Port Cinema

70 Pleasant Street,
Newburyport, MA 01950

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.

Architects: Edwin C.A. Bullock

Nearby Theaters

Port Cinema

The port Cinema was opened April 16, 1949. Acquired and renovated by Lockwood & Gordon in the early/mid-1960’s, this house was an early herald of the downtown revival that hit Newburyport in the 1980’s, but it was closed in the mid-1970’s.

It became a furniture store in the 1980’s, followed by use as a gymnasium. It was demolished in December 2017.

Contributed by Jacquelyn O'Sullivan

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on July 5, 2007 at 6:38 pm

What is now at this location? Do you know the street address?

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on December 13, 2007 at 2:08 pm

The Port Th. in Newburyport is briefly mentioned in a feature article “The History of the Warner Bros. Theatre Circuit” by Barry Goodkin in Marquee Magazine (THSA), 3rd quarter, 2007. The author mentions some theatres in Massachusetts which were Warner Bros. houses and states that the Port in Newburyport “was built after World War II”.

MrDJDude
MrDJDude on July 27, 2009 at 5:43 pm

According to this article , which also contains sparse info about Newburyport’s other theatres, the Port was located at the corner of Pleasant Street and Titcomb Ave.

According to Google Maps, that’s somewhere between 70-80 Pleasant Street. The building standing there looks like it could’ve housed the lobby perhaps, with the theater in the parking lot behind it. But I can’t say for sure.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 28, 2009 at 1:34 am

The April 23, 1949, issue of Boxoffice reported that the Port Theatre had opened on April 16. The architect of the 1,250-seat house was E.C.A. Bullock of New York.

mthivier
mthivier on January 19, 2018 at 12:23 pm

According to the Newburyport Daily News, the building that was formerly the Port Theatre was torn down in December 2017. The article stated that the Port actually opened in 1949, and operated as a theater from 1949 through the mid-1970s. It later became a furniture store (Port Furniture) during the late 1970s –‘80s, and later housed a number of other business, including a gym.

The Newburyport Historical Commission states that the building served as a movie house until September 1974.

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