The Bellevue Drive-In Theatre appears to have closed following the September 14, 1980 triple feature of Darby Lloyd Rains in “Naked Came The Stranger,” Mary Woronov in “Sugar Cookies” and Roberta Pedon in “Delinquent School Girls.”
As to the fire question above, a lightning strike was believed to have caused the big fire causing $75k worth of damage on May 22, 1975 and that was followed by what was likely arson on July 5, 1975 that caused minor damage while the venue was being repaired. The Bellevue reopened in November of 1975 after all repairs were made.
It appears to have closed August 23, 1986 with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” The drive-in was inactive at the time of its January 1989 arson attack. Its remnants were demolished for a project in 1992.
The Pioneer closed on September 5, 1983 at the end of its lease with “Last House on the Left” and “Don’t Look in the Basement.” It was still standing in the early 1990s and deemed to be ready to operate the next day if needed. It wasn’t and was later demolished.
The Holiday closed for the season with “American Ninja” and “Exterminator 2” on September 5, 1985. A tornado took out the screen and the 20-year mark was the start of a permanent holiday. The land was used for other purposes with the remainder of the ozoner demolished.
The Music Hall opened March 1, 1897 with its 1,025 seats occupied. The upper level opera house building housed four retail businesses and a bowling alley on its main floor. It was renamed the Gardner Theater as it would switch away from live music to predominately movies with some vaudeville.
George A. Giles bought the venue and rooted out the entire first floor taking the theater down to ground level in 1919. It lost its permit to operate in 1921 and was refreshed again - this time with fire egress and safety more in mind.
The rebranded Uptown Theatre - essentially the Gardner Theater’s sound era moniker - launched on December 25, 1929 by the George A. Giles Circuit. The opening film was “Rio Rita” using the Western Electric sound on film technology. In March of 1947, the venue celebrated with a Golden Anniversary commemorating the Music Hall’s opening in 1897. Smith Management closed the venue in early 1953.
The White City Shopping Plaza was opened in 1963 theatre-less anchored by a Bradlee’s Department Store, an Iandoli’s Supermarket, and a Touraine’s women’s fashion store. Stanley-Warner Theatres designed a luxury suburban cinema with 70mm projection and stereo sound capability with more comfortable seating and lots of free parking - all advantages that this era of cinema had over aging downtown theatres.
The freestanding, 1,070 seat White City Cinema opened January 29, 1965 to the public with “Mary Poppins” a day after an invitation-only launch. The theatre was built to the plans of Drew Eberson (an architectural exterior sketch is in photos) who initially had drawn an auditorium with a capacity of 1,300 and reduced with wider aisles and different seat selection.
The theatre was twinned in the Summer of 1977. Half of the cinema was later destroyed by fire on January 18, 1985. The - then - Redstone Showcase Cinemas operated theatre closed for months before reopening five months later in June of 1985 as a rebuilt triplex. The theatre survived until closure on March 25, 2001. The White City Shopping Center demolished the vacant theatre not long after.
The terms of the independent operation of the Cinema post-Carmike was one year beginning October 5, 2009 for $1,500 monthly paid to property owner, Western Illinois University. It was operated by the Rialto folks on a sub-run $3 price point policy.
June 22, 1950 grand opening ad with “Slave Girl” and “Mexican Hayride” in photos. Closed just after its 50th Anniversary with a triple feature on September 3, 2000 with “X-Men,” “The Replacements,” and “Bless This Child.”
Closed May 1, 1999 with three screens playing: “The Matrix,” “Lost and Found,” and “Life” splitting a screen with “ Doug’s First Movie.” The operation moved to Timpany Plaza.
The Bijou closed in May of 1916 with its seats sent to Springfield, Massachusetts and the building was demolished in June of 1916. It was primarily a vaudeville house with films in the mix every performance.
The Lyric Theatre opened on February 12, 1914 with vaudeville and Mutual films sandwiched between the acts. It also housed the Grange Hall which was used for meetings. The Lyric stayed true to having vaudeville over films closing November 30, 1933. It had short-term success with Columbia films in 1934 before switching to live plays in 1935. In the 1940s, it was a burlesque house with films in the mix. It appears to have closed in September of 1948 for its refresh and rebranding.
