This was one of my favorite theaters. I went there for the first time in 1981, I believe, for a double bill of DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW OUT. I saw many double features there, especially horror and action films. DON’T OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS, EXTERMINATOR II, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, TERROR IN THE AISLES, HOUSE OF EXORCISM, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT and so many more!
In 1986, this theater screened the United States theatrical premiere of Dario Argento’s INFERNO. It was a 16mm print, and the film was reviewed that day in the New York Times since it was the first U.S. showing. It played for a two-day run (a Friday and Saturday). I saw it on Friday. It was awesome!
Up until 2009, the marquee still read QUAIL CREEK CINEMA. At some point during 2009, the word cinema was either removed or covered up.
Today, you can still see the faded red letters QUAIL CREEK which represent the top of the marquee. I am not referring to a traditional marquee above the theater entrance (the actual theater has been demolished), but the one that stood at the end of the sidewalk so cars driving by could read what was screening.
I believe the exterior marquee is still visible. I have driven by it several times. Building is boarded up. I will try to take a photo next time I am in the area.
I saw many films here. The first I can remember was a matinee of ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES in 1971. I subsequently saw NIGHT WATCH, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, ROCKY, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, ST. ELMO’S FIRE, AT THE EARTH’S CORE, SKYJACKED, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE WIZARD OF OZ, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS and many, many more.
Went by on Monday the 18th and it was open. I was impressed by how much of the original cinema is visible. You can see the proscenium arch, the stairs leading up to the balcony (although well blocked, the balcony area, the windows of the projection booth, and the detail along the sides of the auditorium. Must have been quite a beauty in it’s day!
I walked by the Westlake on Tuesday (June 12) and the gate was pulled down over the entrance. This was mid-afternoon. Perhaps the swap meet is only open on weekends?
I went to this place once, in February of 2002. There appeared to be a monitor walking up and down the aisles to see to it that no funny business took place among the patrons (or perhaps he was an overtly curious customer). There was one couple there, but it was mostly single men. It was very run down, but you could see how it was once a nice theater. They were video projecting at the time, and when one tape ended the guy forgot to start the next one. One of the customers got out of his seat and told him the movie ended. I think there was just one guy working there, who appeared to have a very bad skin condition, and possibly a monitor.
I lived in this area very briefly (a few months in 2004) and I drove by the Westlake Theater sign many times, wondering “what might have been.” It seems like this was once a beautiful area, but it was terribly depressing in 2004. That would be awesome if it could be restored.
The Tikki is a frightening place. I stumbled upon it while very briefly living in Los Angeles in 2004. FIrst of all, it is the BRIGHTEST adult theater I have ever been in. Walking in from the bright California sunshine, your eyes need no time to adjust…it’s so damn bright. Perhaps the management does that to keep an eye on things. The crowd is sparse and scary. Seems like many go there to sleep. The volume of the videos is cranked up so loud, I had a headache by the time I left. The admission was very cheap, less than ten dollars if I remember correctly. I don’t think a couple would feel very comfortable here at all.
This was a fun place to see double bills in the 70’s. I recall seeing SUSPIRIA plus THE OMEN II, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME plus THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, HALLOWEEN plus CARRIE. I think the first film I saw there as a child was THE LOVE BUG but I may have slept through it…
I recall seeing a newspaper advertisement as late as 1985, but I was living out of state by then. They were showing a triple bill of HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and SUPERSTITION.
This was a sad closing, since it was Cumberland’s only cinema. I cannot count how many times I went there. Many screenings I attended there included a triple-bill of MARK OF THE VAMPIRE with THE MASK OF FU MANCHU with DR. JEKYL AND MR. HYDE, SUSPIRIA, CREEPERS, THE DRAGON DIES HARD, GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER, a double bill of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE plus ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, and so many more. I cannot recall the last time I went there, but it was either CREEPERS or THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
I attended many screenings here as a child. Mon and Tues were often “dollar” nights. I remember seeing, on this screen: THE WAY WE WERE, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, FUNNY LADY, COUNT DRACULA AND HIS VAMPIRE BRIDE, THE MAIN EVENT, UFO TARGET: EARTH plus THE DEVIL’S TRIANGLE, SILENT NIGHT EVIL NIGHT, WESTWORLD and many, many more. The last film I recall seeing there was AGNES OF GOD in 1985.
Benjamin, that was not the management’s idea to play music from the film before it started. The original “roadshow” prints of 2001 featured an “overature” that was to be played before the film started.
A friend of mine recalls seeing PSYCHO here in the 1960’s.
I saw movies at the Liberty several times between 1986 and 1988 or 89. What impressed me so much about the theater was its size, and it’s two massive (but closed) balconies. A trip to the men’s room was always scary. It was very cavernous, and I always feared something ominous went down there (but I never witnessed anything).
