If you are interested in old R.I. theatres, check out the Paramount and Colonial in Newport on this site. Their exteriors still exist and I just photographed them after believing that they had been completely demolished.
I had the pleasure of seeing a film at this theatre in the autumn of 1966. I believe it was “Fantastic Voyage.” I didn’t go here as much as the Majestic when I was at Lackland Air Force Base but I remember being impressed with its monumental beauty.
This theatre was a thrill to visit when I was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in 1966. I remember taking the bus into town to see movies at the Majestic and other numerous theatres. Among those I noted seeing here were “The Professionals,” “Texas Across the River” and “After the Fox.”
Discovery…this theatre is NOT demolished. The exterior remains intact and in seeming good repair, with gutters and drain pipes extending from the roof area. It seems to have been used for many decades as various retail outlets, including a Newberry’s. Currently, a trendy store called Express occupies the original entrance and foyer area. Although this theatre is right there before your eyes, you need to look for it up and behind the Thames Street retail entrance. It is only a few feet from the rear of the Opera House on Touro Street and just a stone’s throw from the Jane Pickens (Strand). A scenery tower from vaudeville and theatrical days rises from the rear. Early Newport city directories list the street number as 146 rather than 144.
“High class vaudeville and latest motion pictures,” boasts a directory ad.
Here is a link to a site with an old postcard showing the Bijou Theatre on the right.
And in this photo I took you can see that same spot today, 192 Thames Street. I cannot ascertain if anything of the original theatre remains. But I doubt it.
Ken, the Newport city directories I checked today from the 30s and 40s all list it as 76 Broadway, and the number on the apartment building itself is also 76. Why would it go from 76 to 22 and then back to 76? 22 would bring you near Washington Square, but the Paramount is a bit further up. 76 Broadway was also the office of the Shea’s theatre chain. Must have been in the theatre.
Contrary to what I wrote above and much to my surprise, I discovered today that the Paramount was NOT demolished. It was merely gutted (if that makes us happy) and converted to a HUD apartment building. Here are photos of the building at 76 Broadway:
The first photo shows the right side of the former theatre and its scenery tower from the days of vaudeville.
The second photo shows the left side. If you look closely you can see how the windows were cut out of the side of the brick building because of the difference in color in the grouting between the bricks.
The third photo shows the entrance to the apartment building, set back, with a kind of patio replacing the original theatre entrance and lobby.
The fourth photo shows newer brick contrasting with older brick as you move up toward the roof.
I had been frequenting the Salvation Army Thrift Shop at the rear of the building for years, including today, without realizing that this was the old Paramount Theatre of Newport! How could I be so unperceptive??? I never actually set foot in the Paramount, but remember seeing its marquee during my teen years.
I would kill to see any surviving photos of the old theatre entrance or the interior.
Here is a photo of the Jane Pickens I just took. Notice that to the right, between the two white buildings, can be seen the rear scenery tower of the old Colonial Theatre on Thames Street. In all my years of visiting Newport, I never paid any attention to that. The Colonial, Jane Pickens (Strand) and Opera House are less than 200 feet from each other.
Correction on above reference to the Paramount: it is not “long demolished”—-just gutted to form an apartment building at 76 Broadway. More photos shall appear on the Paramount, Opera House, and Colonial sites.
Re: “art house cache.” “Le notti di Cabiria,” on which “Sweet Charity” was based, is one of Fellini’s most magnificent and enduring masterpieces, with wife Giulietta Masina in her finest role, in my opinion and the opinion of many.
Here is a photo of the Crown, or at least the right side of it, from an old postcard that features the court house/police station to the right of it. Expand the image for better resolution.
Here’s a wild stab. The second line looks like it could be “(The)Mad Dancer,” a 1925 film. The first line might be performers in the film, but I couldn’t connect the Imdb-listed credits with anything resembling the first line. But I am almost certain the second line reads “in Mad ——–”.