Saxony Theatres totally revamped the Lyric for $100,000 to the architectural plans of Louis Chiaramonte of Boston. It seated 1,000 patrons with its Grand Opening on February 22, 1949 with “Command Decision” a day after an invitation only preview of the same film. The upstairs was still in use as a fraternal hall.
The Saxon closed in 1970. It got one more chance reopening on February 16, 1972 as the Estre Cinema. It closed “temporarily” after the December 3, 1972 show of “Carry On, Doctor” promising a Christmas week return. All we could find was a lump of coal.
The Fitchburg Theatre was opened February 7, 1929 with Harry Rodgers at the Wurlitzer console and the sound film, “In Old Arizona” supported by five vaudeville acts. It was equipped with widescreen equipment at least by 1957 to present CinemaScope titles.
On its 40th Anniversary it played Robert Mitchum in “Secret Ceremony” on February 7, 1969 - but that ceremony wasn’t announced remaining a secret. The Fitchburg’s continuous run appears to have ended November 7, 1970 with “The Last Grenade” and “Girly.”
On July 13, 1971, it got new life in the porno chic era of cinema exhibition as an adult theatre beginning with “Construction Gang” and “How Many Times?” It began marketing its films as “XXXX rated” - a strength test in marketing for unrated adult films that were just a little more adult than the competitors' titles.
The operation was closed at least twice and the newspaper and theatre agreed to stop advertising the titles and the photos associated with the XXXX films. And at some point they claimed to be showing “X-rated” - rated - films in 1974 allowing their reopening. That seems to have ended in March of 1975. Photographic& Digital Arts
On June 30, 1975, the venue was relit as the Family Theatre beginning with “Doc Savage.” Promotions were so solid for the reopening that it was robbed of its candy the night before its launch. It tried everything - chopsocky double features, family features and $1 discount pricing for all shows - but there was no audience for it. The Family Theatre closed on December 23, 1975.
In September of 1977, it was relit as the Cinema Showcase showing mainstream Hollywood fare still advertising into 1980. In 1980, Bill Hanney turned it into a live events hall under the name of Fitchburg Cinema and changed to the Fitchburg Theatre. It most famously hosted (separate) concerts by Woody Herman, Johnny Winter, and Devo - the later which was broadcast by WBCN. In 1981 and 1982, Hanney mixed film and live traveling shows, as well as some music acts. In 1983 and 1984, it was advertising as the Family Theatre once again showing films full time. In 1985, it was triplexed becoming the Fitchburg Cinemas 1-2-3 operating into 1988 before closing and missing its 60th Anniversary.
In the 2020s, a black box theatre concept failed and the venue was set to become a mixed use housing project.
The Jerry Lewis Cinema Brockton opened on January 19, 1973 with “The Valachi Papers” operating under that name briefly advertising just three weeks though likely running a bit longer even though Jerry Lewis' Network Cinema had gone out of business. It became the independently-named and operated Brockton East Twin Cinema in January of 1974 through September 9, 1982.
The venue expanded to remain commercially viable in the multiplex era becoming the Brockton East Cinemas 1-5 on September 10, 1982 through August 24, 1989. It reopened on November 29, 1991 as the Brockton East Cinemas - with all seats $3.50 at all times closing at the expiry of a five year leasing agreement on August 22, 1996.
CMCI relit the venue as the Crescent Cinemas on June 23, 2000 with ads discontinued on September 30, 2000. An opening and closing title was “Gone in 60 Seconds” which was about right. In 2004, it was the Kingdom Church - the first in a line of houses of worship to reduce the property’s taxing liability.
Its recommended listing name should be as the Brockton East Cinemas as the Crescent Cinema operation was just two months and the Brockton name plates (Twin and 5-plex) represent 15 years.
The Randolph Shopping Center project dated back to the 1950s. It opened on October 1, 1964 theatre-less with a W.T. Grant and a BPM (Brockton Public Market) as its anchors. In a refresh, Patriot Cinemas added the Randolph Cinema I & II if it pledged to the Randolph selectmen to not show smut films like “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.” A contentious Sunday ice cream sales license and Sunday entertainment license also appear to have been granted. The Randolph Cinema I & II opened as a discount, sub-run house on November 17, 1978 with “Grease” and “An Unmarried Woman” at the $1.25 price point.
Patriot closed the venue on September 11, 1988 at the expiry of its ten-year lease with “Tucker” and “Clean and Sober.” Patriot also closed the Queen Anne Cinema - its last two discount cinemas at that point citing the impact of VCRs and home video rental on second-run fare.
