Hollis Theatre

The Hollis Theatre was a motion-picture theater opened by exhibitor Elias M. Loew on Hollis Street in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Thursday, September 8, 1938. It was part of the E.M. Loew circuit, a chain of theaters that by the time of the Hollis's opening extended from New England to Florida; the Hollis was reported to be the 43rd theater in that chain. The house was managed on opening day by Harry O. Stafford, with Robert Burbank as assistant manager, Gordon Eldridge as doorman, and John Kennedy as usher. The theater's namesake operator, Elias M. Loew, was an American exhibitor who began his career as an usher in New York City, moved to Boston to work at the Comique Theatre in Bowdoin Square, and used savings and borrowed capital to buy his first theater, the Dreamland Theatre in Lynn, Massachusetts. After renovating it successfully, he expanded into Portland, Maine, and then into Roxbury and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, building a circuit that eventually stretched along the East Coast. The Hollis Theatre operated for roughly sixteen years, from its 1938 opening until 1954, after which it ceased operation. It is remembered as a former movie theater in Framingham, Massachusetts, and is documented in local-history material about the town. As a neighborhood cinema of the studio era, it formed part of the exhibition landscape of MetroWest Boston before the postwar decline of single-screen neighborhood houses.

The Hollis Theatre opened on Thursday, September 8, 1938, on Hollis Street in Framingham, Massachusetts. Its opening was announced in the Framingham News on Wednesday, September 7, 1938. The theater was opened by Elias M. Loew and belonged to the E.M. Loew circuit; at the time of the Hollis's opening, that circuit was reported to run from New England to Florida, and the Hollis was described as its 43rd theater. Elias M. Loew's career followed a classic exhibitor's path. He began as an usher in New York City, then visited Boston and decided to stay, taking a position as an usher at the Comique Theatre in Bowdoin Square. Through careful savings and some borrowed capital, he bought his first theater, the Dreamland Theatre, a small playhouse in Lynn, Massachusetts. After a complete renovation, the house reportedly played to standing-room-only audiences nightly. He then acquired a theater in Portland, Maine, which became popular, and opened a second house in that city two years later. He soon owned several more theaters in Roxbury and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. His system for selecting pictures and managing theaters proved successful, and over the next fifteen years his circuit grew substantially. The Hollis Theatre was staffed at opening by Harry O. Stafford as manager, Robert Burbank as assistant manager, Gordon Eldridge as doorman, and John Kennedy as usher. Harry O. Stafford came to Framingham with a background in theater management; his father owned and operated two theaters in New Haven, Connecticut, and his wife had been actively involved with the New York producer C. Dillingham in the production of musical comedies, associating with stars such as Fred Stone, Eddie Dowling, Joe Cook, Eleanor Powell, and Will Rogers. The Hollis Theatre operated from 1938 until 1954, according to the title of the local-history account, "E.M. Loew's Hollis Theatre 1938-1954." It is documented as a former movie theater in Framingham, Massachusetts. Like many single-screen neighborhood houses of the studio era, it belonged to a period of locally and regionally owned exhibition circuits that preceded the postwar restructuring of American moviegoing.

• 1954

  Hollis Theatre ceases operation, ending roughly sixteen years of exhibition.

• 1938

  Hollis Theatre opens on Hollis Street, Framingham, Massachusetts, on September 8 as the 43rd theater in the E.M. Loew circuit.

Neighborhood single-screen movie theater within the E.M. Loew regional exhibition circuit.

• Motion-picture exhibition

  Single-screen neighborhood movie theater programming within the E.M. Loew circuit.

1. 1E.M. Loew's Hollis Theatre 1938-1954natickmass.info
2. 2Hollis Theatre - Wikidatawikidata.org