There was a fascinating artilce in the Village Voice this summer on the Polk, the owner, his employee, and his regretful decison to sell it. I stumbled upon the Polk around 1996 while apartment-hunting. I was curious, so I checked it out. The outside area was filled with movie posters for mainstream movies, and curiously, they all were from 1983. Inside, they were showing porn. The theatre was very dirty, and I was afraid of what my pants were gonna look like or smell like after sitting down. There were very few patrons inside. Some of them were sleeping. I got the impression it might have really been a beautiful theatre back in its day, but there were hardly any hints of that remaining. As I left, I scratched my head wondering how such a place could stay in business.
I went to the Stadium many times as a child. In fact, the earliest film I recall seeing in a hardtop (my parents had previously taken me to drive-ins) was at the Stadium, and it was a matinee of DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (Rated G – which would never happen today). I saw many films there in the late 60’s and early 70’s (BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, DIE MONSTER DIE, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, YOG MONSTER FROM SPACE, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, MAD MONSTER PARTY). During the min-70’s, for a brief time, the Stadium showed soft-core adult films. The manager gave me access to a storage room (located under the balcony) and allowed me to look through a file cabinet full of one-sheets and stills, and let me take what I wanted. The last film I saw at the Stadium was WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in 1989. The theater was in a state of decay at the time, the projector lamps had not been changed in a while, seates were torn, etc. I no longer live in RI and have not been back since, but I hear it’s quite beautiful today.
As a small child, my mother often when shopping or to have her hair done in the Monument Square area of Woonsocket. I remember staring at the Park with fascinating. It was closed and boarded up at the time (this would have been the late 1960’s or early 1970’s). I would walk around the ticket booth, and press my face against the doors trying to peer in through the slats of wood. My mother told me the Park had two balconies, but I could not picture what a balcony was. My aunt had worked there as an usherette. Shortly before the fire in 1975, I recall reading a newspaper article that some people had broken into the Park (apparently it was not too difficult to do that in the rear of the building), then, once inside, hammered through a wall to break into an adjacent store with the intentions of robery (I believe it was a jewelry store).
This was one of my favorite theaters. I went there for the first time in 1981, I believe, for a double bill of DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW OUT. I saw many double features there, especially horror and action films. DON’T OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS, EXTERMINATOR II, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, TERROR IN THE AISLES, HOUSE OF EXORCISM, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT and so many more!
Sad. I now live in that neighborhood an never knew it was a former movie theater.
In 1986, this theater screened the United States theatrical premiere of Dario Argento’s INFERNO. It was a 16mm print, and the film was reviewed that day in the New York Times since it was the first U.S. showing. It played for a two-day run (a Friday and Saturday). I saw it on Friday. It was awesome!
This was one of the few (if not only) cinemas to show the controversial SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT in Rhode Island.
Up until 2009, the marquee still read QUAIL CREEK CINEMA. At some point during 2009, the word cinema was either removed or covered up.
Today, you can still see the faded red letters QUAIL CREEK which represent the top of the marquee. I am not referring to a traditional marquee above the theater entrance (the actual theater has been demolished), but the one that stood at the end of the sidewalk so cars driving by could read what was screening.
I believe the exterior marquee is still visible. I have driven by it several times. Building is boarded up. I will try to take a photo next time I am in the area.
I saw many films here. The first I can remember was a matinee of ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES in 1971. I subsequently saw NIGHT WATCH, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, ROCKY, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, ST. ELMO’S FIRE, AT THE EARTH’S CORE, SKYJACKED, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE WIZARD OF OZ, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS and many, many more.
Not sure Ken mc what that photo is of – not the Sunset. It was still open in 2002 when I went there.
Can a leveled floor be un-leveled?
Went by on Monday the 18th and it was open. I was impressed by how much of the original cinema is visible. You can see the proscenium arch, the stairs leading up to the balcony (although well blocked, the balcony area, the windows of the projection booth, and the detail along the sides of the auditorium. Must have been quite a beauty in it’s day!
I walked by the Westlake on Tuesday (June 12) and the gate was pulled down over the entrance. This was mid-afternoon. Perhaps the swap meet is only open on weekends?
I went to this place once, in February of 2002. There appeared to be a monitor walking up and down the aisles to see to it that no funny business took place among the patrons (or perhaps he was an overtly curious customer). There was one couple there, but it was mostly single men. It was very run down, but you could see how it was once a nice theater. They were video projecting at the time, and when one tape ended the guy forgot to start the next one. One of the customers got out of his seat and told him the movie ended. I think there was just one guy working there, who appeared to have a very bad skin condition, and possibly a monitor.
