Lincoln Theatre

585 Washington Street,
Quincy, MA 02169

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MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on September 4, 2021 at 4:33 pm

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.”

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on January 31, 2019 at 6:55 pm

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.

DMCK
DMCK on October 28, 2014 at 12:50 pm

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.

TonyPan
TonyPan on November 6, 2011 at 9:11 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).

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

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 5, 2011 at 8:53 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 October 31, 2011 at 5:47 pm

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 October 30, 2011 at 11:39 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 April 13, 2010 at 6:57 pm

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.

CyrusBerman
CyrusBerman on February 21, 2010 at 8:33 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.

ERICKYLLER
ERICKYLLER on June 4, 2008 at 4:52 pm

Not sure when the theater part of the building was shut down but in the basement of the building was a candle pin bowling alley that was being used into the 1970’s that was called Lincoln lanes

shoeshoe14
shoeshoe14 on January 31, 2007 at 9:28 pm

I concur with mb848, I saw a ReMax on the corner. A nice size lot though in the neighborhood.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on March 21, 2006 at 4:50 pm

to mb848- the theatre entrance was in the middle of a 2-story building, and I can’t recall if that building’s north corner was at the corner— I don’t think it was. The MGM Report photo shows a one-story structure next to the south side of the building. That stretch of streetscape seems much more open to me than it was many years ago. The Lincoln had a store on each side of its entrance. The building was probably 60 feet wide or so. (3 bays at 20 feet each).

mb848
mb848 on March 15, 2006 at 12:05 am

To Ron – Was the Lincoln located on a corner lot? 585 Washington street is now a ReMax real estate office. It’s parking lot is on the corner of Washington and Chubbuck streets, and the one story office is next to it. Lot certainly looks big enough to accomodate a smallish theater.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on November 28, 2005 at 3:27 pm

To- mb848- Some years ago while driving down Washington St., I realized that I could no longer figure out where the Lincoln had been. You can take the street address above, 585 Washington, and see if you can find it today. I got that address from the MGM Report. (For a discussion of the MGM Theatre Reports, see under Warner Th. Worcester MA) I recall that the Lincoln remained closed but standing for some time. One of the 1962 Quincy Patriot Ledger articles mentions that the Strand was the last movie theatre in Quincy center still operating (as of 1962); the Art was closed but availble for rent. I’m guessing that the Lincoln also closed around this time.

mb848
mb848 on November 16, 2005 at 12:37 am

Ron, didn’t think this could have been a triplex….interesting that this theater seemed to survive into the 1970’s, though I think you stated on a different post that it closed circa 1960. Interesting how most of the Quincy theaters closed around the same time. Thanks for all of your insight on the Lincoln, Adams, Capitol, Art etc…you have provided a wealth of information that I was not aware of. I’ve been meaning to check the Thomas Crane for the back issues of the Patriot Ledger that you referenced. As for this theater, the Lincoln, do you know what is now on the site? I’m guessing it is where the current Pizza Hut building is located?

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on November 2, 2005 at 4:25 pm

A list of theatres in a 1927 Film Daily shows this house still operating as the Casino Th., open 7 days a week, and having 774 seats. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this house shows that it had been presenting MGM product for at least 15 years, that it was in Good condition, that it was built around 1920, and had 740 seats on the main floor, and 202 in the balcony. The photo is dated Sept 1946 and shows the entrance in the center of a 2-story building with stores on either side. The film on the marquee is Norma Shearer & Robert Taylor in “Escape”. The photo is washed-out and difficult to look at.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on October 31, 2005 at 3:50 pm

I don’t know how “Triplex” got into the above description – it was a single screen house. I never went into it since it was too far from where I lived, and a very long walk or bus ride from Quincy Square. I once talked with someone who ran a retail store near the theatre and he was very interested in leasing it as a classic repertory film theatre. This was sometime in the 1970-era, and the theatre had been dark for awhile at the time. Nothing came of his efforts.