Concord Theatre
18 S. Main Street,
Concord,
NH
03301
18 S. Main Street,
Concord,
NH
03301
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 41 comments
Here is the celebration in 2023, marking the 90th anniversary of the theater’s opening in 1933: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkUk5p98sB8&t=1503s
Live performing arts venue.
Thanks for the info Joe and Paul. I would really appreciate the uploaded photo to identify the seats I have. Thanks again BVD1
There was never a balcony in the Concord Theatre. There were 499 seats and all seats were given out in June of 2018. Prior to that, no seats had been made available. A few years back, balcony seats from the former Capitol Theatre in Concord, now the Capitol Center for the Arts, were available and sold.
The theater did not have a balcony but one will be added during the renovation. I’ll upload a photo tonight of the seat end.
Does anyone know if the theater had a balcony? Or a photo of the cast iron ends of the seat rows? I have several seats and want to know if they came from the Concord Theater. Thanks
Well, we are getting closer to bringing this theatre back to life. financial package is nearly complete, pre-construction meetings are happening and the current schedule is to begin renovation in July of 2018. The plan is to be open for business in April of 2019, just one year away!
Just a quick update – it looks like the building will need to transfer ownership by the end of December, just a few weeks away. The reason for this is to secure tax credits which make the project viable. It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to pull a project like this together. More to come by the start of the new year!
Yes! There is a plan moving forward to save this building and turn it into a live performance venue as part of the Capitol Center for the Arts. I’ll provide updates when possible. There are quite a few moving pieces to this project and it is far from being a sure thing right now.
It appears the Concord Theatre is about to be saved. It has been purchased with a plan toward restoring it and reopening it as a smaller performance venue as part of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Here is my blog from February 23rd, discussing this plan: patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/not-last-picture-show
The page for the Concord Theatre at the Cinema Data Project has excerpts from a 1974 newspaper article about the theater, including several quotes from long-time operator Theresa Cantin.
Also, click this hyperlink to reach Paul Brogan’s 2014 article about the Concord. There’s also a slide show with five photos.
This link to a story I did on the theatre in 2014, includes some pictures taken of it after it closed but around 200 or 2001. Feel free to contact me at: http://www.concordmonitor.com/community/town-by-town/concord/10414424-95/my-turn-lets-bring-the-concord-theatre-back-to-life
The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Concord Th., it’s Card # 478. But there is no info on it at all, other than an exterior photo which was probably taken around 1950.
Maurice Cantin was the younger brother of Theresa Cantin who, along with her sisters Rene and Laurie, ran the theatre. Maurice was a spare projectionist along with Mert Tolman, Ernie Mayo and Mr. Bunker (never knew his first name). I used to take my life in my hands each time I climbed the ladder to change the marquee since I swear the ladder had been there since the theatre opened in 1934.
As I recall, “The Master Gunfighter” was what they called, at the time, a “four-wall deal”. The releasing company bought the theatre for the run – paying all advertising and giving the theatre a flat rate and taking all box-office income. For a while these types of films did very well and you made a killing in concession income. The releasing company would send a “checker” who stood next to Theresa as she sold tickets and clicked for each sold to make sure his total matched her ticket numbers sold for the evening. I remember wondering whether “checkers” ever smiled or laughed because they always seemed a dour, unhappy group.
The picture above was taken in the fall of 1975 and the theatre’s attraction was “The Master Gunfighter” The second line reads – Billy Jack Presents.
The theatre is still standing and looking in the front door, the original box-office is clearly visible as is the long lobby leading up to the upper lobby. The current owners will not allow the theatre to be viewed although I know of at least 2 people interested in buying it and reopening it as some kind of theatre.
As an aside, the side of the building was also plastered at one point with a poster for “Some Like it Hot”, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Cleopatra” with Taylor/Burton/Harrison.
The last time they did the enormous poster on the building’s side was for “Hawaii” which played in late summer of 1967 – touted as “Direct from it’s Roadshow Engagement – First time at Popular Prices!”
Bird’s Eye view of the Concord Theatre area at Bing Maps is dated 2012 and shows the theater still standing, auditorium and all. The auditorium roof looks to be in pretty rough shape, though. If it doesn’t get some attention soon, this theater will deteriorate fast.
jaboschen is right. The lobby building and auditorium both still stand. You can see it on the Google Maps overhead view and street view. Endicott Furniture, as shown in the old photo above, is still next door to the theatre. From the Google Street view you can even see the writing “Concord Theatre” on the sidewalk of the entryway to the former theatre.
I was in the area the other day and took a look at this cool little place. From my observations, I don’t believe the auditorium portion of the building was demolished. If you walk down into the parking lot next to the building you can see the original exit doors to the auditorium on the side. Would love to see this one preserved… I wonder how much of the interior is still there?
During the late 50’s the movie “The 10 Commandments” was making the rounds. The Concord Theater had the entire south wall of their building plastered with a color billboard of the show showing Charlton Heston holding up the Ten Commandments stones. This show was far outlasted by the eventually peeling paper from the billboard. As a side note. Maurice Cantin became my school bus driver in East Concord and the route took us to Eastman Elementary School. Eventually he retired and spent his winters down in Panama City FL,near my home. I grew up in Concord, and left in 1969 after getting drafted.
http://concord-nh.patch.com/blog_posts/the-truth-behind-the-concord-theatre
Did you get any responses on your questions? If not, please let me know and I’ll see if I can direct you.
Thanks
Hello, I’m working on an article about Conn’s Theater and I would love more information about the theater and Jacob Conn if anyone can help. My e-mail address is kmackenzie(at)theconcordinsider(dot)com.
Thank you!!
My grandfather worked as a confectioner at the Norris Bakery in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, before it was used as a theater. It was an honore to see pictures of the old building! Thanks!
Here is part of an article about Jacob Conn regarding the date that Conn’s Theatre on School Street in Concord was built:
“…that when fire destroyed the old Durgin
factory on School street in 1911 he had enough
to purchase the ruins. Working nights in
the tailor shop, he spent his days cleaning
up the immense heap of blackened bricks.
In June, 1911, the cornerstone of his
theatre was laid and on October 14 of
the next year it was completed and under
his management has been most successful
ever since.“
stables.
Mr. Vogel is right about the date – thanks for checking that out. Conn’s Theatre became the American Legion Hall, per someone I spoke to that knows Concord history. It remained the hall until it was demolished in the 1970’s. AS of today, the Concord Theatre is still standing – the box office is intact but there are severe leaks in the roof. It is guesstimated to cost about $ 400 – 450,000 to bring it up to code if it were to be saved.