Here are two photos, one relatively recent one of the exterior, another of the program booklet (front) of the December 3, 1971 presentation of Rudolph Valentino’s “The Eagle” with Lee Erwin at the organ console. That program has a B/W photo of the auditorium and stage. View link
This photo of the New Yorker Theater with owner Dan Talbot appeared in The New York Times on April 21, 1972 and is credited to Meyer Liebowitz. View link
This photo and this photo of the lamentably lost Park Theatre/Opera House of Woonsocket were credited to George E. Rooney and published in an article on the Park in The Providence Journal of December 17, 1972.
Roland L.,
Would love to see your photos of local R.I. area theatres. Why not host them on?: http://www.photobucket.com/
Free and easy. I did it. Once you’ve got the photo to Photobucket, simply copy the URL and paste on the appropriate Cinema Treasures page.
Re: Legion of “Decency.” In high school (LaSalle Academy in Providence) we had to take a solemn oath in 1956 not to see “Baby Doll” which was then playing at the Majestic. Lists of films not to see were also read off from the pulpit at Sunday mass in the early 1950s, and we had to take a pledge to avoid them, while standing with our right hand raised! I don’t remember all the titles, but one was the 1951 version of “M”.
Great masterpieces and other significant classics of the cinema on the Legion of Decency no-no condemned list included, among others:
“Breathless"
"Contempt"
"Jules and Jim"
"Knife in the Water"
"L'Avventura"
"La Notte"
"The Silence"
"Viridiana"
"The Balcony"
"Boccaccio ‘70"
"Bell'Antonio"
"Kiss Me, Stupid"
"Never on Sunday"
"Ways of Love” with Rossellini’s “The Miracle”
When “Never on Sunday” was to be shown on the University of R.I. campus, the Catholic chaplain protested vociferously and tried to get it banned.
According to a Providence Journal article on old theatres on October 20, 1996, this silent-era theatre was closed on July 3, 1925. Another later Bijou, formerly called the Westminster, was further up Westminster St. at Snow Street.
After the initial porno stint, the theatre went back to regular films for a time….possibly because of an anti-porno campaign by the town of Johnston. It was then known as the Cinema 6 Twin, because it is located on Route 6. So it was twinned (not noted above.) A newspaper ad from August 1978 lists it with a group of cinemas under the heading “Econo-Cinema Guide.” Other cinemas in that group were Four Seasons, Apple Valley, Meadowbrook, Park. Cinema 6 Twin was showing “The End” and “Coma” on that date.
Porno movies are not shown today (only in private booths.) It is primarily an adult retail emporium and there are no more auditoriums with seating.
This and the Kent were the two movie theatres of East Greenwich for many decades. The Kent has been demolished. Here is a photo I took of the Greenwich. View link
You should be able to find that article on Pawtucket Times microfilm at the city library. I’m not from Pawtucket but from Johnston. I never saw the Bellevue but went to the Strand in the 1950s.
No, I really don’t, and I am not into that kind of music. It should be easy enough to check, though. I walk by there often, past the ghosts of lost theatres.
Yep, true. This is just a cry of anguish, unrelated to the Sutton except in a general way: Boston now has only two commercial movie theatres. Providence has three. Boston-proper has no art houses left. None, zero. Providence has two. But then Providence doesn’t have a Cambridge.
Here are three shots of the Empire taken in 2003. The last shot is of a pre-film piano player.
View link
View link
View link
Here are two photos, one relatively recent one of the exterior, another of the program booklet (front) of the December 3, 1971 presentation of Rudolph Valentino’s “The Eagle” with Lee Erwin at the organ console. That program has a B/W photo of the auditorium and stage.
View link
View link
This photo with blurb was a recollection of the Metropolitan. It appeared in The Providence Journal, date unknown by me.
View link
This small photo with blurb was a recollection of the Capitol Theatre. It appeared in The Providence Journal, date unknown by me.
