In the Valley of Belmont, Part II: Waverley Square

From Dave Brigham:

Belmont's Waverley Square is named for the Waverley Oaks, a well-known -- and long-gone -- famous stand of trees in what is now Beaver Brook Reservation, on the border with Waltham. The grove of trees -- somewhere between one and two dozen -- were "very large and ancient," according to the web site for The Waverley Trail.

The Oaks "inspired the creation of the world’s first regional land trust," according to the Trail's site. Said land trust, The Trustees of Reservations, was formed in 1891 by the Massachusetts Legislature "for the purposes of acquiring, holding, maintaining and opening to the public...beautiful and historic places...within the Commonwealth," per the Trustees' web site.

By the late 19th century, these trees were already older than the nation, according to various online accounts, with estimates of their ages ranging from 100 to 1,000 years old. Unfortunately, none of those mighty oaks are still standing, although the Waverley Trail site tells us that descendants of those mighty trees stand today.

But I'm not here to bum you out about dead timber - I'm here to celebrate yet another Belmont commercial destination (for my first Belmont post, see November 22, 2025, "In the Valley of Belmont, Part I: The Center").

Located in the south-centralish area of the town, Waverley Square is roughly bounded by Trapelo Road, Lexington Street, Pleasant Street and, oh let's say Bartlett Avenue. Amid the residential streets flanking Trapelo Road there are stores, restaurants, churches, historic signs and other points of interest.

I made a few visits to this area. From Beaver Brook Reservation, an area I wrote about once before (see November 25, 2012, "Crouching Barn, Hidden Mill"), head east along Trapelo Road to get to the square. Right where Trapelo meets Pleasant Street stands a small brick building that marks the southern tip of the expansive and well-known McLean Hospital facility and grounds.

Known as the Pleasant Street Lodge, the building once served as an entry gate to the grounds, I believe. These days, it serves as a meeting space for members of the residential community on the grounds. I haven't been able to track down information about its age, prior usage or architect.

At the corner of Church and Lexington streets is a fantastic architectural two-fer.

Occupied by Best Cleaners, on the left, and a Dunkin' franchise, on the right, these two nicely maintained buildings date to different decades of the 1800s. The Dunkin' building was likely built in the 1880s, per MACRIS. It "has most likely always been used for a commercial business on the ground floor and residential space above, as it is today," MACRIS continues. "It may have functioned as hotel space for immigrant workers who came to Boston in the 1890s to help construct the McLean Hospital complex."

Its similarly styled neighbor dates to the early 1850s and is known historically as Waverley Hall. One of the oldest buildings in this area of Belmont, it was originally located across from its current site, according to MACRIS. "[T]he structure was built to provide a meeting place and general store for the emerging population. The first floor was probably used commercially and the second floor served as a hall. The building may have also been used as the railroad depot for the Waverley stop [of the Fitchburg Railroad]. The hall was used as a location for public meetings and as the home of the First Congregational Church of Waverley, organized in 1861."

A few doors down, heading north on Church Street, is one of two storefronts for Wheelworks, a bike shop that was founded in 1977.

There's nothing particularly amazing architecturally about this place, but in doing some pre-search before heading out for second pass through Waverley Square, I learned that this Art Deco building served as a First National grocery store when it was built in 1931. First National Stores (later known as Finast) formed in 1925 from a merger of three grocery store operators, per Wikipedia. The company was eventually acquired and the stores were rebranded in various ways.

The main entrance to Wheelworks is located at 480 Trapelo Road, in what is known historically as the Leonardi-Maynard Block.

"This block was one of many such single-story 'taxpayer' commercial structures which sprung up along streetcar routes and commercial centers in the Boston area in the early 20th century," MACRIS indicates. "Charles E. Leonardi, a Boston attorney, was issued a building permit for the seven unit building in 1914. In 1915 the tenants included Charles E. Scott, insurance agent at #472; the Waverley Square Provision Co. at #476; Isaac Silver’s dry goods store at #482; Pannanchio & Albany’s fruit store at #486 and the Waverley Square Bowling Alley in the basement."

I wonder if remnants of the bowling alley exist. Over the years, I've learned about numerous buildings in Greater Boston that once had thriving bowling alleys in their basements. Sadly, many of those businesses ended up in the gutter.

On the north side of Trapelo Road, a short walk from the commuter train stop, where Waverley Street meets the main drag, stands a beautiful former municipal building that is now surely a great place to live.

