Cameo Theatres 1 & 2
14 Columbian Street,
South Weymouth,
MA
02190
14 Columbian Street,
South Weymouth,
MA
02190
5 people
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Refurbishment recently finished on the Cameo. There are larger new seats, new carpets and drapes, paint, etc. Seating capacity was reduced by about 100. The marquee is to be repaired next. The owners still also operate cinemas in Scituate and East Bridgewater, and they both still work at their day jobs. There is an article about the Cameo with 3 color photos in the print edition of the Patriot-Ledger, Mon. May 8, 2017.
Interesting, “The Wizard of Oz” is also the movie that the Somerville Theatre chose for their 100th anniversary this year (in May).
The Cameo celebrated its 75th birthday at 10 AM on Thursday, August 14 with a free showing of “Wizard of OZ”. According to a report in yesterday’s Patriot Ledger, the theater was full. The celebration was held jointly with the Fogg branch of the Weymouth Public Library directly across the street. The Fogg Library has reopened after extensive renovations. (The fine old building can be seen in the Google Street View by rotating 180 degrees). After the movie, the audience trooped across the street for more fun events on the library lawn. The original theater license from 1939 is still posted on the projection booth wall. The article points out that the Cameo’s operators, Bret & Michelle Hardy, also operate cinemas in Scituate and East Bridgewater, and that they have wisely kept their day jobs and thus do not depend on the theaters for income.
South Shore Cinemas(Mill Wharf and Cameo) do not advertise in the Boston Papers. Too expensive and weak circulation. Patriot Cinemas do limited advertising in the Patriot Ledger for the same reasons. If you want to know what is playing you either pick up the phone or go on line. Both have wonderful web sites.
Re- movie ads in newspapers. Circulation figures released a couple days ago show continued substantial decline in readership at the Boston Herald, and, especially, the Boston Globe. Younger people don’t seem to read newspapers and, since younger people make up a large segment of the movie-going audience, there seems to be no point in spending money on newspaper movie ads.
Thanks for posting some updates about the Cameo…yes, we are the new operators. I worked at the Cameo as a manager/projectionist when I was in my teens; nice to be back. We hope a lot of personal attention will help us keep it alive. Regarding advertising…we’re depending on online listings, our own website, weekly e-newsletter, press coverage, word-of-mouth, etc. to spread the word. At the moment we don’t believe the payback would be sufficient to justify the high price of newspaper advertising. Thanks for your interest.
The business news in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of April 26 has an article “Film Buffs – Hanover Couple Seek to Keep Local Community Theaters Thriving” about Bret and Michelle Hardy who started South Shore Cinemas to operate the Cameo, and the Mill Wharf in Scituate. Bret Hardy operated the old Scituate Playhouse in 1999. He continues to work a day job, but his wife works full-time at the theaters and they have a staff of 13 part-timers. They still do not advertise in the Patriot Ledger, but keep the Cameo’s marquee current.
I looked in a current copy of the weekly Weymouth News today. There is an ad for Patriot Cinemas but nothing from South Shore Cinemas.
How will the theatres stay open if people don’t know what is playing in them?
The only movie ads which appear in the Patriot Ledger, and then only during the second half of the week, are for the Showcase in Randolph and for Patriot Cinemas (Hanover Mall 10, Hingham Shipyard 6, and Loring Hall in Hingham). It’s a pale shadow for what the situation was like in the past.
No ads in the Globe for any of the current or former Patriot Cinemas. I checked Friday’s and Sunday’s papers which are the most likely days for movie advertising.
The new operators are not advertising in the Patriot Ledger; Patriot Cinemas still advertises their remaining cinemas.
Yes it is!
1983 Great looking Marquee.
Patriot Cinemas did not renew their lease on the Cameo in Weymouth and the Mill Wharf in Scituate. Bret and Michelle Hardy started a new company, South Shore Cinemas, to run these two theatres as of January 1. Today’s Globe South section has an article about them:
Cinematic revival: Couple’s love of movies inspired them to take over two-screen theaters
The Cameo’s new website is View link .
In ken mc’s August 1983 photo, the Cameo was still a single-screen house. Note how they put on matinees on rainy days in the summer.
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c8daxc
There was a fire in the Cameo Theatre building on Tuesday afternoon which forced the evacuation of the building. But apparently there was no damage to the Cameo itself.
The Cameo is in the background of this photo, circa 1951:
http://tinyurl.com/2as6et
Patriot Cinemas has just started a new admission policy at the Cameo in South Weymouth: $1.99 for all shows, Wed. – Mon.; while Tuesday is “Dollar Night”.
Two recent photos of the Cameo. (Scroll down to “Post #9”.)
The conversion to a twin cinema took place in 1985. The Cameo has a very nice traditional marquee and nice details around the front entrance. Right next door is the old 19th century Fogg Building in whose upper floors was the Fogg Opera House, but that ancient auditorium was remodeled out of existance apparently around 1950. The architects Mowll and Rand also designed the Calvin Th. in Northampton MA, and at least one theatre in Vermont.
Boston Actor: Thanks for the web link and information. Maybe, some day, the theater can be restored. Hope your acting career goes well.
According to this website: http://www.patriotcinemas.com/cameohistory.html
“The Cameo was designed by architects William Luther Mowll and Roger Glade Rand, and built in 1939. In keeping with the local colonial architecture of Boston’s South Shore, the designers recalled the essential elements of design that enter into the ensemble of Old Colony homesteads. The owners of the Cameo wanted to give as much local color and atmosphere as possible, attempting to make their patrons feel as "at home” as possible. Much of the original treatment is still in place.
The lounge/lobby area is more like an old New England parlor than a part of a modern theatre. It is a colonial room with a fireplace, paneled walls, and glazed Chinese red wall paper.
Originally, the Cameo was a single theater with 672 seats. It had a large screen for cinematic events and a stage for live events. The stage area was flanked by two large fluted columns with Doric capitals.
The auditorium’s walls used four-by-four foot squares of natural colored wallboard, stenciled to imitate Chinese wallpaper. When the theatre was converted to a twin in the 1980’s, the walls were lined with conservative red drapes and consistent white paneling."
When I was in Weymouth South Junior High and Weymouth South High Schools, I went with family or friends, often weekly, to see films here for only $1.
The Cameo was a fairly decent, first run, single-screen venue. It had surprisingly good monophonic sound. The last film I saw there as a single was “The Last Great Train Robbery,” with Sean Connery, 1979. As a twin, it’s less enjoyable with its bowling alley auditoriums. But at least it survives. Some of the colonial revival details also survive.