View link
This photo of the New Yorker Theater with owner Dan Talbot appeared in The New York Times on April 21, 1972 and is credited to Meyer Liebowitz.
View link
Link to my pic of the United.
View link
This photo and this photo of the lamentably lost Park Theatre/Opera House of Woonsocket were credited to George E. Rooney and published in an article on the Park in The Providence Journal of December 17, 1972.
Here are a couple of photos:
View link
View link
This photo shows the marquee of the Powell Theatre (left) at the cable car turnaround at Powell and Market.
View link
Roland L.,
Would love to see your photos of local R.I. area theatres. Why not host them on?:
http://www.photobucket.com/
Free and easy. I did it. Once you’ve got the photo to Photobucket, simply copy the URL and paste on the appropriate Cinema Treasures page.
Shade,
Here it is:
/theaters/6498/
Re: Legion of “Decency.” In high school (LaSalle Academy in Providence) we had to take a solemn oath in 1956 not to see “Baby Doll” which was then playing at the Majestic. Lists of films not to see were also read off from the pulpit at Sunday mass in the early 1950s, and we had to take a pledge to avoid them, while standing with our right hand raised! I don’t remember all the titles, but one was the 1951 version of “M”.
Great masterpieces and other significant classics of the cinema on the Legion of Decency no-no condemned list included, among others:
“Breathless"
"Contempt"
"Jules and Jim"
"Knife in the Water"
"L'Avventura"
"La Notte"
"The Silence"
"Viridiana"
"The Balcony"
"Boccaccio ‘70"
"Bell'Antonio"
"Kiss Me, Stupid"
"Never on Sunday"
"Ways of Love” with Rossellini’s “The Miracle”
When “Never on Sunday” was to be shown on the University of R.I. campus, the Catholic chaplain protested vociferously and tried to get it banned.
Such stupidity!
My list above included several films by Akira Kurosawa, who seemed to love black-and-white wide films (Tohoscope.)
We can add his 1965 “Red Beard.”
According to a Providence Journal article on old theatres on October 20, 1996, this silent-era theatre was closed on July 3, 1925. Another later Bijou, formerly called the Westminster, was further up Westminster St. at Snow Street.
After the initial porno stint, the theatre went back to regular films for a time….possibly because of an anti-porno campaign by the town of Johnston. It was then known as the Cinema 6 Twin, because it is located on Route 6. So it was twinned (not noted above.) A newspaper ad from August 1978 lists it with a group of cinemas under the heading “Econo-Cinema Guide.” Other cinemas in that group were Four Seasons, Apple Valley, Meadowbrook, Park. Cinema 6 Twin was showing “The End” and “Coma” on that date.
Porno movies are not shown today (only in private booths.) It is primarily an adult retail emporium and there are no more auditoriums with seating.
I just noticed an error in “also known as.” This was NOT also known as the Kent. The Kent was about a half-mile down the street.
/theaters/6441/
This and the Kent were the two movie theatres of East Greenwich for many decades. The Kent has been demolished. Here is a photo I took of the Greenwich.
View link
A direct link to my photo of La Tosca.
View link
You should be able to find that article on Pawtucket Times microfilm at the city library. I’m not from Pawtucket but from Johnston. I never saw the Bellevue but went to the Strand in the 1950s.
Marialivia,
Interesting to read this comment and your one on the Strand in Pawtucket. Do you know of any photos of the place?
Here’s a photo of the former Peacedale Theatre.
View link
No, I really don’t, and I am not into that kind of music. It should be easy enough to check, though. I walk by there often, past the ghosts of lost theatres.
Yep, true. This is just a cry of anguish, unrelated to the Sutton except in a general way: Boston now has only two commercial movie theatres. Providence has three. Boston-proper has no art houses left. None, zero. Providence has two. But then Providence doesn’t have a Cambridge.
Yes, I believe the move to the Strand was rather recent.
re: “They occasionally do revivals."
They did a revival of "Cinema Paradiso” a few years ago in the uncut version, but I don’t think it did very well.