Bradley Playhouse
30 Front Street,
Putnam,
CT
06260
30 Front Street,
Putnam,
CT
06260
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As a boy back in the fifties, I, somehow was granted access to the 2nd floor of the building known as the Union block building on Main St in Putnam, Ct. The first floor was occupied by a bakery, tavern, hardware store and newspaper. There was a large staircase leading to the dusty and unoccupied 2nd floor. I saw a large room with a stage which definitely hadn’t been used for a many years. I felt then that I was walking back in time and that I was being granted a truly special opportunity. I found a an admission ticket labeled “Victory Theater”. I had never met anyone who had ever mentioned this theater. But I believe it was a combination theater and meeting or dance hall. Does anyone else know anything about this Victory Theater ?
I think the Victory was a separate theatre from the Bradley. There’s a picture of it at http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTU3WDg0NA==/z/mq0AAMXQAx9RS1CQ/$T2eC16V,!%29QE9s3HFf3cBRS1CQ,je!~~60_57.JPG and while I can’t see the theatre clearly, the address says Main Street whereas the Bradley is on Front Street.
In the 1942-43 edition of the Motion Picture Almanac, the Bradley Theatre in Putnam is listed under the Interstate Theatre Corp. of Boston. The list also includes the Victory Theatre in Putnam. A post above suggests that the Putnam and the Victory were one in the same. At the time, Interstate Theatres also ran the Palace in Rockville and the Orpheum and the Majestic in Danielson CT.
Item in Boxoffice magazine, November 22, 1947:
Just before the engagement of “Forever Amber” at the Bradley in Putnam, clergy of St Mary’s Parish there attacked the picture and urged parishioners not to attend it.
Item in Boxoffice Magazine, March 24, 1958:
An Import Once Weekly
Interstate of New England has resumed late foreign film showings at the Bradley, Putnam. A single import is screened at about 10 p.m. on Friday nights, at 90 cents top. Regular U.S. product is shown earlier in the evening and remainder of the week.
I was on a bike trip the last few days and passed by this place yesterday. Cute. Turns out they are under construction and will be open shortly. When you call, the answering machine just says hi and that’s it.
There’s a store on the corner as part of the building called “The Cosmic Cat” (tarot, etc) and you can access it from the lobby.
Here is a recent article about the theater’s marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/azmhx7
I went to a show at the Bradley Playhouse yesterday. It was a musical-comedy-review entitled Broadway Live…Christmas put on by the Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut, which occupies the house and does many shows throughout the year, and while the show was not my cup of tea, the audience at the sold-out performance was having a grand time. Besides a chance to see one of the many reasonably-priced shows here, many might have come to see friends and relatives and many children in the cast comprised of locals. The atmosphere is very friendly and community-oriented. The staff is particularly pleasant and accomodating. I walked all about the theatre before the show and during intermission to check out various parts of this wonderful old 1901 theatre. It served as a movie house for many decades, and the projection booth structure is still intact, though movies haven’t been shown here in close to three decades. I couldn’t help wondering as I sat there and as I roamed and took a few photos, that this is what every small-town former movie theatre in American might have become instead of facing destruction. My thoughts went to the recently-demolished Pastime Theatre in Bristol, RI. Preservationists were unable to get the town to save it, and so Bristol, which might have had the likes of a Bradley, will be doomed not to. In recent years the town of Putnam has become a Mecca for its antique shops which have brought new life to the place and given it a new identity. How much of that has been instrumental in keeping the Bradley alive is hard to say, but it certainly hasn’t hurt. Let’s just be thankful and hope that this gem of an old house will continue to survive and succeed.
FRONT OF HOUSE
BALCONY
LOBBY DISPLAY
I found references to a “Victory Theatre” in Putnam in 1948. But it was suggested that this was probably a (temporary) renaming of the Bradley. Changing the name of a theatre to “Victory” was a common practice after World War II.
Here’s a photo of the Bradley Playhouse I took a while back. Sometime in the 1970s, when it was called the Imperial, I went to this theatre to see a revival of “The African Queen.”
Dear Charles,
Yes, the Bradley Theater is indeed up and running! We are presently having our website re-vamped and as of today we SHOULD be up and running at TNECT.org
We have just finished “Charlotte’s Web” and are now in rehearsal for “Jesus Christ SuperStar”. From musicals to murder mysteries, we do it all! The theater is in a constant state of renovation as the building is over 100 years old. We are a volunteer, non-profit organization.
If you would like any additional information regarding the theater, please feel free to contact me at 12.ct.us
Sincerely, Jo-Ann Gallo, Board Member, and Programming Committe