This gorgeous place was built in 1873 as a school. In 1895 it was named the Rev. Daniel Butler Grammar School. "It is the oldest surviving schoolhouse in Belmont," according to MACRIS. "After a new Butler school opened in 1900, the second story of this lovely old pile was occupied by the Waverley Society of Odd Fellows. The first floor was vacant until 1906 when it became temporary quarters for the Fire Department and Electric Light Department.

"The Odd Fellows moved out in 1926 and the second story was remodeled to provide sleeping quarters for the firemen. In 1930 an addition was made and the building was converted to a two-door station, with the current Art Deco entry added. A third and final addition was made in 1933 when a branch library wing was constructed."

This building was converted to condos in 2007.

Walking east on Trapelo Road, I looked south down Maple Street and thought I spied something worth checking out in the middle distance. That turned out to be a backside mirage, but on my trek along Maple, I found something real...if a little odd.

Home to Friendship Lodge #20, the Oddfellows Hall is...uh, I got nothing. MACRIS has no details, neither does the Belmont assessor's database.

Back out on Trapelo is a place that I was hoping was still an active theater. But alas....

Now occupied by Beacon Community Church, the former Strand Theater opened in 1921 from a design by Funk and Wilcox. The firm was "primarily known for designing apartment houses and commercial dwellings," according to this Back Bay Houses article. "They designed the Boston Arena (1910) on St. Botolph [Street] and a number of theaters, including (in 1918) the Strand Theatre at Upham’s Corner" in Boston.

The architects also designed the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Mass., which I mentioned in my write-up about that North Shore town (see September 16, 2023, "Downtown Beverly, Part I: Cabot Street + Environs").

The Belmont theater operated under a few names over the decades, including the Studio. In 1976, the owners installed new seats, reducing the total number to just over 400. The moviehouse was renovated again in 1998. According to Cinema Treasures, the theater "was closed in January 2015, but reopened July 2015. On September 9, 2020 it was sold to a church."

On the side of the adjacent Lisa's Family Pizzeria is a great mural.

Across from the pizza joint is Art's Specialties, part of a small local chain of specialty gourmet shops selling cheese, wine, beer, chocolate, dried meat, teas and much more. I dug the poster in the window, as well as the beer selection.

The image is a famous one. From the Library of Congress: "Marching under banners emblazoned 'We Want Beer,' and to the tune of 36 bands, more than 1500 union men paraded through Broad Street, Newark, N. J., on October 30th. [1931], in spectacular anti-prohibition demonstration. Over 20 labor unions and 800 musicians took part in the huge demonstration which is said to be one of the largest and most impressive of any staged in the country."

Side note about Trapelo Road: for a few years after I moved to Greater Boston in 1990 I thought the road was pronounced "TRAP-e-lo," rhyming with Tupelo, the Mississippi birthplace of Elvis Presley. I called information [look it up, kids] one day in the early '90s while I was at work, trying to find some company's phone number, and was corrected by the operator: "It's pronouned "Tra-PELL-o."

I crossed the street, and on the south side of Trapelo, as I was heading west, I spied L.C.'s Variety, about which I know two things: it has a pleasant sign, and it is located in a building that dates to 1927.

Continuing west, I had to make a photo of the automaton cobbler in the window of Peter's Shoe Repair.

This place looks like it's been in business for quite a few decades. As for the somewhat creepy dude who looks like a ventriloquist's dummy, he's part of a culture that I'm hoping to learn more about. In my travels over the years in service of this blog, I've come across a few such automatons, including one at The Cobbler Shop in Newton Corner; one at Eagle Shoe Repair in Norwood; and let's not forget this variation from David's Instant Shoe Repair in Boston, which is now out of business:

I wrapped up my Waverley Square-ish tour at the Pleasant Street Garage, which is north of the Star Market and the Belmont Car Wash. According to MACRIS, the complex "was constructed as an automobile sales and service facility in multiple stages between 1912 and 1949. The complex includes an automotive showroom at its west end and a long narrow section extending to the northeast formerly used for service and storage."

That western end is now occupied by Artefact, a home and garden store.

"The Pleasant Street Garage was initially operated by Cheney J. Holton and George Williams about 1912," MACRIS continues. "The garage consisted of a small building and offered supplies, accessories and storage with all makes of cars bought, sold and exchanged. Holton sold his share of the business to Williams and in 1928 George Williams sold to Amedio (Joseph) DeMelia.

"Amedio Joseph DeMelia was born in Verona, Italy, and upon arriving in the U.S. settled initially in New York City before arriving in Belmont. Under his ownership, the Pleasant Street Garage was continually expanded over the next fifty years and became one of the largest Dodge dealerships in New England.

