Kent Cinemas

495 Main Street,
East Greenwich, RI 02818

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Previous Names: Kent Theatre

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Kent Cinemas

The Kent Theatre began its life after World War II when the building that housed a USO recreational facilty was converted into a theatre. Along with the Greenwich Theatre further down Main Street, it played recent American releases. The main auditorium was eventually twinned, with a separate third cinema on the right side of the lobby also being added and it was renamed Kent Cinemas

The theatre could not compete for product with the opening of the nearby multiplex, the Showcase Warwick Cinemas, in the 1980’s and it was forced to shut down later in the decade. The theatre was razed in the early-1990’s.

Contributed by Gerald A. DeLuca

Recent comments (view all 10 comments)

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on March 17, 2004 at 8:19 am

The theatre also used to program occasional foreign films in the smallest of the three cinemas. Imports were otherwise rarely screened in the area.

hardbop
hardbop on March 31, 2005 at 12:04 pm

I grew up in Rhode Island and spent many afternoons at the Kent. It was a single cinema and at some point became a triplex and I was sad when it closed after the Showcase closed.

I remember as a kid when they must have revived “Around the World in 80 Days” and seeing it at the Kent. However, there was a car accident that knocked down a telephone pole and the power went out. The theatre went dark half-way through the movie and we had to go back the next day to see the film again.

hardbop
hardbop on May 20, 2005 at 9:05 am

Like the Greenwich, a few blocks away on Main Street, thank the Showcase Cinemas for the demise of this theatre. I think the last film I caught here was FLASHDANCE. I also remember seeing THE PRINCE OF THE CITY here as well as during college, the summer of ‘70, to catch THE DEER HUNTER here.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on July 25, 2005 at 10:24 am

The Kent was demolished in 1995. The site is now a Centreville Bank with front parking area.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on August 7, 2005 at 2:07 am

I caught a second-run showing here in July of 1982 of Francesco Rosi’s lyrical Three Brothers. At this point they were showing the occasional well-reviewed or well-performing foreign films on the smallest of their screens. The Swedish My Life as a Dog ran here also. And I just found a news blurb about a free screening in December, 1981 of François Truffaut’s 1958 The 400 Blows, part of the Kent County Mental Health Center’s series on Cinema and Mental Health: Exploring Emotional Crisis Through Film. These occasional showings of foreign-language films (there were a few others) were probably the only ones ever in the town of East Greenwich. East Greenwich currently has no movie theatres. The Showcase Warwick Cinemas effectively ended that.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on June 30, 2006 at 12:33 am

The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook listed the seating capacity as 800.

drivinmanfl
drivinmanfl on December 6, 2006 at 3:45 pm

My father showed the movies in cinema 2 from the early 70s until Kent closed. Sometimes I would go with him and sit up in the projection booth with him so I could watch the movies for free!! I was only a kid then, so I thought it was the greatest thing. Was cool how he worked the projectors because movies were on reels back then. He had to get the second one ready before the first one ran out, and not miss a beat in the movies. One time, the second reel didn’t start correctly, so there was about a 5 minute break in the movie until he got it going. I don’t remember what the movie was, though. I do remember seeing a Rocky and Star Wars double feature at the Hilltop Drive-In a couple of miles further down Post Road. I may live in Florida now, and my parents live in Tennessee, but we all have fond memories of little ol' RI!!

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on October 22, 2007 at 5:11 am

In the summer of 1970 the single-screen Kent was triplexed. Its main auditorium was split in two resulting in one cinema in the front, one in the rear. A third smaller cinema was added on the right side of the building.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 13, 2009 at 12:19 am

Breaking news from the Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle, dated 9/18/63:
http://tinyurl.com/o3oa5r

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on January 28, 2021 at 4:29 am

The Kent Theatre opened to the public on December 17, 1947 with “State Fair” and “Behind Green Lights.” See announcement and opening day ads in the photo section.

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