Wolf's Theatre
390 Merrimack Street,
Lowell,
MA
01852
390 Merrimack Street,
Lowell,
MA
01852
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Gaity Theatre, Boston Theatre, Star Theatre, Premier Theatre
Nearby Theaters
In 1900 a theatre opened at 390 Merrimack Street, across the street from the City Hall and the Library in the vicinity where Dummer Street is now.
It was initially called the Gaity Theatre. It became the Boston Theatre in 1902, the Star Theatre in 1911, the Premier Theatre in 1913 and finally Wolf’s Theatre for its last year in 1915. No part of the structure exists today.
Contributed by
James Roy
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
Was this also known as the Bijou for a while?
I can’t honestly say. I found nothing in the city directories that listed a Bijou Theater in Lowell.
The aka Star Theatre needs to be added to the “Previous Names” field.
Both the January 24, 1900, and the October 8, 1900 issues of The Lowell Sun carried notices of the opening of the new Gaiety (not Gaity) Theatre. I don’t know if the theater moved to a new location in October or perhaps just reopened at the same location under new management.
The April 13, 1901 issue of the Sun said that the Boston Theatre, formerly the Gaiety, would open on April 18. The Star Theatre, on Merrimack Street opposite City Hall, was being mentioned in The Lowell Sun by April, 1908. The new Premier Theatre, opposite City Hall, was mentioned in the October 10, 1912, Sun. The Tuesday, February 9, 1915 Sun> said that Wolf’s Theatre, which had been “entirely remodeled,” would open Wednesday evening.
Lowell did have a house called the Bijou Theatre, opened in 1892 and, according to a January 2, 1974, article in The Lowell Sun, it was located “…at Cardinal O'Connell Parkway….” That street, only two blocks long, intersects Merrimack at the end of the 300 block, just where the Gaiety would have been, so we should consider the possibility that the new Gaiety of 1900 was indeed just a new name for the old Bijou. However, I have not found any references to confirm this surmise.
This Facebook post has a 1929 photo with Star Theatre at the end of the block. Another theatre is in front of it. Scroll through the 3 pics for a zoomed in shot. However it says John Street & Paige Street. So was there another Star Theatre in Lowell in 1929?
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6166559196689877&set=pcb.10159628978623740
DavidZornig, the word “star” I believe is likely part of a banner/ad, not part of the name of the theater. The theater is Keith’s theater on Bridge street. https://pbase.com/jroy/low_keith
Just beyond the theatre you say is Keith’s, in the background it reads Theatre beneath Star. So perhaps a banner, but for somewhere else. The Keith’s you linked to is in the middle of the block. The theatre in the Facebook photo is on a corner. Below is the enlarged image.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6166559200023210&set=pcb.10159628978623740
I was so fixated on “Star” I didn’t even notice the theater on the left. Sorry for that oversight if it added to the confusion. The caption of the post of the photo(s) on your FB link is “1929 Paige Street at John Street Theater in the back wow amazing photo.” The view is actually from John St. looking down Paige St. where it ends at bridge St. Across bridge street is the partially obscured Keith’s theater as I said. The theater on the left is/was the Merrimack Sq. Theater (https://pbase.com/jroy/low_merrsq). Keith’s theater’s marque in those years had advertising space above it in those years evidently but you can also compare the windows in the photos with those in the link for Keith’s I posted before (see https://pbase.com/image/173471817). Great pix in the link you found none the less. I had not seen one like that of the Merrimack Sq. before
Ah, now I get it. Thank you for the clarification. That wall does match a photo on the Merrimack page. BTW I also added a different full size photo to that page below.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/13364/photos
If I might add, this is that view roughly today https://pbase.com/image/173471825
PS, Great add with that photo of the Merrimack Sq.