Movie theaters

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Photo of the Wonderland Theatre - Credit: Andover Historic Preservation [1]
Wonderland ad from February 1909.

Wonderland Theatre - Elm Block (1909-1913)
Andover’s first movie theater, the Wonderland Theatre, was opened in 1909 by B.C. Allen & Company [2] . Upon its opening, the theater held moving picture shows as well as live performances. [3] The Wonderland closed in March of 1913 with the intent of resuming programming in the fall, however, the theater never reopened. [4] The site of the theater was at 7 Elm Street, which currently is home to Elm & Main Hair Studio and Spa and the Lily Nails & Lash salon.
Colonial Theatre (1913-1937)
The Colonial Theater was opened in 1913 at 9 Essex St by Charles Warden on the site of the former Boston & Maine Railroad depot. It was remodeled and expanded in 1918 under the new management of Samuel Resnik [5] . The remodel promised “an absolutely new system and new features with a thoroughly respectable line of photo-plays” [6] The theater held vaudeville shows, giveaways, and more, including a performance by famous magician Harry Houdini. [7] Movies could not be shown on Sundays until 1933. The theater continued operations under the Colonial name until 1937 when the name was changed to the Andover Playhouse.

Ad for the Colonial Theatre printed in The Andover Townsman on February 28, 1913 [8]
Image of interior of Andover Playhouse upon it's opening in October 1937. [9] [10]

The Andover Playhouse (1937-1967)

The theater on Essex St. was remodeled once more and reopened as The Andover Playhouse in October 1937 with additional seating and amenities. [11] [12] . The theater became particularly popular with Saturday morning crowds of grade-schoolers and Friday night groups of teenagers. [13] The last showtime listing for the theater appeared in The Andover Townsman on June 15th, 1967 [14] . The theater building was purchased by the town in 1969 and used as municipal offices until it was torn down in 1985 to make room for additional parking and expansion of the library [15] . During the demolition of the building, posters of past performances were found in the walls. [16]

Opening announcement from The Andover Townsman [17]
...The Andover Playhouse.... click to enlarge
...The Theatre Building.... click to enlarge
Andover Playhouse / parking lot behind the Library


References

  1. ↑ "5-7 Elm Street" https://preservation.mhl.org/5-7-elm-street Andover Historic Preservation
  2. ↑ The Andover Townsman - January 15, 1909. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1909-01.pdf
  3. ↑ ”Andover Stories: Andover's Big Screens” https://www.andovertownsman.com/news/local_news/andover-stories-andovers-big-screens/article_aa26e03b-2737-5c82-9fcd-5c1cbb421d99.html The Andover Townsman. December 2, 2010.
  4. ↑ The Andover Townsman - March 21, 1913. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-03.pdf
  5. ↑ ”Andover Stories: Andover's Big Screens” https://www.andovertownsman.com/news/local_news/andover-stories-andovers-big-screens/article_aa26e03b-2737-5c82-9fcd-5c1cbb421d99.html The Andover Townsman. December 2, 2010.
  6. ↑ The Andover Townsman - January 4th, 1918. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1918-01.pdf
  7. ↑ The Andover Townsman - February 28, 1913. Page 8. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-02.pdf
  8. ↑ The Andover Townsman - February 28, 1913. Page 8. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-02.pdf
  9. ↑ The Andover Townsman - October 22, 1937. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1937-10-22.pdf
  10. ↑ The Andover Townsman - October 29, 1937. Page 3. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1937-10-29.pdf
  11. ↑ The Andover Townsman - October 22, 1937. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1937-10-22.pdf
  12. ↑ The Andover Townsman - October 29, 1937. Page 3. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1937-10-29.pdf
  13. ↑ ”Dalton column: Shenanigans at the Andover Playhouse” https://www.andovertownsman.com/community/dalton-column-shenanigans-at-the-andover-playhouse/article_7a769f3e-0673-5c4c-89f5-9d8d913c7ad9.html The Andover Townsman. May 13, 2010.
  14. ↑ The Andover Townsman - June 15, 1967. Page 2. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1967-06-15.pdf
  15. ↑ "9 Essex Street" https://preservation.mhl.org/9-essex-street Andover Historic Preservation
  16. ↑ ”Andover Stories: Andover's Big Screens” https://www.andovertownsman.com/news/local_news/andover-stories-andovers-big-screens/article_aa26e03b-2737-5c82-9fcd-5c1cbb421d99.html The Andover Townsman. December 2, 2010.
  17. ↑ The Andover Townsman - October 22, 1937. Page 5. https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1937-10-22.pdf

See Also

  • "Another theater becomes a memory," Andover Townsman, 1984.
  • Andover Townsman, August 31, 1995.
  • "Remember When: The Andover Playhouse," Andover Townsman, August 19, 2004
  • "Joys of the town movie theaters," Andover Townsman, March 7, 2013, p.12.
  • Andover a Century of Change:1896 - 1996 by Eleanor Motley Richardson, (974.45 Ric) page 138.

--Glenda 14:42, November 24, 2006 (EST)
--Kim 11:02, November 30, 2011 (EST)
--Kim 13:28, March 15, 2013 (EDT)<span class="mwt-editable mwt-comment" id="R1712969085316" " draggable="false" contenteditable="true"> insert signature here, if desired --Eleanor (talk) 14:26, 30 September 2015 (EDT)

Shannon (talk)

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