The Win Theater was my “neighborhood theater” in the early 1950s. I remember walking or taking the bus to there almost every Saturday afternoon for the double feature Saturday matinee, as just about every kid who lived in the Washington Hill neighborhood in Waterbury did then. The theater owners had people pass out flyers outside nearby Washington and St Francis Xavier grammar schools on Friday afternoons with ads for the movies (usually westerns)that were playing. A serial and 3 or 4 cartoons were also shown. An entire afternoon of entertainment for 15 cents!
The Waterbury Connecticut Theaters History site that lostmemory is referring to is at http://freewebs.com/waterburyct/theaters.htm It’s one page of a site that gives an online tour of Waterbury in vintage images from the late 1800s to the 1950s. The tour starts on the home page at http://freewebs.com/waterburyct/
Joe Mulhall, now known as Ken Griffin, was a teen-aged disk jockey on WWCO, WATR, and WBRY in Waterbury in the 1950s. He recalled the days of live performances at the State Theater in the early 1950s in his 2002 autobiography “A Great Face For Radioâ€:
“Hartford’s State Theater was the largest venue in the world to me, with over 3000 seats. I would beg and plead with my poor parents to drive every Sunday from Waterbury to Hartford for their Sunday super-show. They had real stars every week and we would see every one, and wait at the stage door with autograph book and pen in hand. I filled up two books with autographs of stars like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, and Carol Burnett.â€
Joe Mulhall, now known as Ken Griffin, was a teen-aged disk jockey on WWCO, WATR, and WBRY in Waterbury in the 1950s. He recalled the last days of vaudeville and live performances at the Loew’s Poli Palace in the early 1950s in his 2002 autobiography “A Great Face For Radioâ€:
“Downtown Waterbury had the Loew’s Poli Palace Theater which ran live stage shows on weekends following the movies. Eight Acts Daily: usually a musician, juggler, ventriloquist, comedian, singer, tap dancer, animal act, and magician. Sometimes even a band, like Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights. He actually had his own TV show, so I had to get his autograph at the stage entrance. After that it became an obsession.â€
There was another world premiere of a movie at the State Theater in 1955. Joe Mulhall, who was a Waterbury radio teen-aged disk jockey in the early 1950s and later changed his on-air name to Ken Griffin, wrote about it in his 2002 biography “A Great Face For Radio”:
“My greatest feat during that time was to arrange for actor Sal Mineo to come to Waterbury in 1955 to promote his movie "Somebody up There Likes Me” at the State Theater. Press and radio interviews were scheduled, and Julia Smith, the manager of the State Theater, bought a big ad in the Waterbury Republican & American newspapers in conjunction with the “premiere”. MEET SAL MINEO IN PERSON! Sal and his family drove up from the Bronx on the day of the big event, and had a home-cooked meal at our house. Then we went to the radio stations, the newspaper office, and the movie house on East Main Street. Traffic was backed up for blocks as hundreds of folks, mostly teens, came to see the film and meet Sal in the lobby. The event was a huge success."
According to a November 2004 article in the Waterbury Republican newspaper, when the Lowe’s Poli Theater, later the Palace Theater, opened Jan. 28, 1922, a song was written just for the occasion. Initially known as S.Z. Poli’s “Million-Dollar Theater” the Palace was the city’s largest with 3,419 seats. It now has 2,640. In its history it has hosted everything, from opera to Frank Zappa. Many believed the Palace had the best acoustics in the state.
The second Lyric Theater in Waterbury opened in 1911 and became The Lido Theater in 1935 with the Quatrano family in charge, followed by Billy and Johnny Sirica, until it went dark around 1962. The Sirica brothers then became owners of the Watertown Drive-In.
The Win Theater opened as the Cameo Theater in 1933, became The Win Theater in the 1950s, then The Spanish Theater, which became The Caribe Theater in 1964 and is now closed.