Thanks for clarifying the exact location of this incarnation of “Cinema Verdi,” which was seems to have been more like a peripatetic forum for Italian movies. In looking at ads of this movie theatre, I wasn’t quite sure which side of Eighth Avenue it was on. A New York Times ad from April 25, 1947 for the Arena Cinema Verdi promotes the American premiere of a movie called “The Little Martyr,” described in the ad as “a pulsating drama of childhood.” This was in fact director Vittorio De Sica’s first truly great film, the 1943 “I bambini ci guardano”…which later was retitled to a more accurate “The Children Are Watching Us.” Incredibly, it was not reviewed by the New York Times at the time! Only four months later De Sica’s “Shoe Shine” would open at the Avenue on 6th Avenue to ecstatic reviews. If critics (and audiences) had been aware of De Sica’s perevious film on childhood, shown recently two blocks away, they might have made some connections to and references to that earlier masterpiece. Not until a 1985 16mm run at the Thalia Soho did the Times review it for Richard Schwarz’s presentation. The film, however, had already circulated in 16mm prints for non-theatrical showings and had already had other archival showings at film museums.
Joe, I agree with your enthusiasm for the Apollo in its heyday. They aften got foreign films that were shelved, barely distributed, etc., in addition to major releases. In short, they had fascinating never-know-what-to-expect programming. (See my posting above, the very first on this page!) I read somewhere that the Apollo got a lot of patronage from deaf or hearing-impaired persons, because they almost always showed foreign language films with subtitles, enabling non-hearers to follow the dialog.
Roland, you say that you attended rock concerts here in the late 1960s and that the address changed to 708 Broad Street as it remains today. You mean to say that the building is still there???
If you are interested in old R.I. theatres, check out the Paramount and Colonial in Newport on this site. Their exteriors still exist and I just photographed them after believing that they had been completely demolished.
I had the pleasure of seeing a film at this theatre in the autumn of 1966. I believe it was “Fantastic Voyage.” I didn’t go here as much as the Majestic when I was at Lackland Air Force Base but I remember being impressed with its monumental beauty.
This theatre was a thrill to visit when I was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in 1966. I remember taking the bus into town to see movies at the Majestic and other numerous theatres. Among those I noted seeing here were “The Professionals,” “Texas Across the River” and “After the Fox.”
Discovery…this theatre is NOT demolished. The exterior remains intact and in seeming good repair, with gutters and drain pipes extending from the roof area. It seems to have been used for many decades as various retail outlets, including a Newberry’s. Currently, a trendy store called Express occupies the original entrance and foyer area. Although this theatre is right there before your eyes, you need to look for it up and behind the Thames Street retail entrance. It is only a few feet from the rear of the Opera House on Touro Street and just a stone’s throw from the Jane Pickens (Strand). A scenery tower from vaudeville and theatrical days rises from the rear. Early Newport city directories list the street number as 146 rather than 144.
“High class vaudeville and latest motion pictures,” boasts a directory ad.
Here are five photos I took of the exterior.
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR with rear of Opera House on right.
FIVE
Here is a link to a site with an old postcard showing the Bijou Theatre on the right.
And in this photo I took you can see that same spot today, 192 Thames Street. I cannot ascertain if anything of the original theatre remains. But I doubt it.
Ken, the Newport city directories I checked today from the 30s and 40s all list it as 76 Broadway, and the number on the apartment building itself is also 76. Why would it go from 76 to 22 and then back to 76? 22 would bring you near Washington Square, but the Paramount is a bit further up. 76 Broadway was also the office of the Shea’s theatre chain. Must have been in the theatre.
Contrary to what I wrote above and much to my surprise, I discovered today that the Paramount was NOT demolished. It was merely gutted (if that makes us happy) and converted to a HUD apartment building. Here are photos of the building at 76 Broadway:
The first photo shows the right side of the former theatre and its scenery tower from the days of vaudeville.
The second photo shows the left side. If you look closely you can see how the windows were cut out of the side of the brick building because of the difference in color in the grouting between the bricks.
The third photo shows the entrance to the apartment building, set back, with a kind of patio replacing the original theatre entrance and lobby.
The fourth photo shows newer brick contrasting with older brick as you move up toward the roof.