"The complex was sold by Joseph DeMelia’s daughters, Claire and Lorraine DeMelia, in 2010 to Paul Tocci."

I really like the look of these buildings, and love that they have been repurposed for a variety of uses, including several related to automobiles, including Boston Motor Werks and Coachworks

I love that the owner of this property left an old sign intact.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Waverley Square. Make sure to check back for the final installment in this series, in which I will cover Cushing Square. In the meantime, check out the links below for older posts about Belmont.

November 21, 2017, "Punk Farm?"

July 2, 2013, "Ped Xing"

May 28, 2013, "Small, But Useful"

Pioneering in Leominster

From Dave Brigham:

Let's get this out of the way, for any non-New England readers: the Massachusetts town I am briefly profiling in this post is pronounced "Le-mu-nster," not "Leo-minster." And for those across the pond, feel free to stick with your "Lem-stuh" pronunciation, since the settlers borrowed the name from the English town in Herefordshire (don't ask me how to pronounce that...).

One other piece of business before I get to the good stuff: I made only a quick visit to Leominster, and plan to return to cover more of Worcester County's second-largest city.

Known as the Pioneer Plastics City, Leominster is the birthplace of the pink flamingo lawn ornament. I learned about this a few decades ago when I worked as a proofreader at an accounting firm, where one of the clients was a guy named Don Featherstone, the artist who created the whimsical decoration while working for Union Products.

I was happy to see that crosswalks in downtown Leominster feature pink flamingos at each end.

I skirt the northeastern part of Leominster on my way to and from New Hampshire to play music with friends a few times a year. Located about 20 miles due north of Worcester, Leominster was at one time filled with manufacturers of all sorts, making paper, pianos, combs, sunglasses and Tupperware products.

This post focuses on the city's downtown. I will seek out the industrial zones somewhere down the line.

My first stop was the old brick building housing Brady's, a restaurant, bar and event facility on Mechanic Street.

MACRIS has nothing on this place, but the Brady's web site indicates that the nicely restored building "has served as a furniture factory, hardware store and even Leominster’s Post Office in the early-1900s!" I can't make out the ghost signs in either of these photos.

Right around the corner on Water Street is a somewhat odd-looking diner (for reasons explained below) that's 75 years old.

Tim's Diner was manufactured in 1949 by Silk City Diners, a division of the Paterson Wagon Company of Paterson, New Jersey. According to the Roadside Architecture blog, this is the diner's original location, although it was originally known as Roy's.

"In 1953, Tim Kamataris Sr. purchased the diner from [the original owner] and rechristened the business 'Tim’s Diner'," according to this Diner Hotline Weblog post. In the early 1980s, there were two accidents in a short span of time that damaged the diner. "The original factory-built entryway was destroyed along with the stainless steel facade under the front windows being damaged beyond repair," per the article. "Tim Kamataris Sr. made the decision to replace the entryway and facade under all the windows along the front and right side of the diner with brick. Ironically, a second car accident hit the front wall again within a fairly short time after the damage was repaired from the first accident, this time to the right of the new entryway."

Long story, short: after many years of featuring a brick facade, the owner (now Tim Jr.) was able to use grants from the City of Leominster to restore the diner to "a reasonable facsimile to the way it originally looked."

Along Water Street, I shot the backside of Tilton & Cook Marketplace, which calls itself "the largest indoor new and used good marketplace in Massachusetts."

I haven't found anything online about the building. I like the old alarm rusting down the wall.

At this point, I doubled back and headed north to check out an amazing old train depot on Merriam Avenue.

Built in 1878 by the Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad, the Gothic Revival stunner features a 75-foot central tower and loads of wonderful details.

The old depot is currently home to Russell's Liquors.

Along Main Street, I saw the Christian Life Center and thought, "That used to be something else - probably a theater."

"Opened January 8, 1923, the Rialto Theater was one of at least three classic movie theaters in this Massachusetts city," according to Cinema Treasures. "Although the exterior clearly suggests this building’s former use as a movie theater, the interior seems to have been gutted and put to other uses. It now serves as the home of the Christian Life Center. The entranceway reveals what was part of the original entrance/lobby area, and ceiling details remain intact."

The architects of the theater were Funk & Wilcox, according to this post at the Boschen blog, which offers "Quick fun random stuff regarding classic movie theaters, Drive-in Theaters, film history, and related projects" that the author does. "Funk and Wilcox designed many buildings throughout Massachusetts including several theaters such as the Ware Theatre in Beverly and the Strand and Franklin Park Theaters in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston," per the blog post.