The State Theater opened in 1908 as the Broadway Theater. The Broadway Theater hosted a production that featured the famous Ben Hur chariot race. The chariots were drawn by a pair of horses racing on an oval-shaped moving treadmill. The treadmill was fastened to a track on the stage floor. While the race took place, a panorama of the Coliseum flashed before the audience. At the time this was considered the greatest achievement in stage technique.
The Broadway, which had Waterbury’s first theater organ, became The Bijou Theater in 1914. The Bijou became The Rialto Theater in 1917. The Rialto became a popular wartime spot – not too long-lived, only until The State Theater arrived in 1929.
There was no doubt about The State’s elegance when it opened at the former Rialto Theater in 1929. The theater featured 2,600 seats, decorated in a Spanish motif and a classic foyer. It was the first Waterbury theater to bring the new sound films to the city. Its organ cost $40,000 and Jimmy Colgan was the first organist.
The State contracted with Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures for first-run shows, which then went to the Plaza. The Poli Palace contracted with MGM and 20th Century Fox for first-run shows, which then went to the Strand.
Julia Smith, the first woman theater manager in Connecticut, came to Waterbury in 1924 to revive a struggling Strand Theater. She was later the first woman manager for Warner Brothers in its New England chain when it took over The State.
Win Theater 1955 ad in the Waterbury American:
The Princess Theatre front entrance photo is now at: View link
Powimage suddenly stopped functioning a few weeks ago. The State Theatre marquee and plaque photos are now at: View link
Powimage suddenly went out of business a few weeks ago. The 1955 ad for Buck Nite at the Lake Drive-In is now at: View link
Photos of the renovated Palace Theater as magnificent (imho) as the theater itself: http://www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery2/album208
1935 Hamilton Theatre flier ad: http://www.powimage.com/image/3891.jpeg
1955 ad for Buck Nite at the Lake Drive-In: http://www.powimage.com/image/6507.jpeg
Princess Theatre front entrance photo: http://www.powimage.com/image/6777.jpeg
Princess Theater advertisement on hand fan: View link
Photos of State Theatre marquee on August 18, 1955 for Girl Rush premiere,
and Rosalind Russell homecoming plaque: http://www.powimage.com/image/4488.jpeg
A photo of Jacques in the early 1900s is at View link
Frank Perella’s photo of the Capitol Theater marquee in 1948 can be seen at View link
Photo of Cameo Theater in the 1930s: View link
The Waterbury Connecticut Theaters History that Lost Memory refers to is at http://www.freewebs.com/waterburyct/theaters.htm
The Lake Drive-In location can be on the topographic map at View link
The location of the original Pine Drive-In can be seen on the topographic map at View link
The Win Theater was my “neighborhood theater” in the early 1950s. I remember walking or taking the bus to there almost every Saturday afternoon for the double feature Saturday matinee, as just about every kid who lived in the Washington Hill neighborhood in Waterbury did then. The theater owners had people pass out flyers outside nearby Washington and St Francis Xavier grammar schools on Friday afternoons with ads for the movies (usually westerns)that were playing. A serial and 3 or 4 cartoons were also shown. An entire afternoon of entertainment for 15 cents!
