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If you are a movie buff and your future travel plans include a trip to Portland Maine, keep reading this blog.
I grew up in South Portland Maine in the 1950’s. As a young boy, one thing I always enjoyed in the summer months was a trip to the Cape Theater on a Saturday afternoon. A dozen or more of us would meet outside a neighborhood house and off we went. It was a fifteen-minute walk. A walk filled with chatter, laughter, and great anticipation. The current showing was displayed on the theater marquee. Outside the theater there were posters within glass windows showing movies coming within three weeks. Inside the vestibule were posters of movies showing in two weeks. Inside the theater lobby were the current showings. It was a quick trip to the concessions stands and then getting to our seats.
Our group would take up half a row of seats. Before the movie started, the assistant manager would walk down the aisle, flashlight in hand, checking to see if anybody had their feet on the back of the seats in front of them. We always complied with this rule, at least while the manager was trolling the aisles. Before the movie started, we could watch previews of coming attractions, a cartoon, Movietonews, and then the main feature.
After the movie ended, we headed home. At that point we were trying to figure out what scenes we wanted to re-enact and who got the leading role. I almost never got the lead role.
By the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the theater experience changed. Now I was going on a date in Portland, and I wanted to impress my date, or at least not embarrass myself. My favorite venue was the State Theater in Portland.
The State was a beautiful theater. It opened to the public in 1929. Originally it could seat 2,400. In the late 1940s through the 1960s the State Theatre expanded its programming to include theatrical and dance productions. It also held various other events and contests, all in addition to major Hollywood films. A large part of the programming expansion was due to growing competition from television.
No more meeting at a friend’s house for me. But I did have to vacuum the car. I knew my father checked the level of the gas tank, so I made sure I gassed up before returning home. The movies were all first run.
Nothing stays the same. In the fall of 1962, I went off to college. Television really hurt moviegoing. In 1965 the Cape Theater closed. It is now a playhouse for the Portland Players and is considered Maine’s longest running community theatre.
In 1963 The State Theater became an Adult Movie venue. That lasted until 1993. From that point on it was rented out for events. After extensive renovations, it had a grand reopening in 2010. It is now a performing arts venue.
Interior of the State Theater in Portland Maine After Renovations.
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Sources
1. Information on the State Theater – Wikipedia.
2. Information on the Portland Players and the former Cape Theater-Cinema Treasures.