Somerville Theatre
Somerville, MA Photo courtesy Joyce Kerrigan
The brightly lit neon facade of the Somerville Theatre adds plenty of color to Davis Square. With its glowing marquee, vertical sign, and old storefront entrance, this still looks like the neighborhood movie house it was meant to be.
The theater opened in 1914 as part of a much larger entertainment complex that included vaudeville, a ballroom, café, billiard hall, and even a basement bowling alley. Really? It switched mainly to movies in 1932 and is now one of the few cinemas still equipped to show genuine 70mm film.
The auditorium has also hosted live performers including Bruce Springsteen and U2. Its long-hidden Crystal Ballroom was restored and reopened in 2021.
UPDATE: The Somerville Theatre remains open at 55 Davis Square as an independent cinema and live performance venue. Its neon marquee still shines outside. 08-26
Forum Theatre (Closed)
Metuchen, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The Forum Theatre in Metuchen, NJ opened in 1928 as
a live theatre and vaudeville tryout house. Soon after if became a movie
theatre for local moviegoers. The theatre still has live performances
and occasionally a film festival. Many thanks to Paul Bauke for info. 10-05
The bright red and yellow marquee of the Forum Theatre adds a colorful old-time glow to Main Street in Metuchen. A Marilyn Monroe figure nearby and the “Welcome to Metuchen” lettering make this a pretty unusual theater entrance.
The Forum opened on March 6, 1928, near the end of the silent movie era. Its name combined the first three letters of developers James FORgione and H.A. RUMler. Really? The building hosted vaudeville before beginning a long run as a neighborhood movie house.
After closing in 2007, the theater briefly reopened as an arts center in 2009. Metuchen purchased the endangered building for $1.35 million in 2019, hoping to preserve the property as part of a new arts district.
UPDATE: The Forum remains closed due to serious structural deterioration. Plans call for reconstructing it as a larger performance venue, with the familiar marquee preserved or replicated in the project. 08-26
1932 Criterion Theatre
Bal Harbor, ME Photos courtesy Rick Ibsen
The bright Art Deco marquee of the 1932 Criterion Theatre still reaches out over Cottage Street in Bar Harbor. Inside is the theater’s famous 120-foot “floating” balcony, built without any supporting columns underneath. Most of the original decorative stencils, fixtures, curtains, and other Art Deco details also remain. 06-09
The Criterion opened to a standing-room-only crowd on June 6, 1932. Opening night included a motion picture, live orchestra, and five acts of RKO vaudeville. It was built for $150,000 by George McKay, a colorful local bootlegger who started planning the place shortly after his release from federal prison. Really?
McKay also operated a hidden speakeasy in the theater basement during Prohibition, serving liquor smuggled in from Canada. In later years, the Criterion welcomed summer visitors from prominent Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Astor families.
1932 Criterion Theatre
Bal Harbor, ME Photos courtesy Rick Ibsen
The Criterion is one of only two surviving Art Deco theaters in Maine. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. After years of decline and serious mold problems, a nonprofit group purchased the building for $1.2 million in 2014 and completed a major restoration.
UPDATE: Following a temporary structural closure, the Criterion reopened in July 2025 with help from the Harper House Music Foundation and a $1 million preservation pledge. It remains open for movies, concerts, and live performances, and its restored marquee still lights up Cottage Street. 08-26
Lyric Theater
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The lights are flashing at the Lyric Theatre on West 43rd Street, adding plenty of glow to the Broadway theater district. The illuminated marquee and Harry Potter decorations make this one hard to miss among all the other bright signs around Times Square. 05-20
The original Lyric opened on 42nd Street in 1903, with the neighboring Apollo following in 1920. Both eventually became movie houses and fell into serious decline before being taken over by the city and state in 1990.
In 1996, the deteriorated auditoriums were demolished and combined into one massive new theater. The original Lyric facade, ironwork, plaster dome, and proscenium arch were saved and worked into the new building. It opened in 1998 as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The name later changed to the Hilton and Foxwoods before Lyric returned in 2014. Quite a name carousel!
The theater received another elaborate makeover for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, complete with special carpets, lighting, wall decorations, and themed lounges.
UPDATE: The Lyric Theatre remains open as one of Broadway’s largest houses, with nearly 1,900 seats. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues its run, and the historic facades and brightly illuminated marquees remain in place. 08-26
Loew's Theater (Gone)
New York City, New York Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the neon and glittery lights surrounding Loew’s State Theatre in Times Square. With the traffic, crowds, flashing signs, and other Broadway theaters nearby, this was yet another busy evening along the Great White Way. 05-20
Loew’s State opened at Broadway and 45th Street on August 29, 1921. The 3,200-seat movie palace was designed by noted theater architect Thomas W. Lamb and decorated with marble, crystal chandeliers, and elaborate plasterwork. It was also the first Broadway theater complex to cost more than $1 million. Really?
The theater became an important showcase for MGM movies, but films were only part of the show. Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Sophie Tucker, and Burns and Allen were among the performers who appeared on its vaudeville stage.
Like many enormous movie palaces, Loew’s State struggled as audiences changed. The auditorium was divided into two theaters in 1970 and later carved into a four-screen multiplex. The final screens went dark on February 19, 1987.
UPDATE: The original auditorium was gutted for retail space, and its vertical sign and flashing marquee were removed. The office building survives in heavily remodeled form, now covered with the giant digital billboards familiar to modern Times Square. 08-26
Ed Sullivan Theater
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here is the famous Ed Sullivan Theater, with its tall vertical sign and flashing lights adding another familiar glow to Broadway. The theater has seen musicals, radio broadcasts, television history, and plenty of late-night comedy over the years. If only these walls could talk. 05-20
The theater opened on November 30, 1927, as Hammerstein’s Theatre. Producer Arthur Hammerstein built the grand musical house in memory of his father, Oscar Hammerstein I. Architect Herbert J. Krapp gave the interior a dramatic neo-Gothic look with a cathedral-like dome, plaster ribs, and stained glass.
CBS began using the building for radio in 1936 and converted it into television Studio 50 in 1950. It became the home of Ed Sullivan’s popular variety show, where performers ranging from Elvis Presley to The Lovin’ Spoonful appeared.
Ed Sullivan Theater
New York City, New York Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The theater’s biggest night may have been February 9, 1964, when The Beatles made their live American television debut. More than 73 million viewers tuned in. Really? CBS renamed the building for Ed Sullivan in 1967.
David Letterman brought The Late Show here in 1993 and remained until 2015. When Stephen Colbert took over, renovations uncovered and restored the original 1927 Gothic dome, stained-glass windows, and balcony ironwork that had been hidden for years.
UPDATE: The Ed Sullivan Theater remains open as the home of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Its restored interior and brightly illuminated Broadway signs remain in use. 08-26
Forum Theatre (Closed)
