured boxing & wrestling, which was not a success and closed in 1929. It reopened on April 30, 1930 with Will Rogers in “They Had to See Paris” & Bessie Love in “Chasing Rainbows” plus Laural & Hardy in “The Hoose-Gow” and it operated as a discount house. It became a second-run double-feature house serving the Quincy Point neighborhood. It had a balcony and in 1951 the Lincoln Lanes bowling alley opened in the basement.
It was closed on March 30, 1975 with Charles Bronson in “Mr. Majestic” & Roger Moore in “The Man with the Golden Gun”. The Lincoln Lanes remained open until 1976. It was vacant for a while. It was demolished in March 1980.
Contributed by
Ron Salters
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
I just noticed Cy Berman’s post above. Does it mean that the bowling alley was at street level, and the theater’s auditorium was up on the second floor? If you walked into the main theater entrance from the sidewalk and purchased a ticket, you then had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the auditorium?? I didn’t realize that.
I lived in the area, 6th Ave, the street behind the theater. When I lived there they had matinees for .25, this was the late 60’s. From a street level entrance you would go up an incline to the lobby area and snack bar. The theater was 3 section-2 isle setup down to the screen area. When I attended matiness, the balcony was closed! The bowling alley had 10 lanes. The entrance was from the side alley. It had a long staircase down to the lanes. I was kind of an alleyrat back then and would sneak in to watch or bowl if I found some extra money (again .25 a string and bowling in stocking feet!!) Talking to old friends in the area after I moved away in 1970, small fires and disrepair took it’s toll and the building was taken down by the late 70’s. If you look at the street view from above looking at the r/e building, on the left is a white home which abutted the theater. The curb cut in front of the r/e building is where the alley was. From the late 60’s to the 80’s from the theater all the way down the right to the trees was lost to fires, one with loss of life.
TonyPan- very interesting comments. I never went into the Lincoln. Can you clarify the point that Cy Berman made above- he implies that the bowling alley was at street level, and that you had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the main floor of the theater. In other words, the theater was up on the second floor. That doesn’t seem right to me, especially in view of the fact that it had a balcony, but it was only 2 stories tall.
The entry to the bowling alley was from the side alley. After entry you would desend a longish stairway to the lanes. This basement was quite deep. When the alley was closed, I would go to the other side of the building from the entrance and peer into a louvered exhust window. I was always amazed by the distance down! I don’t recall any stairs in the theater except to the balcony.
TonyPan- your description makes sense. Usually in theaters like this, there was a slight incline from the sidewalk up to the back of the seating, and then there was a downward slope to the screen. The only stairs were the staircases to the balcony. When you moved away in 1970 do you recall if the Lincoln was still open, or had it closed by then?
They both were not open all the time. I don’t remember if they were seasonal(no A/C?) or only if they found someone to run them. So I don’t know when it ‘officially’ closed for good. I think the lanes lasted longer than the theater, business wise, but not much longer(fire + water damage to it).
Lincoln Theater was closed mid 1970’s.I believe around 1975 or 1976. My Dad lost the business after my Mom Died. It was a wonderful place and I had lots of fun working there.
The Lincoln Theatre was the subject of the occasional “Whatever Happened to —–” feature in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of Jan 30, 2019. There is a demolition photo somewhat similar to the one posted here. The copy says that it opened in the WW I era as the Casino Theatre. It was run for over 20 years by J. Alcide “Al” Beaumier, owner of the American Anodizing Corp. in Quincy. A fire led to a renovation and re- opening in 1935. It had a new a.c. system, a system for the hearing-impaired, a mammoth chandelier, and nearly 1,000 seats. Various live events were presented. At one rally during WW 2, $ 151,000 worth of War Bonds were sold. In April 1951, an electrical fire in the bowling alley forced 40 bowlers and 100 movie goers to the street. Al Beaumier was killed in an auto accident in Quebec in 1956. The Lincoln closed in the mid-1970s and was demolished in 1980. A commercial building is on the site today.
Motion Picture Herald, Oct. 6, 1956: “The property housing the Lincoln theatre, Quincy Point, Mass., has been sold to George Abdullah who operates the Tyngsboro drive-in, Tyngsboro, Mass. Theatre was owned by Al Baumiere who was killed in an auto accident early this summer.”
The Casino Theatre opened in Quincy Point on June 7, 1920 in a former automotive garage / tool factory space with “Daughter of Two Worlds” with Norma Talmadge. It became the Lincoln Theatre on October 22, 1926 after a refresh by new operators. It failed quickly and transitioned to boxing and wrestling matches in 1928 and into 1929 before closing.
It reopened with sound on April 30, 1930 as a discount movie house showing “They Had to See Paris” and “Chasing Rainbows” and supported by Laurel & Hardy in “The Hoose-Gow” for 15 cents. The neighboring Lincoln Lanes opened in 1951 serving as a great pair.
The Lincoln Theatre transitioned to widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. It proved to be a survivor with a 25-year leasing period and a 20-year leasing period closing on March 30, 1975 with “Mr. Majestic” and “The Man with the Golden Gun” for just 99 cents. At least it remained true to its programmatic mission. The Lincoln Lanes remained open until 1976.
A September 25, 1979 City Council meeting sealed the fate of the Lincoln Theatre and its neighbor - both said to be drawing gang activity. They approved $140k to demolish both places. That happened in March of 1980.