Leroy Theatre was a historic
movie palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
. It was built in 1922, listed on the
National Register
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1983, and demolished in 1997.
The building
The Leroy was one of the finest and largest theatres of the period in all of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, built when Pawtucket was at its economic height. It was one of the finest buildings in a city already brimming with distinguished architecture.
The lobby featured a large
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design.
...
, a grand staircase, and a frieze of golden vases. The interior had seats for 2,700 people, and included extensive ornamentation such as mirrors, colored lights, brass rails, and gold leaf.
It had a mirrored lobby, an electric chandelier with 4,700 bulbs, and the largest
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
organ in New England.
Above the balcony was a dome filled with classical sculpted figures.
History
The theatre was designed by architect
John F. O'Malley and was built in 1922 for client Charles Payne, a power company executive.
Payne spared no expense on the building, named in honor of Payne's son Leroy, who had been killed in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The theatre opened in May 1923.
Charles Payne died four years later, on January 5, 1927,
at age 59.
At the time of the Leroy's construction, Pawtucket was a prosperous mill town. In addition to the Leroy, it boasted a half-dozen theatres and two dozen hotels.
Of these, the Leroy was considered the town's "most lavish public building", and was referred to as Pawtucket's Million Dollar Theatre.
The Leroy hosted vaudeville acts, silent (and then sound) movies, and all manner of theatrical productions and musical performances. However, by the late 1960s, the once-wealthy mill town had fallen into decline, and moviegoers had begun to prefer suburban multiplexes to the old downtown movie palaces.
The theatre was closed in 1963, briefly reopened in 1976, and was again shuttered.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1983.
[
A ballet company briefly attempted to use the theatre in 1984,]concert hall
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
from 1985 to 1990.Walgreens
Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...
drugstore.
See also
*
External links
The Leroy Theatre
at Cinema Treasures
References
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Demolished buildings and structures in Rhode Island
Movie palaces
Former cinemas in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
1997 disestablishments in Rhode Island
1922 establishments in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures demolished in 1997
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