Capitol Theatre
422-32 Union Street,
Lynn,
MA
01901
422-32 Union Street,
Lynn,
MA
01901
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: E.M. Loew's Theaters Inc.
Architects: E.W. Maynard
Previous Names: Central Square Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Central Square Theatre was located in Central Square at the very end of the downtown area (Union Street ended at Central Square) under the railway tracks. It opened December 19, 1910, and was renamed Capitol Theatre on November 10, 1919.
While the Paramount Theatre and Warner Theatre in town were grand and more upscale, the Capitol Theatre was on the ‘sleazy’ side under the tracks. The Capitol Theatre was the smallest and least esthetically pleasing to look at of the three theatres. The Capitol Theatre was still open in the 1960’s. The building was destroyed by fire in 1976.
Contributed by
Jim Powers, Christina Mixson
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
My favorite memory of this theater was going to see The Beatles in “A Hard Day’s Night"in 1964. The cost of a movie then was between 35 and 50 cents. "A Hard Day’s Night” was a whopping $1.00. The line to get in went around the block. We entered the theater and took our seats. As soon as the lights went down and just before the movie started, all the girls in the theater started screaming in anticipation……. Beatlemania!!
Exterior pic shows it to be quite elaborate and stylish.
The vaudeville program at the Central Square Theatre in Lynn starting October 23 had done good business, according to an item in the October 28, 1911, issue of The New York Clipper.
An item from an issue of The Moving Picture World earlier that year (which I’ve been unable to date exactly) had said that the Central Square Theatre had opened on December 29. A late 1910 opening matches up nicely with the item in The American Architect of March 3, 1910, which said that plans for the proposed Central Square Theatre in Lynn had been prepared by Boston architect E. W. Maynard.
Likely this was the last theater operating, at least part time, in Lynn. I can recall seeing it with a much simplified frontage area in the 80s when my bus would pass through Central Square. A marquee flat against the front saying simply “Greek Movies Fri Sat.” There were a couple of Greek specialty stores in the area at the time. Stood empty for years and then was a vacant lot for even more years.
A friend of mine had a shop near the theater and said the fire that destroyed the building was in 1976. He’s also mentioned the Lynn City Hall Auditorium having theater level 35mm projectors and that films were frequently shown there. He’s also mentioned a store still having some 35mm projectors in it’s attic from it’s days as a theatre. Seeking more info on it.
1910 plans:
Central Square Theatre plan 14 Mar 1910, Mon The Daily Item (Lynn, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
Opened December 19th, 1910, and reopened as the Capitol on November 10th, 1919. Grand opening ads posted.
I remember seeing lots of movies there in the late 60’s. My mother gave us money for “cabfare” (bus), from the Point of Pines/Revere. I recall the old train line that was virtually on top of the theatre. I wish I could see pictures of how it looked back then. Thank you.
On December 12, 1934, the Capitol Theatre was one out of four theaters in New England that suffered damage by an exploding bomb. It was in connection of disputes between rival theatrical union workers.
I saw SO MANY movies here. It was a major theatre in the 50s and often had huge front displays that covered the entrance. An example was the movie High Society. I loved sitting on the rickety balcony which had seats stuck in wherever there was space. Great theatre but suffered the fate of the rest of the downtown theatres, and at the end on a Saturday night you were lucky to find 25 people attending.