Lincoln Theatre

585 Washington Street,
Quincy, MA 02169

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Casino Theatre

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The theatre was on the west side of Washington Street, halfway between the Southern Artery and the Fore River Bridge. It was constructed around World War I and was originally the Casino Theatre, showing live acts and films. Following a fire in 1935, it was renovated and reopened as the Lincoln Theatre. It became a second-run double-feature house serving the Quincy Point neighborhood. It had a balcony and there was a bowling alley in the basement.

It was closed in the mid-1970’s and was vacant for a while. It was demolished in 1980.

Contributed by Ron Salters

Recent comments (view all 18 comments)

CyrusBerman
CyrusBerman on February 21, 2010 at 12:33 pm

To Ron and MB848 – The realtor’s office is the site of the theatre. My wife’s family used to live next door to the theatre. What is now the parking lot on the corner of Chubbuck St. was a small complex with a small boating supplies shop, a variety store, and a neighborhood bar. Above these businesses were rented rooms mostly occupied by workers from the shipyard. This complex was separated from the theatre by a small alleyway. At the end of the alleyway was the entrance to a bowling alley which was located under the theatre. For this reason it was necessary to go up a flight of stairs from street level to get into the theatre. There were also rooms above the theatre that were rented to shipyard workers.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on April 13, 2010 at 10:57 am

I just noticed Cy Berman’s post above. Does it mean that the bowling alley was at street level, and the theater’s auditorium was up on the second floor? If you walked into the main theater entrance from the sidewalk and purchased a ticket, you then had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the auditorium?? I didn’t realize that.

TonyPan
TonyPan on October 30, 2011 at 4:39 pm

I lived in the area, 6th Ave, the street behind the theater. When I lived there they had matinees for .25, this was the late 60’s. From a street level entrance you would go up an incline to the lobby area and snack bar. The theater was 3 section-2 isle setup down to the screen area. When I attended matiness, the balcony was closed! The bowling alley had 10 lanes. The entrance was from the side alley. It had a long staircase down to the lanes. I was kind of an alleyrat back then and would sneak in to watch or bowl if I found some extra money (again .25 a string and bowling in stocking feet!!) Talking to old friends in the area after I moved away in 1970, small fires and disrepair took it’s toll and the building was taken down by the late 70’s. If you look at the street view from above looking at the r/e building, on the left is a white home which abutted the theater. The curb cut in front of the r/e building is where the alley was. From the late 60’s to the 80’s from the theater all the way down the right to the trees was lost to fires, one with loss of life.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on October 31, 2011 at 10:47 am

TonyPan- very interesting comments. I never went into the Lincoln. Can you clarify the point that Cy Berman made above- he implies that the bowling alley was at street level, and that you had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the main floor of the theater. In other words, the theater was up on the second floor. That doesn’t seem right to me, especially in view of the fact that it had a balcony, but it was only 2 stories tall.

TonyPan
TonyPan on November 5, 2011 at 1:53 pm

The entry to the bowling alley was from the side alley. After entry you would desend a longish stairway to the lanes. This basement was quite deep. When the alley was closed, I would go to the other side of the building from the entrance and peer into a louvered exhust window. I was always amazed by the distance down! I don’t recall any stairs in the theater except to the balcony.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on November 6, 2011 at 10:15 am

TonyPan- your description makes sense. Usually in theaters like this, there was a slight incline from the sidewalk up to the back of the seating, and then there was a downward slope to the screen. The only stairs were the staircases to the balcony. When you moved away in 1970 do you recall if the Lincoln was still open, or had it closed by then?

TonyPan
TonyPan on November 6, 2011 at 1:11 pm

They both were not open all the time. I don’t remember if they were seasonal(no A/C?) or only if they found someone to run them. So I don’t know when it ‘officially’ closed for good. I think the lanes lasted longer than the theater, business wise, but not much longer(fire + water damage to it).

DMCK
DMCK on October 28, 2014 at 5:50 am

Lincoln Theater was closed mid 1970’s.I believe around 1975 or 1976. My Dad lost the business after my Mom Died. It was a wonderful place and I had lots of fun working there.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on January 31, 2019 at 10:55 am

The Lincoln Theatre was the subject of the occasional “Whatever Happened to —–” feature in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of Jan 30, 2019. There is a demolition photo somewhat similar to the one posted here. The copy says that it opened in the WW I era as the Casino Theatre. It was run for over 20 years by J. Alcide “Al” Beaumier, owner of the American Anodizing Corp. in Quincy. A fire led to a renovation and re- opening in 1935. It had a new a.c. system, a system for the hearing-impaired, a mammoth chandelier, and nearly 1,000 seats. Various live events were presented. At one rally during WW 2, $ 151,000 worth of War Bonds were sold. In April 1951, an electrical fire in the bowling alley forced 40 bowlers and 100 movie goers to the street. Al Beaumier was killed in an auto accident in Quebec in 1956. The Lincoln closed in the mid-1970s and was demolished in 1980. A commercial building is on the site today.

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on September 4, 2021 at 8:33 am

Motion Picture Herald, Oct. 6, 1956: “The property housing the Lincoln theatre, Quincy Point, Mass., has been sold to George Abdullah who operates the Tyngsboro drive-in, Tyngsboro, Mass. Theatre was owned by Al Baumiere who was killed in an auto accident early this summer.”

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