The Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Centre & Conservatory is a historic
movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
and
concert venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...
and commercial building at 28 Monument Square in
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsock ...
. The complex consists of two connected sections, one housing the theater, the other offices, both with retail spaces on the ground floor. The theater was designed by Perry and Whipple of
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
and built in 1926.
Initial funding came from Mrs. Norbert Champeau, a widow with interest in the theater, but the project was soon taken over by Arthur I. Darman, a local industrialist. Although it lacked the opulence of theaters in larger cities, it was one of the most elaborately decorated performance spaces in Woonsocket.
The theatre's name comes from the "stadium" style of seating, which allowed everyone in the audience a good view of the stage.
History
The Stadium opened in 1926 as a vaudeville house.
The declining theatre added to 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 1976.
The theatre showed x-rated movies in 1980s and closed in 1985.
The building declined and decayed until Mayor Francis Lanctot started a campaign to save the building and raised over $3 million in donations.
The renovated venue reopened in 2001.
The film
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...
by the Farrelly Brothers premiered in the Stadium in 1998.
In 2014, Rhode Island voters approved a bond measure to set aside $2 million to renovate the four-story structure adjacent to the theatre, to be used as dedicated space for costuming, sets, props, and performing arts classes.
See also
*
References
Further reading
*Statewide Historic Preservation Report for Woonsocket, Rhode Island published by the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission in September, 1976.
*Woonsocket, Rhode Island - A Centennial History 1888 - 1988 published by the Woonsocket Centennial Committee in 1988.
*Images of America - Woonsocket written by Robert R. Bellerose and published by Arcadia Publishing, Dover, NH, 1997.
External links
Stadium Theatre Web site
Cinemas and movie theaters in Rhode Island
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island
Theatres completed in 1926
Music venues completed in 1926
1926 establishments in Rhode Island
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