Cine 1 & 2
1118 Elm Street,
Manchester,
NH
03101
1118 Elm Street,
Manchester,
NH
03101
2 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Shea Theatres
Architects: John Adolph Emil Eberson, Victor A. Rigaumont
Firms: Hutchins & French
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: State Theatre, Queen Theatre
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News About This Theater
- Nov 18, 2009 — Happy 50th, "Ben-Hur"
This zig-zag Art Deco style gem in downtown Manchester opened as the State Theatre on November 27, 1929 with Conrad Nagel in “Hollywood Revue of 1929”. Organist Francis Fay Farrel open the organ (make unspecified). Later renamed Queen Theatre, and finally Cine 1 & 2 it has since been demolished.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Here is a video discussing the history of the State theater from it’s 1929 opening to it’s 1978 demolition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrmp71Rsn-g
Architect was John Eberson.
In the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac, the State in Manchester is listed as part of the Shea Circuit, run by Shea-Chain Inc & Affiliates of 1540 Broadway in New York City. Other Manchester NH theaters run by Shea at that time were the Palace, Strand, Crown and the Vitaphone. Shea also ran 2 theaters in Nashua.
There’s a 1939 photo of Elm Street showing part of the State Theatre at the bottom of page 32 of Manchester Streetcars, by O. R. Cummings (Google Books preview.)
The Library of Congress has this closeup photo of the State Theatre’s marquee and tower, dated 1937.
A catalog of copyrights issued in 1935 has an entry for a copyright issued to architect Victor A. Rigaumont for “…additions to State Theatre at Manchester, N. H., for M. A. Shea and associates.” It is dated April 12, 1935. There’s no indication as to the nature or extent of the additions.
This theater was named the Queen Cinema in the 1960s. It was later doubled and finished life known as Cine I and II.
Our dumb… And bleak age.
Theatre opened 27 Nov 1929.
The August 3, 1929, issue of Moving Picture News attributes the design of the State Theatre to the Boston architectural firm Hutchins & French. This weblog post at Cow Hampshire says that Hutchins & French are listed in John Eberson’s records, so there must have been some sort of collaboration. Possibly Hutchins & French acted as supervising architects.
The Theatre Historical Society archive has the MGM Theatre Report for this theater when it was the State; it’s Card # 500. Address is Elm St. There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. Condition is Good. The report says the State is less than 15 years old, and is showing MGM films. There were 1,591 orchestra seats and 539 in the balcony, total 2,130. It was the largest theater in Manchester and had a nice big marquee. Demolished 1978.