The theater’s address was at 33 Memorial Parkway it was recaptured for other retail purposes.
The General Cinema Hanover Mall I, II, III, IV operned on September 26, 1973 - ad in photos. The theatre appears to have opted out at the 15-year mark on September 11, 1988. If that is the case, they likely renegotiated the back end of the contract or they did a refresh (the latter is more likely) as they resumed advertising on October 21, 1988 in some papers and likely forgetting to inform (or pay) the Boston paper. They then closed at the end of lease on Labor Day, September 7, 1998 after 25 years of service.
Patriot Cinemas relaunched with 6 screens and 1,100 seats on December 21, 2001 as the Hanover Mall 1-6 on a 10-year leasing agreement. On March 30, 2001, the venue had expanded to 10 theatres with stadium seating in a three-month refresh that occurred with the venue in continuous service. Hanover Mall was closed in January 2020 with demolition scheduled to start soon thereafter. Patriot confirmed that the theatre would remain open even in the demolition and rebuilding of the complex as the new Hanover complex wouldn’t be ready until around 2022. But when COVID-19 occurred, the venue closed in March of 2020 and became part of the demolition plans.
General Cinema operated here from its launch April 15, 1965 to expiry of its 30-year leasing period in May of 1995. That included the October 7, 1970 quad relaunch as the Westgate Mall Cinema Centre I, II, III & IV through 1978. In the Fall of 1978 to 1995 as General Cinema Westgate Mall.
Entertainment Cinemas took on the venue as the Entertainment Cinemas Westgate Mall on May 26, 1995. They operated there until 1997 when Hoyts acquired the chain operating here as Hoyt’s Westgate Mall Cinema 7 to early 2004. Northeast Cinemas operated the venue as the Westgate Mall Cinema 7 from March 19, 2004 to closing here on November 4, 2004.
Sack Cinema Brockton 1 & 2 opened March 25, 1977 for Sack Theatres. Name and ownership drifts are reflected above (Sack Cinema Brockton 1•2•3, Sack Cinema Brockton 1•2•3•4, USA Cinemas Brockton 4, Loews Brockton Theatre, Entertainment Cinemas West Brockton 1-6, and Hoyts West Brockton Cinema 6).
Hoyts closed here on July 19, 1999 - likely undecided as to reopen with 8 or 16 screens; but ultimately leaving it closed permanently. Its last service was as a host of the 50th Annual Jimmy Fund Theatre Collection program in which the proceeds were donated to the Jimmy Fund. It may have stayed open to honor that commitment going out classy.
Markell Amusement Co. had built the Weymouth Theatre in 1927 and continued building here on East Adams. Just prior to launching, however, the city fought the opening of the $40,000 Milton Theatre in January of 1928. The theatre passed and opened in 1928 before closing as a silent house in 1930.
Varney & Gravy took over the Milton Theatre in 1931 creating Adams Theatre Corporation of East Milton that April. They first started advertising films at the Adams Theatre in May of 1931. It was renamed the State Theatre under new operators in 1933. The venue appears to have closed at the end of its 30 year-leasing period.
New operators refreshed it and rebranded it as the Milton Art Theatre. It opened on January 10, 1957 with “Vitelloni” and a string of art films direct from Boston after playdates there On September 23, 1964, it changed programming to more Hollywood hits as the Milton Cinema with “The Pink Panther.” It ran as a sub-run discount house until end of another 30-year leasing period on September 23, 1987.
The Milton got one more chance with a new set of operators but they didn’t make it too far. John McDonald Jr. and Frank Santoro took on the venue as a proposed playhouse but ran it as a movie house until getting the plan together. It opened with “Stakeout” on November 18, 1987 closing permanently on December 30, 1988. They returned the property to the City. It first became a coffee house with performance space before being turned into a restaurant.
The New Braintree Theatre opened on April 23, 1926 with a talent show and Clara Bow in “The Keeper of the Bees” supported by Alice Day in “Love and Kisses.” It celebrated the 1961 New Year by closing permanently following showtimes of “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” and “The Subterraneans.” An article months later said the space had been recaptured for an arcade and offices.
