Stetson Hall
6 S. Main Street,
Randolph,
MA
02368
6 S. Main Street,
Randolph,
MA
02368
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The Mass. Historical Commission is about to submit a nomination application for Stetson Hall to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. If accepted by the National Park Service, the designation will take effect later this year.
Stetson Hall was on a long list of theaters and halls in MA receiving state licenses as of Oct. 31, 1914. It was in Good condition.
I don’t know— it seems unlikely that they would have constructed a projection booth in the balcony or at rear of the main floor. But it’s possible. I’m guessing that the original auditorium had a projection booth at the center-rear of the balcony.
Any idea whether the restored theatre can accommodate movies?
The Quincy Patriot Ledger had an article about Stetson Hall yesterday. The article mentions that there was an Easter concert on stage there, and there is an art exhibit currently. The auditorium has been restored to its appearance circa-1925, and they hope to add two reproduction chandeliers to the auditorium ceiling.
Stetson Hall opens today. There will be a ceremony at 6PM outside, and 730PM is curtain time for the musical “1776” on stage, the first of 5 performances this month. They are currently looking for a development manager. The effort to rehabilitate the building goes back 12 years, and the total cost has been $2.5M.
The Randolph Theatre Company will present the musical “1776” on stage at Stetson Hall for 5 performances in late-March. This show was listed in a community calender in the Quincy Patriot Ledger for Feb. 26,2009. This means that work on the auditorium and stage is finished and they are ready to use.
According to an article in the Quincy Patriot Ledger today, the restoration work at Stetson Hall is nearly finished. They have even rented out an office suite on the ground floor. A new crimson house curtain has been hung on the stage and lighting trees have been installed on the auditorium sidewalls. Seats have not yet been installed in the balcony. The main floor is flat, polished wood, and will have movable seating, much like Memorial Hall in Plymouth, which has fixed seating in the balcony and portable seating on the flat main floor. An application has been submitted to place Stetson Hall on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lost- yes, that’s Stetson Hall; the theater in up on the second floor.
Restoration work, which began in October, is now well underway and it is hoped that all work will be completed in September 2008.
The weekly “Ledger Archives” section in the Quincy Patriot-Ledger has an item from the Quincy Daily Ledger of Dec. 27, 1907 stating that on Jan. 1, 1908 there would be a concert on stage at Stetson Hall in Randolph presented by the Old Stoughton Musical Society which was then 125 years old.
A report in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of May 30, 2007 states that the Randolph town meeting just authorized $2.15M for the completion of Stetson Hall renovations. The Stetson trustees have previously raised $1.6M. The new funding will come from Randolph’s Community Preservation Act resources. It’s hoped to seek bids for the remaining work during the month of June, award a contract before Labor Day, and then complete the work within 10 months. This work will include the theatre restoration.
I have a hard time imagining them show movies here – the competition from the Showcase Randolph would be, at the least, oppressive. Also, the clientle in this area(I should know, I lived there for fifteen years), or at least what’s moving into the area, would be a poor choice for an art house. It seems unlikely they would ever screen films here, but I suppose anything is possible.
And the restoration is a slow process, at best. Nothing against Mr. Henry Cooke IV, head of the Historical Society, and the project, I believe. Just tough raising money.
There will be offices on the ground floor and the auditorium will be available for meetings, functions, performances, etc. They have a couple of websites with lengthy addresses – you can view them via Google (Stetson Hall Randolph MA ).
Do you know if it will be possible to show movies here again once the renovations are complete? How do the renovators plan to use the auditorium?
The 1927 Film Daily Yearbook lists Stetson Hall in Randolph MA as having 337 seats, open 2 days per week (probably Fri-Sat, or Sat-Sun). The folks who are involved with the restoration effort have some memorabilia – some old ticket stock and an old postcard which shows the theatre interior during the cinema era.