The Waterbury Connecticut Theaters History site that lostmemory is referring to is at http://freewebs.com/waterburyct/theaters.htm It’s one page of a site that gives an online tour of Waterbury in vintage images from the late 1800s to the 1950s. The tour starts on the home page at http://freewebs.com/waterburyct/
Joe Mulhall, now known as Ken Griffin, was a teen-aged disk jockey on WWCO, WATR, and WBRY in Waterbury in the 1950s. He recalled the days of live performances at the State Theater in the early 1950s in his 2002 autobiography “A Great Face For Radioâ€:
“Hartford’s State Theater was the largest venue in the world to me, with over 3000 seats. I would beg and plead with my poor parents to drive every Sunday from Waterbury to Hartford for their Sunday super-show. They had real stars every week and we would see every one, and wait at the stage door with autograph book and pen in hand. I filled up two books with autographs of stars like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, and Carol Burnett.â€
Joe Mulhall, now known as Ken Griffin, was a teen-aged disk jockey on WWCO, WATR, and WBRY in Waterbury in the 1950s. He recalled the last days of vaudeville and live performances at the Loew’s Poli Palace in the early 1950s in his 2002 autobiography “A Great Face For Radioâ€:
“Downtown Waterbury had the Loew’s Poli Palace Theater which ran live stage shows on weekends following the movies. Eight Acts Daily: usually a musician, juggler, ventriloquist, comedian, singer, tap dancer, animal act, and magician. Sometimes even a band, like Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights. He actually had his own TV show, so I had to get his autograph at the stage entrance. After that it became an obsession.â€
There was another world premiere of a movie at the State Theater in 1955. Joe Mulhall, who was a Waterbury radio teen-aged disk jockey in the early 1950s and later changed his on-air name to Ken Griffin, wrote about it in his 2002 biography “A Great Face For Radio”:
“My greatest feat during that time was to arrange for actor Sal Mineo to come to Waterbury in 1955 to promote his movie "Somebody up There Likes Me” at the State Theater. Press and radio interviews were scheduled, and Julia Smith, the manager of the State Theater, bought a big ad in the Waterbury Republican & American newspapers in conjunction with the “premiere”. MEET SAL MINEO IN PERSON! Sal and his family drove up from the Bronx on the day of the big event, and had a home-cooked meal at our house. Then we went to the radio stations, the newspaper office, and the movie house on East Main Street. Traffic was backed up for blocks as hundreds of folks, mostly teens, came to see the film and meet Sal in the lobby. The event was a huge success."
According to a November 2004 article in the Waterbury Republican newspaper, when the Lowe’s Poli Theater, later the Palace Theater, opened Jan. 28, 1922, a song was written just for the occasion. Initially known as S.Z. Poli’s “Million-Dollar Theater” the Palace was the city’s largest with 3,419 seats. It now has 2,640. In its history it has hosted everything, from opera to Frank Zappa. Many believed the Palace had the best acoustics in the state.
The second Lyric Theater in Waterbury opened in 1911 and became The Lido Theater in 1935 with the Quatrano family in charge, followed by Billy and Johnny Sirica, until it went dark around 1962. The Sirica brothers then became owners of the Watertown Drive-In.
The Win Theater opened as the Cameo Theater in 1933, became The Win Theater in the 1950s, then The Spanish Theater, which became The Caribe Theater in 1964 and is now closed.
The State Theater opened in 1908 as the Broadway Theater. The Broadway Theater hosted a production that featured the famous Ben Hur chariot race. The chariots were drawn by a pair of horses racing on an oval-shaped moving treadmill. The treadmill was fastened to a track on the stage floor. While the race took place, a panorama of the Coliseum flashed before the audience. At the time this was considered the greatest achievement in stage technique.
The Broadway, which had Waterbury’s first theater organ, became The Bijou Theater in 1914. The Bijou became The Rialto Theater in 1917. The Rialto became a popular wartime spot – not too long-lived, only until The State Theater arrived in 1929.
There was no doubt about The State’s elegance when it opened at the former Rialto Theater in 1929. The theater featured 2,600 seats, decorated in a Spanish motif and a classic foyer. It was the first Waterbury theater to bring the new sound films to the city. Its organ cost $40,000 and Jimmy Colgan was the first organist.
The State contracted with Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures for first-run shows, which then went to the Plaza. The Poli Palace contracted with MGM and 20th Century Fox for first-run shows, which then went to the Strand.
Julia Smith, the first woman theater manager in Connecticut, came to Waterbury in 1924 to revive a struggling Strand Theater. She was later the first woman manager for Warner Brothers in its New England chain when it took over The State.