Mohawk Theatre
111 Main Street,
North Adams,
MA
01247
111 Main Street,
North Adams,
MA
01247
7 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: E.M. Loew's Theaters Inc.
Architects: William Luther Mowll, Roger Glade Rand, William C. Riseman
Firms: Mowll & Rand
Styles: Art Deco
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News About This Theater
- Jan 2, 2007 — Mohawk Theater Project inching forward
The Mohawk Theatre opened on November 5, 1938 with Deanna Durbin in “That Certain Age” & Joe Penner in “Mr. Doodle Kicks Off”. It had a short period of closure from May 8, 1986 and was remodeled, reopeing on November 18, 1988. It was closed on July 25, 1989. The theatre was converted into an arts center which continued into the mid-1990’s
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
My friend came up with an idea that I’d like to pursue. If there’s plans for the future of the theater, then it may not work out but the idea is to open an alternative movie theater, where we show non-standard films, either indie movies or older films at a low price on Fridays and Saturdays.
If I could at least break even, I’d do it just to put the theater to use and give the people in community something to do every week without breaking the bank.
I work for Elwood Cinemas in NY and so daily do a bit of research on old theatre pictures to share with our patrons and found this great one of the Mohawk Theatre but the date said 1933. After a little research I found this great article on Carole & Company Blog where the research into the discrepancy was done for me. Thought folks might be interested in this! The picture is embedded in the blog post.
http://caroleandco.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/of-orchids-and-mohawks/
Keep rollin that film! Alex
The theater is largely gutted, except for the lobby and the plaster surrounding the stage. The current owner has plans to restore what he can and return the building to use.
Worked as a substitute projectionist there through the 1970s. The theater had two Super-Simplex projectors and Brenkert carbon-arc lamps. It was fully set up for synchronized projectors with Polaroid’s 3D system, though I never saw that system in actual use there. It was the main roost of Jim Coddaire, then Business Agent of the local projectionists' union, and something of a curmudgeon.
The actual opening date is November 5, 1938 with a double feature: Deanna Durbin in “That Certain Age” and Joe Penner in “Mr. Doodle Kicks Off”, along with the latest reel of March Of Time.
From 2022 Google street and aerial views it looks like the theatre was demolished and replaced by a Holiday Inn.
It wasn’t. You’re just looking in the wrong spot.
Don’t know how that happened! Tried again and there it is. I hope at some point it can be restored. Perhaps MassMOCA could restore it as an auxiliary event space.
The Mohawk Theatre ran its last mainstream movie on June 8, 1989 with “The Dream Team”, but ran classic films throughout its last two months of operation until closing on July 25, 1989 with the Lucille Ball/Ginger Rogers classic “Stagedoor”. The Mohawk would later become a performing arts and special events house until the mid-1990s.
The Mohawk Theatre did receive a short closure during the mid-1980s. After closing on May 8, 1986 with “F/X”, the Mohawk sat abandoned for a whole year until Edward B. “Rocco” Ellis purchased the Mohawk for $130,000 in March 1987 following remodeling that took place throughout that year and into the following year before reopening on November 18, 1988 with a double feature of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Cocktail”.
This didn’t last long. See my other comment above.