The Regent Theatre was at 440 Hancock Street in North Quincy’s Norfolk Downs neighborhood and opened by New England Theatre Corp. (aka NETOCO). Its Colonial style architecture wowed on December 14, 1925 launching with Tom Meighan in “Irish Luck” and Norma Shearer in “Slave of Fashion” supported by a newsreel and comedy short on the big screen.
Per the comment above, the men’s lounge was on that flight of stairs as well as the projection booth. The all reserved seating gave way over time. Late in 1929, NETOCO installed Vitaphone sound on disc to keep the venue viable. In April of 1930, NETOCO was subsumed as Public NETOCO and then Paramount.
In 1948, the Paramount decree was entered into with Paramount unspooling a lot of of its subsidiaries and O&O theater. In 1949, the venue was taken on by American Theatres Corporation (ATC). On January 4, 1950, the venue announced a weekends only policy. It closed permanently on December 10, 1950 at the end of a 25-year leasing term with Ann Blyth in “Our Very Own” and Joan Caulfield in “Petty Girl.”
In 1953, the Seymour Stadfeld law group acquired the venue with plans to reshape it. The venue reopened as a bank and a local public library branch.
Auburn had a silent-era theater and, after a long stretch with no theater, used the High School or theatrical operations in 1937/8. The Starlight Theatre was instituted and operated by The Union Oil and Royalty Company likely on a 20-year lease in January of 1940 in a contemporary plaza. They sublet it to private local interest, Ervin W. Rau in July of 1940. It was renamed July 20, 1940 as the Marian beginning with “My Little Chickadee.”
The lease was acquired by Andy Anderson Theatres on October 31, 1947 and who changed it to the Auburn Theatre. The owner of the properpty, Orson Minor Crewdson, died and the property was auctioned off on June 11, 1948. Anderson Theatres bought it at the sale for $4,100.
It was reportedly sold effective July 1, 1950 to Hansford D. Scott and Sam Regal who reverted it to the Marian moniker after a refresh. It went out of business following the October 20, 1959 showing of “Mr. Rock and Roll.” It was auctioned off the next day and - it is assumed - that it was retrofitted for other purposes.
The Bellevue Drive-In Theatre appears to have closed following the September 14, 1980 triple feature of Darby Lloyd Rains in “Naked Came The Stranger,” Mary Woronov in “Sugar Cookies” and Roberta Pedon in “Delinquent School Girls.”
As to the fire question above, a lightning strike was believed to have caused the big fire causing $75k worth of damage on May 22, 1975 and that was followed by what was likely arson on July 5, 1975 that caused minor damage while the venue was being repaired. The Bellevue reopened in November of 1975 after all repairs were made.
It appears to have closed August 23, 1986 with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” The drive-in was inactive at the time of its January 1989 arson attack. Its remnants were demolished for a project in 1992.
The Pioneer closed on September 5, 1983 at the end of its lease with “Last House on the Left” and “Don’t Look in the Basement.” It was still standing in the early 1990s and deemed to be ready to operate the next day if needed. It wasn’t and was later demolished.
The Holiday closed for the season with “American Ninja” and “Exterminator 2” on September 5, 1985. A tornado took out the screen and the 20-year mark was the start of a permanent holiday. The land was used for other purposes with the remainder of the ozoner demolished.
The Music Hall opened March 1, 1897 with its 1,025 seats occupied. The upper level opera house building housed four retail businesses and a bowling alley on its main floor. It was renamed the Gardner Theater as it would switch away from live music to predominately movies with some vaudeville.
George A. Giles bought the venue and rooted out the entire first floor taking the theater down to ground level in 1919. It lost its permit to operate in 1921 and was refreshed again - this time with fire egress and safety more in mind.
The rebranded Uptown Theatre - essentially the Gardner Theater’s sound era moniker - launched on December 25, 1929 by the George A. Giles Circuit. The opening film was “Rio Rita” using the Western Electric sound on film technology. In March of 1947, the venue celebrated with a Golden Anniversary commemorating the Music Hall’s opening in 1897. Smith Management closed the venue in early 1953.
The White City Shopping Plaza was opened in 1963 theatre-less anchored by a Bradlee’s Department Store, an Iandoli’s Supermarket, and a Touraine’s women’s fashion store. Stanley-Warner Theatres designed a luxury suburban cinema with 70mm projection and stereo sound capability with more comfortable seating and lots of free parking - all advantages that this era of cinema had over aging downtown theatres.
