York Theatre
469 Main Street,
Athol,
MA
01331
469 Main Street,
Athol,
MA
01331
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Closed after a arson fire on May 26th, 1961
“A small fire was set deliberately in the York Theatre yesterday afternoon, a state fire marshal declared last night after making a preliminary investigation. The inquiry was resumed at 9:30 this morning.
Detective Lt. Daniel A. Shimkus of the state fire marshal’s office in Worcester was called to the scene after theatre manager David MacDonald told Fire Chief Mervin Perley he found signs of arson in the theatre at 6:20 last night.
Athol Police first heard noise from a sprinkler alarm in the adjacent York Building at 3:30 p.m. Unaware that the sprinkler also serves the huge theatre in the rear, officials checked the main building only, overlooking the theatre itself which is set apart from the main York Building structure.
The fire department shut off the sprinkler at the main valve after finding no fire in the York Building. Fire officials at first theorized that low pressure touched off the sprinkler alarm without turning on the water.
Later, MacDonald entered the theatre to open the 7 p.m. show, the first show of the day. He noticed that water was on the balcony floor and a door leading to the rear parking lot was partially open.
In a storage room under the projection booth, where sprinklers are located, he found that chair stuffings were piled high. They were wet but still smoldering. Curtains, apparently intended as a fuse, officials said, were found leading outside from the room to chairs in the balcony, about eight feet away. There was some water damage to the storage room and the nearby balcony rug, and the storage room floor was partially burned.
Firefighters of Engine 1 then responded to put out the still-smoldering chair remains.
Chief Perley found two paper matchbooks, along with cigarette butts that he said apparently had been intended as fuses. One of the books had ignited.
MacDonald told officials that he had been in the theatre at 7 a.m., to open a window in the toilet. Investigators still have not determined if the window was the means of entry. There were no footprints in the grass outside of the window, and no dirt on the floor near the window.
Lieutenant Shimkus said pictures and fingerprint checks will most probably be taken today, and neighbors living in view of the back of the theatre will be questioned.
The movie was shown as scheduled last night, and regular showings will continue today, Chief Perley said.“ - Athol Daily news May 27th, 1961
The new bar, the Jolly Tavern resides in the lobby area, open as of 2022, but apparently the bowling alley space in the auditorium is still vacant. Exterior of the building is well maintained, the bricks of the auditorium walls having been recently cleaned.
Currently a bar.
The building is for sale on Craigslist for $250,000: http://westernmass.craigslist.org/bfs/4846667691.html
The Theatre Historical Society archive in Illinois has the MGM Theatre Report for the York. Says it’s on Main Street, in Fair condition, and showing MGM product for 10 years. There were 825 orchestra seats and 370 balcony seats, total: 1,195 seats. There is an exterior photo dated April 1941.
Just got the following note from a friend of mine in MA: “I was at Michael’s class reunion on Saturday. It was at the old York theatre in Athol, MA. They are remodeling it and have made part of it a candlepin bowling alley and another part a bar/lounge. The rest is the gutted theatre. They said it is registered as a historical theatre. This was their first special event and the grand opening was the following day. The have done a great job with the remodeling to date. For instance they took 3-4 months to designing the bar. The curve of the bar matches the circular pattern in the original ceilings and they found fixtures in old storage rooms and cleaned them up and installed them.”
I am hoping to find more info on this.
The website now shows the building as no longer available. Hopefully it means it has been sold. The page describes the building as 20,900 square feet, with the auditorium, its balcony and the italianate decor intact. The building includes a bar which is currently operating. a town-owned 200 car parking lot is immediately behind the building.
The Theatre Historical Society of America has some info about Athol theaters compiled by long-time member the late Brother Andrew Corsini. He wrote that the York Theatre was opened on Sept. 12, 1930, designed by Albert J. Smith, with 1200 seats. There was also a Capitol Th. in Athol, designed by Mowl & Rand, and opened in Feb. 1930 with 1225 seats. The Lyric Theatre was originally the Academy of Music,had 750 seats and was open from 1907 to 1933. The Athol Opera House, later the Athol Theatre, had 676 seats and was open from 1897 to 1929.
In the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook there are no less than 3 movie venues listed under Athol MA: the Lyric Theatre with 800 seats, the Opera House with 1100 seats, and the YMCA Auditorium with 250 seats. (in the 1897-98 Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide, the Athol Opera House is listed with 800 seats, so perhaps it was the Lyric which had 1100). All of these must have been considered obsolete, so that’s why the York was opened.