I lived in this area very briefly (a few months in 2004) and I drove by the Westlake Theater sign many times, wondering “what might have been.” It seems like this was once a beautiful area, but it was terribly depressing in 2004. That would be awesome if it could be restored.
The Tikki is a frightening place. I stumbled upon it while very briefly living in Los Angeles in 2004. FIrst of all, it is the BRIGHTEST adult theater I have ever been in. Walking in from the bright California sunshine, your eyes need no time to adjust…it’s so damn bright. Perhaps the management does that to keep an eye on things. The crowd is sparse and scary. Seems like many go there to sleep. The volume of the videos is cranked up so loud, I had a headache by the time I left. The admission was very cheap, less than ten dollars if I remember correctly. I don’t think a couple would feel very comfortable here at all.
This was a fun place to see double bills in the 70’s. I recall seeing SUSPIRIA plus THE OMEN II, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME plus THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, HALLOWEEN plus CARRIE. I think the first film I saw there as a child was THE LOVE BUG but I may have slept through it…
I recall seeing a newspaper advertisement as late as 1985, but I was living out of state by then. They were showing a triple bill of HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and SUPERSTITION.
This was a sad closing, since it was Cumberland’s only cinema. I cannot count how many times I went there. Many screenings I attended there included a triple-bill of MARK OF THE VAMPIRE with THE MASK OF FU MANCHU with DR. JEKYL AND MR. HYDE, SUSPIRIA, CREEPERS, THE DRAGON DIES HARD, GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER, a double bill of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE plus ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, and so many more. I cannot recall the last time I went there, but it was either CREEPERS or THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
I attended many screenings here as a child. Mon and Tues were often “dollar” nights. I remember seeing, on this screen: THE WAY WE WERE, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, FUNNY LADY, COUNT DRACULA AND HIS VAMPIRE BRIDE, THE MAIN EVENT, UFO TARGET: EARTH plus THE DEVIL’S TRIANGLE, SILENT NIGHT EVIL NIGHT, WESTWORLD and many, many more. The last film I recall seeing there was AGNES OF GOD in 1985.
Benjamin, that was not the management’s idea to play music from the film before it started. The original “roadshow” prints of 2001 featured an “overature” that was to be played before the film started.
A friend of mine recalls seeing PSYCHO here in the 1960’s.
I saw movies at the Liberty several times between 1986 and 1988 or 89. What impressed me so much about the theater was its size, and it’s two massive (but closed) balconies. A trip to the men’s room was always scary. It was very cavernous, and I always feared something ominous went down there (but I never witnessed anything).
There was a fascinating artilce in the Village Voice this summer on the Polk, the owner, his employee, and his regretful decison to sell it. I stumbled upon the Polk around 1996 while apartment-hunting. I was curious, so I checked it out. The outside area was filled with movie posters for mainstream movies, and curiously, they all were from 1983. Inside, they were showing porn. The theatre was very dirty, and I was afraid of what my pants were gonna look like or smell like after sitting down. There were very few patrons inside. Some of them were sleeping. I got the impression it might have really been a beautiful theatre back in its day, but there were hardly any hints of that remaining. As I left, I scratched my head wondering how such a place could stay in business.
I went to the Stadium many times as a child. In fact, the earliest film I recall seeing in a hardtop (my parents had previously taken me to drive-ins) was at the Stadium, and it was a matinee of DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (Rated G – which would never happen today). I saw many films there in the late 60’s and early 70’s (BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, DIE MONSTER DIE, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, YOG MONSTER FROM SPACE, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, MAD MONSTER PARTY). During the min-70’s, for a brief time, the Stadium showed soft-core adult films. The manager gave me access to a storage room (located under the balcony) and allowed me to look through a file cabinet full of one-sheets and stills, and let me take what I wanted. The last film I saw at the Stadium was WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in 1989. The theater was in a state of decay at the time, the projector lamps had not been changed in a while, seates were torn, etc. I no longer live in RI and have not been back since, but I hear it’s quite beautiful today.
As a small child, my mother often when shopping or to have her hair done in the Monument Square area of Woonsocket. I remember staring at the Park with fascinating. It was closed and boarded up at the time (this would have been the late 1960’s or early 1970’s). I would walk around the ticket booth, and press my face against the doors trying to peer in through the slats of wood. My mother told me the Park had two balconies, but I could not picture what a balcony was. My aunt had worked there as an usherette. Shortly before the fire in 1975, I recall reading a newspaper article that some people had broken into the Park (apparently it was not too difficult to do that in the rear of the building), then, once inside, hammered through a wall to break into an adjacent store with the intentions of robery (I believe it was a jewelry store).