I had been frequenting the Salvation Army Thrift Shop at the rear of the building for years, including today, without realizing that this was the old Paramount Theatre of Newport! How could I be so unperceptive??? I never actually set foot in the Paramount, but remember seeing its marquee during my teen years.
I would kill to see any surviving photos of the old theatre entrance or the interior.
This is a photo of the Opera House in Newport, RI, with its recently restored/recreated façade.
And this second photo shows the rear of the Colonial Theatre (left) in close proximity with the rear/side of the Opera House (right).
Here is a photo of the Jane Pickens I just took. Notice that to the right, between the two white buildings, can be seen the rear scenery tower of the old Colonial Theatre on Thames Street. In all my years of visiting Newport, I never paid any attention to that. The Colonial, Jane Pickens (Strand) and Opera House are less than 200 feet from each other.
Correction on above reference to the Paramount: it is not “long demolished”—-just gutted to form an apartment building at 76 Broadway. More photos shall appear on the Paramount, Opera House, and Colonial sites.
In this old postcard the theatre on the left is the Haines.
Which Waterville theatre is shown in this old postcard?
Former president Bill Clinton mentions the Malco, as well as the other town theatre, the Paramount, on page 36 of his autobiography “My Life.”
Re: “art house cache.” “Le notti di Cabiria,” on which “Sweet Charity” was based, is one of Fellini’s most magnificent and enduring masterpieces, with wife Giulietta Masina in her finest role, in my opinion and the opinion of many.
Here is a postcard from the 1950s showing the Hotel del Prado and, to the right, the Cine Prado.
And a 1960 photo of the Academy.
Here is an old postcard showing the Academy on the right side of the street.
KenRoe, just as I said above. So that must be it. “The Mad Dancer.”
Here is a photo of the Crown, or at least the right side of it, from an old postcard that features the court house/police station to the right of it. Expand the image for better resolution.
Here’s a wild stab. The second line looks like it could be “(The)Mad Dancer,” a 1925 film. The first line might be performers in the film, but I couldn’t connect the Imdb-listed credits with anything resembling the first line. But I am almost certain the second line reads “in Mad ——–”.
Charles, what do the pictures in that link have to do with the Plaza on 58th Street???
Thanks for the tip. I will pursue that the next time I am in Manhattan. And I know Italian.
Thanks for clarifying the exact location of this incarnation of “Cinema Verdi,” which was seems to have been more like a peripatetic forum for Italian movies. In looking at ads of this movie theatre, I wasn’t quite sure which side of Eighth Avenue it was on. A New York Times ad from April 25, 1947 for the Arena Cinema Verdi promotes the American premiere of a movie called “The Little Martyr,” described in the ad as “a pulsating drama of childhood.” This was in fact director Vittorio De Sica’s first truly great film, the 1943 “I bambini ci guardano”…which later was retitled to a more accurate “The Children Are Watching Us.” Incredibly, it was not reviewed by the New York Times at the time! Only four months later De Sica’s “Shoe Shine” would open at the Avenue on 6th Avenue to ecstatic reviews. If critics (and audiences) had been aware of De Sica’s perevious film on childhood, shown recently two blocks away, they might have made some connections to and references to that earlier masterpiece. Not until a 1985 16mm run at the Thalia Soho did the Times review it for Richard Schwarz’s presentation. The film, however, had already circulated in 16mm prints for non-theatrical showings and had already had other archival showings at film museums.
I shall take a peek at the place today.
Joe, I agree with your enthusiasm for the Apollo in its heyday. They aften got foreign films that were shelved, barely distributed, etc., in addition to major releases. In short, they had fascinating never-know-what-to-expect programming. (See my posting above, the very first on this page!) I read somewhere that the Apollo got a lot of patronage from deaf or hearing-impaired persons, because they almost always showed foreign language films with subtitles, enabling non-hearers to follow the dialog.
Roland, you say that you attended rock concerts here in the late 1960s and that the address changed to 708 Broad Street as it remains today. You mean to say that the building is still there???