Paris Cinema
68 Franklin Street,
Worcester,
MA
01608
68 Franklin Street,
Worcester,
MA
01608
10 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 46 comments
The Paris closed on May 31st, 1977, and reopened on September 26th, 1980, showing classic movies. It switches to adult movies July 31st, 1982, with Cinema 1 being “The Coupes theatre” and Cinema 2 “Adonis Film”. More ads and articles posted
The second screen opened on April 12th, 1968, which became the adult penthouse on September 26th, 1973. Grand opening ad posted.
reopened as Paris on March 4th, 1967 by Esquire theatres. Grand opening ad posted.
Grand opening ad as Capitol posted.
I photographed the theater before demolition started. Check out some images and a short history at After the Final Curtain
Recent photos of the inside of the theater: http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2016/08/we_explored_the_old_paris_cine.html
As of early 2016, the building is still there intact.
“…the building behind it is due for replacement.” Ah, euphemism.
Is there another still-operating Paris Cinema (perhaps the one in NYC) who could use the sign?
The theater’s sign is up for auction, and a developer has plans to raze the theater and adjacent structures: View article
The owners of the building recently offered to donate the huge “Paris” sign out front to a local preservation office to sell as a fund-raiser. Most collectors of theater memorabilia would not have room for it!
Preservation Worcester provides this page about the Capitol Theatre, with four small photos of interior details and a few paragraphs of text. The Capitol was placed on the organization’s “most endangered” list in 2005.
Still sitting empty when I biked by it last night. Were all the theatres called ‘Paris’ (in Boston, Worcester, NYC, and elsewhere) once linked together in a chain?
CORRECTION! I made a mistake in the above post, the URL for the Flickr set of the interior of the Paris Cinema is:
View link
enjoy
recent interior photos of the Paris Cinema:
View link
There was a lack of sufficient light to get good pictures, but at least here you can see some of the details of the auditorium. Some superficial water damage, but everything seems to be intact.
This is an excerpt from a November 30, 2009 Worcester Telegram and Gazette article. It answers the question about the red “X” and paints a dim future for this theater in the heart of the city.
“The former Paris Cinema on Franklin Street is branded with an "X” sign. The building, which most recently housed an adult theater, is owned by a holding company controlled by the principals of the Boston-based Mayo Group, which is renovating several buildings on the block.
The Mayo Group’s Edward O'Donnell, vice president of development, said the company bought the vacant theater as a “defensive investment” because it already had poured millions of dollars in neighboring buildings. As it stands, though, the company has no specific renovation plans for the deteriorating brick theater.
“At this point, it’s hard to say. It’s really hard to attach any type of timetable or to say what we think the reuse will be,” Mr. O'Donnell said.
In the meantime, he said, the Mayo Group has been cooperating with the Fire Department and doing its best to keep the building secure. Homeless people have managed to break into the building on several occasions, he said.
“We have had to resecure that building three or four times, but they find a way to get in,” Mr. O'Donnell said.
“We’ve worked with the Worcester Fire Department. They called us and wanted to go through the building, and we granted them entry,” he added. “Everybody who remembers that night 10 years ago knows how important it is to work with the Fire Department.”"
Also, this is a PDF of another T&G article notes that the parcel that includes the theater was purchased for 4.8 million, and that “preservationists and local theater buffs” would like to see the theater saved. Given the hurdles it faces(high renovation cost, too much competition for performing arts in the area, and questionable viability as a movie theater), I think this one might be at the end of the road. I’d like to be proven wrong….but I can’t see it.
I was walking by the Paris a couple of weeks ago and I noticed a big red X sign taped to the signboard, where it used to read “Adult Movies for Sale or Rent.” What does a red X mean – is the building unsafe for occupancy, or they didn’t pay their taxes?
Actually, it should be http://www.theatreorgans.com/rochestr/
The Wurlitzer organ from this theater is now located in the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, N.Y. The Rochester Theater Organ Society(www.theatreorgans.com/rochestr/) maintains this organ.
True, MPol, but supposedly the CitySquare project will revive downtown Worcester.
The problem I see for this theateris this: if no one does anything with it before CitySqaure starts really moving, it has a target painted on it. And once it’s marked for demolition, it’s unlikely anyone would step up to save it, given it’s recent history. Seems such a waste..but what can you do?
Here is a 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mn7htj
This is exactly what I was referring to when I said that Worcester’s downtown area looked like a ghost town. When I was in downtown Worcester just this last spring, I noticed that not only was the Paris Cinema closed up and empty, but a good many of the storefronts, etc., were boarded up. Not a good sign overall, imho.
I drove by this theater a week ago. If you look at the 2007 picture, the store front on the left is empty and boarded up, and the sign is gone. The storefront on the right still has it’s sign, and is boarded up.
The place looks sad. I wonder if some minimal TLC could give it a new lease on life? Worcester doesn’t have any movie theater’s in the downtown area, so it would likely do reasonably well. Shaking the stigma of it’s previous incarnation would be difficult though….
Here is a 1986 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d6aba5
Worcester is not a small suburb, it is a city of almost 180,000. Boston…with 3 times the population, has 15 times the murders. Providence (equal in population) and Springfield (which has 30000 people less than worcester), have 3 and 4 times the murders. Im not candycoating anything here, just stating pure facts. I was previously speaking in crame RATES, not total numbers. New york has high crime NUMBERS because of its population, but not a high crime RATE. There is a difference. Also, yes another theater is opening around the corner, and hosting 100 shows this year including many Broadway productions.
PS there are dozens of XXX theaters and shops in North Beach in San Francisco….does that mean its a bad area?? Hmmmm talk to the people spending $1 million on homes there. Its a CITY!!!!