The freestanding, 1,070 seat White City Cinema opened January 29, 1965 to the public with “Mary Poppins” a day after an invitation-only launch. The theatre was built to the plans of Drew Eberson (an architectural exterior sketch is in photos) who initially had drawn an auditorium with a capacity of 1,300 and reduced with wider aisles and different seat selection.
The theatre was twinned in the Summer of 1977. Half of the cinema was later destroyed by fire on January 18, 1985. The - then - Redstone Showcase Cinemas operated theatre closed for months before reopening five months later in June of 1985 as a rebuilt triplex. The theatre survived until closure on March 25, 2001. The White City Shopping Center demolished the vacant theatre not long after.
The terms of the independent operation of the Cinema post-Carmike was one year beginning October 5, 2009 for $1,500 monthly paid to property owner, Western Illinois University. It was operated by the Rialto folks on a sub-run $3 price point policy.
June 22, 1950 grand opening ad with “Slave Girl” and “Mexican Hayride” in photos. Closed just after its 50th Anniversary with a triple feature on September 3, 2000 with “X-Men,” “The Replacements,” and “Bless This Child.”
Closed May 1, 1999 with three screens playing: “The Matrix,” “Lost and Found,” and “Life” splitting a screen with “ Doug’s First Movie.” The operation moved to Timpany Plaza.
The Bijou closed in May of 1916 with its seats sent to Springfield, Massachusetts and the building was demolished in June of 1916. It was primarily a vaudeville house with films in the mix every performance.
The Lyric Theatre opened on February 12, 1914 with vaudeville and Mutual films sandwiched between the acts. It also housed the Grange Hall which was used for meetings. The Lyric stayed true to having vaudeville over films closing November 30, 1933. It had short-term success with Columbia films in 1934 before switching to live plays in 1935. In the 1940s, it was a burlesque house with films in the mix. It appears to have closed in September of 1948 for its refresh and rebranding.
Saxony Theatres totally revamped the Lyric for $100,000 to the architectural plans of Louis Chiaramonte of Boston. It seated 1,000 patrons with its Grand Opening on February 22, 1949 with “Command Decision” a day after an invitation only preview of the same film. The upstairs was still in use as a fraternal hall.
The Saxon closed in 1970. It got one more chance reopening on February 16, 1972 as the Estre Cinema. It closed “temporarily” after the December 3, 1972 show of “Carry On, Doctor” promising a Christmas week return. All we could find was a lump of coal.
The Fitchburg Theatre was opened February 7, 1929 with Harry Rodgers at the Wurlitzer console and the sound film, “In Old Arizona” supported by five vaudeville acts. It was equipped with widescreen equipment at least by 1957 to present CinemaScope titles.
On its 40th Anniversary it played Robert Mitchum in “Secret Ceremony” on February 7, 1969 - but that ceremony wasn’t announced remaining a secret. The Fitchburg’s continuous run appears to have ended November 7, 1970 with “The Last Grenade” and “Girly.”
On July 13, 1971, it got new life in the porno chic era of cinema exhibition as an adult theatre beginning with “Construction Gang” and “How Many Times?” It began marketing its films as “XXXX rated” - a strength test in marketing for unrated adult films that were just a little more adult than the competitors' titles.
The operation was closed at least twice and the newspaper and theatre agreed to stop advertising the titles and the photos associated with the XXXX films. And at some point they claimed to be showing “X-rated” - rated - films in 1974 allowing their reopening. That seems to have ended in March of 1975. Photographic& Digital Arts
On June 30, 1975, the venue was relit as the Family Theatre beginning with “Doc Savage.” Promotions were so solid for the reopening that it was robbed of its candy the night before its launch. It tried everything - chopsocky double features, family features and $1 discount pricing for all shows - but there was no audience for it. The Family Theatre closed on December 23, 1975.
In September of 1977, it was relit as the Cinema Showcase showing mainstream Hollywood fare still advertising into 1980. In 1980, Bill Hanney turned it into a live events hall under the name of Fitchburg Cinema and changed to the Fitchburg Theatre. It most famously hosted (separate) concerts by Woody Herman, Johnny Winter, and Devo - the later which was broadcast by WBCN. In 1981 and 1982, Hanney mixed film and live traveling shows, as well as some music acts. In 1983 and 1984, it was advertising as the Family Theatre once again showing films full time. In 1985, it was triplexed becoming the Fitchburg Cinemas 1-2-3 operating into 1988 before closing and missing its 60th Anniversary.
