Town Theatre

56 Public Square,
Watertown, NY 13601

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Schine Circuit Inc.

Previous Names: Wonderland Theatre, Palace Theatre

Nearby Theaters

1964 photo.

The Wonderland Theatre was opened in August 1906. In March 1908 it was operated by J.M. Mullin and had 12 shows a day. It had 250 seats. It was remodeled in 1917 and enlarged to be renamed Palace Theatre. In 1928 it became part of the Schine Circuit who operated it until 1949. It was remodeled under new operators and renamed Town Theatre in 1949.

It was demolished in 1976 and an apartment block was built on the site.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 26, 2015 at 2:50 pm

The December 17, 1921, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review reported the sale of three houses operated at Watertown by Papayanakos Brothers to the Robbins Amusement Company of Utica. One of them was the Palace. Papayanakos Brothers had taken over this house in 1907,when it was called the Wonderland Theatre. It was renamed the Palace following a later remodeling (probably after 1916.) Robbins also took over the Olympic and Antique Theatres in Watertown as part of the same deal.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 12, 2017 at 10:52 pm

The July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times (PDF here) has a bit more information about the Wonderland Theatre. The Wonderland opened in August, 1906, and was expanded and renamed the Palace in 1917.

Schine gained control of the house in 1928, then kept it closed until 1933, when it was reopened by an independent operator under a lease. Schine took back the house in 1936, operating it until 1949, when it was sold to Richmor Enterprises, who remodeled and changed the name to the Town Theatre.

The article doesn’t say how long the house operated as the Town, but the building in which it was situated was demolished in 1976. Its site is under the footprint of a large residential building called the Henry Keep Apartments.

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