Nugget Theater
Old Nugget Alley,
Hanover,
NH
03755
Old Nugget Alley,
Hanover,
NH
03755
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Nearby Theaters
The Nugget Theater was opened in 1916 on E. Wheelock Street & S. Main Street. It was closed for renovation on January 26, 1944. It was destroyed by fire on January 28, 1944.
In 1951, a new Nugget Theater was built and opened a couple of blocks away on S. Main Street. (It has its own listing on Cinema Treasures and is now the 4-screen Nugget Theaters).
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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 5 comments)
The Nugget Theatre was the subject of a few paragraphs in an article about Dartmouth University in the February, 1923, issue of George Jean Nathan and H. L. Mencken’s magazine, The Smart Set. The operator of the Nugget, angered by the rowdy behavior of undergraduates attending the shows, closed the theater, precipitating an “outrage meeting” by the students in the street. After two days, the manager reopened the Nugget, but the rowdy behavior in the theater continued. Kids those days!
Joe,
it is always Dartmouth College, not Dartmouth University. This is as a result of an attempt in the early 1800’s by the state of New Hampshire to seize control of the college, which they physically did. New Hampshire re-named it Dartmouth University. Alumnus Daniel Webster argued on behalf of the original owners, the Trustees of Dartmouth College, at the US Supreme Court, and won on behalf of the private institution. The name was changed back to Dartmouth College – and hence even though Dartmouth confers graduate degrees (the definition of a university) it will always be a College and not a University.
The photo and address for the original Nugget is off just a tad. All four corners at Main and East Wheelock contain buildings or land that has been controlled by the college or its affiliates since the 18th century.
The original Nugget was behind the house show in the photo (you can barely see the Alley you entered in the background to get to the theatre. The Alley is named “Old Nugget Alley”
Photo reset, the theatre was down this alley – officially named “old Nugget Alley” in city records – since the “New”, built in 1951 Nugget, is two blocks to the south
The January 28, 1944 fire happened around 4:00 PM ET, and a few minutes after comes an explosion which blew the entire roof off. Many of the roof parts landed on top of a few buildings including an old barn owned by W.H. Rand & Son and the neighboring Dartmouth Cooperative Store. Neighboring fire departments from several cities across Vermont and New Hampshire raced to put out the fire. Despite the fire dangerously spreading, water immediately played over the building over the most of the forenoon.
It was later reported that the theater have closed two days prior to the fire due to renovation.