In the 2020s, a black box theatre concept failed and the venue was set to become a mixed use housing project.
Demolished in October of 2025.
The Jerry Lewis Cinema Brockton opened on January 19, 1973 with “The Valachi Papers” operating under that name briefly advertising just three weeks though likely running a bit longer even though Jerry Lewis' Network Cinema had gone out of business. It became the independently-named and operated Brockton East Twin Cinema in January of 1974 through September 9, 1982.
The venue expanded to remain commercially viable in the multiplex era becoming the Brockton East Cinemas 1-5 on September 10, 1982 through August 24, 1989. It reopened on November 29, 1991 as the Brockton East Cinemas - with all seats $3.50 at all times closing at the expiry of a five year leasing agreement on August 22, 1996.
CMCI relit the venue as the Crescent Cinemas on June 23, 2000 with ads discontinued on September 30, 2000. An opening and closing title was “Gone in 60 Seconds” which was about right. In 2004, it was the Kingdom Church - the first in a line of houses of worship to reduce the property’s taxing liability.
Its recommended listing name should be as the Brockton East Cinemas as the Crescent Cinema operation was just two months and the Brockton name plates (Twin and 5-plex) represent 15 years.
The Randolph Shopping Center project dated back to the 1950s. It opened on October 1, 1964 theatre-less with a W.T. Grant and a BPM (Brockton Public Market) as its anchors. In a refresh, Patriot Cinemas added the Randolph Cinema I & II if it pledged to the Randolph selectmen to not show smut films like “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.” A contentious Sunday ice cream sales license and Sunday entertainment license also appear to have been granted. The Randolph Cinema I & II opened as a discount, sub-run house on November 17, 1978 with “Grease” and “An Unmarried Woman” at the $1.25 price point.
Patriot closed the venue on September 11, 1988 at the expiry of its ten-year lease with “Tucker” and “Clean and Sober.” Patriot also closed the Queen Anne Cinema - its last two discount cinemas at that point citing the impact of VCRs and home video rental on second-run fare.
The theater’s address was at 33 Memorial Parkway it was recaptured for other retail purposes.
The General Cinema Hanover Mall I, II, III, IV operned on September 26, 1973 - ad in photos. The theatre appears to have opted out at the 15-year mark on September 11, 1988. If that is the case, they likely renegotiated the back end of the contract or they did a refresh (the latter is more likely) as they resumed advertising on October 21, 1988 in some papers and likely forgetting to inform (or pay) the Boston paper. They then closed at the end of lease on Labor Day, September 7, 1998 after 25 years of service.
Patriot Cinemas relaunched with 6 screens and 1,100 seats on December 21, 2001 as the Hanover Mall 1-6 on a 10-year leasing agreement. On March 30, 2001, the venue had expanded to 10 theatres with stadium seating in a three-month refresh that occurred with the venue in continuous service. Hanover Mall was closed in January 2020 with demolition scheduled to start soon thereafter. Patriot confirmed that the theatre would remain open even in the demolition and rebuilding of the complex as the new Hanover complex wouldn’t be ready until around 2022. But when COVID-19 occurred, the venue closed in March of 2020 and became part of the demolition plans.
General Cinema operated here from its launch April 15, 1965 to expiry of its 30-year leasing period in May of 1995. That included the October 7, 1970 quad relaunch as the Westgate Mall Cinema Centre I, II, III & IV through 1978. In the Fall of 1978 to 1995 as General Cinema Westgate Mall.
Entertainment Cinemas took on the venue as the Entertainment Cinemas Westgate Mall on May 26, 1995. They operated there until 1997 when Hoyts acquired the chain operating here as Hoyt’s Westgate Mall Cinema 7 to early 2004. Northeast Cinemas operated the venue as the Westgate Mall Cinema 7 from March 19, 2004 to closing here on November 4, 2004.
Sack Cinema Brockton 1 & 2 opened March 25, 1977 for Sack Theatres. Name and ownership drifts are reflected above (Sack Cinema Brockton 1•2•3, Sack Cinema Brockton 1•2•3•4, USA Cinemas Brockton 4, Loews Brockton Theatre, Entertainment Cinemas West Brockton 1-6, and Hoyts West Brockton Cinema 6).
Hoyts closed here on July 19, 1999 - likely undecided as to reopen with 8 or 16 screens; but ultimately leaving it closed permanently. Its last service was as a host of the 50th Annual Jimmy Fund Theatre Collection program in which the proceeds were donated to the Jimmy Fund. It may have stayed open to honor that commitment going out classy.
The Avon Drive-In Theatre opened on September 18, 1949 making it to end of lease 35 years later.
Technically, the entry should be the Weymouth Twin Drive-In Theatre
Markell Amusement Co. had built the Weymouth Theatre in 1927 and continued building here on East Adams. Just prior to launching, however, the city fought the opening of the $40,000 Milton Theatre in January of 1928. The theatre passed and opened in 1928 before closing as a silent house in 1930.
Varney & Gravy took over the Milton Theatre in 1931 creating Adams Theatre Corporation of East Milton that April. They first started advertising films at the Adams Theatre in May of 1931. It was renamed the State Theatre under new operators in 1933. The venue appears to have closed at the end of its 30 year-leasing period.
New operators refreshed it and rebranded it as the Milton Art Theatre. It opened on January 10, 1957 with “Vitelloni” and a string of art films direct from Boston after playdates there On September 23, 1964, it changed programming to more Hollywood hits as the Milton Cinema with “The Pink Panther.” It ran as a sub-run discount house until end of another 30-year leasing period on September 23, 1987.
The Milton got one more chance with a new set of operators but they didn’t make it too far. John McDonald Jr. and Frank Santoro took on the venue as a proposed playhouse but ran it as a movie house until getting the plan together. It opened with “Stakeout” on November 18, 1987 closing permanently on December 30, 1988. They returned the property to the City. It first became a coffee house with performance space before being turned into a restaurant.
The New Braintree Theatre opened on April 23, 1926 with a talent show and Clara Bow in “The Keeper of the Bees” supported by Alice Day in “Love and Kisses.” It celebrated the 1961 New Year by closing permanently following showtimes of “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” and “The Subterraneans.” An article months later said the space had been recaptured for an arcade and offices.
Sorry: Regent Theatre on Hancock Street
The Regent Theatre was at 440 Hancock Street in North Quincy’s Norfolk Downs neighborhood and opened by New England Theatre Corp. (aka NETOCO). Its Colonial style architecture wowed on December 14, 1925 launching with Tom Meighan in “Irish Luck” and Norma Shearer in “Slave of Fashion” supported by a newsreel and comedy short on the big screen.
Per the comment above, the men’s lounge was on that flight of stairs as well as the projection booth. The all reserved seating gave way over time. Late in 1929, NETOCO installed Vitaphone sound on disc to keep the venue viable. In April of 1930, NETOCO was subsumed as Public NETOCO and then Paramount.
In 1948, the Paramount decree was entered into with Paramount unspooling a lot of of its subsidiaries and O&O theater. In 1949, the venue was taken on by American Theatres Corporation (ATC). On January 4, 1950, the venue announced a weekends only policy. It closed permanently on December 10, 1950 at the end of a 25-year leasing term with Ann Blyth in “Our Very Own” and Joan Caulfield in “Petty Girl.”
In 1953, the Seymour Stadfeld law group acquired the venue with plans to reshape it. The venue reopened as a bank and a local public library branch.
Auburn had a silent-era theater and, after a long stretch with no theater, used the High School or theatrical operations in 1937/8. The Starlight Theatre was instituted and operated by The Union Oil and Royalty Company likely on a 20-year lease in January of 1940 in a contemporary plaza. They sublet it to private local interest, Ervin W. Rau in July of 1940. It was renamed July 20, 1940 as the Marian beginning with “My Little Chickadee.”
The lease was acquired by Andy Anderson Theatres on October 31, 1947 and who changed it to the Auburn Theatre. The owner of the properpty, Orson Minor Crewdson, died and the property was auctioned off on June 11, 1948. Anderson Theatres bought it at the sale for $4,100.
It was reportedly sold effective July 1, 1950 to Hansford D. Scott and Sam Regal who reverted it to the Marian moniker after a refresh. It went out of business following the October 20, 1959 showing of “Mr. Rock and Roll.” It was auctioned off the next day and - it is assumed - that it was retrofitted for other purposes.