The Rialto closed in the 1950s.

I headed southwest on Main Street, and while I saw many great buildings, the light and shadows were difficult, so I only shot two of them. The first is the Foster Building, which was built in 1874.

The second is the Wood Block, which dates to 1890.

I continued on to Union Street, where I saw a nice for a place that's unfortunately out of business.

I don't know when the Farmers Exchange opened or closed for business. Around the corner on Central Street is a much newer sign for an exchange of a different sort.

Bitcoin Ben's is an outlet of a company that I believe is based in Sarasota, Florida. "One of the goals of Bitcoin Ben’s Crypto Club is showing and utilizing the decentralized shareable economy experience," per the web site. "We want to increase awareness of cryptocurrency, blockchain and related technology."

I don't normally take signs of places like that, but I was intrigued by the juxtaposition of the old Farmers Exchange sign, indicative of a fading economy, with the bitcoin joint, which may be the future of commerce.

Here's hoping I can get back to Leominster soon!

Having a Whale of a Time in New Bedford, Part III

From Dave Brigham:

Welcome to the third and final installment of my series on New Bedford, a one-time whaling port located on the Acushnet River in southeastern Massachusetts (see Part II here and Part I here). In this post I will discuss more great historic buildings, an old bank that's been turned into a music venue, a beautiful chapel, a sculpted monument to the whaling industry, and much more.

This leg of the journey starts at The Cozy Crib, a spa offering hair, nail and waxing services - and a neat piece of New Bedford's history on the exterior of its building.

While the business is located in a handsome, circa-1915 building and I'm sure it provides excellent service, what caught my eye was the interesting feature on the side wall: a gigantic tea kettle.

The copper kettle, which has been dated to before 1850, was recently restored and attached to this building at 1 Johnny Cake Hill. The city used $12,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to refurbish the kettle, which over the decades has been showcased on several buildings in New Bedford, according to this South Coast Today article.

Heading west on Union Street, I decided to make a photo juxtaposing an old New Bedford building with a future one.

Built in 1865, the brick building to the left is known as the Moby Dick Chandler Building. As part of the construction project evidenced by the rising elevator tower on the right side of the photo, the Moby Dick building will be restored. The project will feature 45 units of mixed-income housing, including 14 studio apartments, 21 one-bedroom apartments and 10 two-bedroom apartments, according to this article from The Standard-Times. There will also be approximately 3,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

A "chandler" is a dealer of provisions for ships. Moby Dick, of course, was written by Herman Melville, who spent time on a whaling ship that sailed out of New Bedford.

Around the corner from the new development, along Acushnet Avenue, I spied a great and greatly appropriate mural, next to Wing's Court, a pocket park located where the former Wing's Department store once stood.

The ship mural was painted by artist Greg Pennisten of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and is titled, "Winds of Change," according to this article from The Providence Journal. I'm not sure whether the milk-carton art is related.

Along William Street, in the Rite-Aid building I mentioned in the second New Bedford post, is a storefront church that goes by the name of King of Kings Christian Church.

Next, I headed south on Purchase Street, where I saw a former bank that's been converted to a music hall and pub.

The Vault is located in the former New Bedford Five Cent Savings Bank building, which dates to 1891.

Across an alley is a Family Dollar outlet, which is located in a great building that dates to 1884 (or 1914 - you choose between the assessor and MACRIS).

From MACRIS: "The Saltmarsh store has been the location of various merchants for many years. The original proprietor of the building was Steiger-Dudgeon Co., a dry goods store. Steiger-Dudgeon occupied the building from 1914 until 1932. Charles H. Cox who had previously been employed by Steiger-Dudgeon purchased the business in 1932. The Cox Company was in existence until 1937. In 1937 a large New England based chain of department store known as 'Lincoln Stores' opened for business in the building. The firm closed their doors in 1961. In 1964 Robert C. Saltmarsh bought the property which included the old Steiger-Dudeon (sic) Building from the trustees of the Maria T. UpJohn (sic) Estate. Mr. Saltmarsh opened his bookstore the very same year. Prior to the opening of the Saltmarsh store, Mr. Saltmarsh operated Hutchinson's Book Store located on Union Street."

Directly across the street is the Bristol Building. I was captivated by the old tile entryway for what I believe was a Kay Jeweler's store.

This space is currently occupied by Hewn, which calls itself a non-binary boutique. As for the Bristol Building, it dates to 1914.

Back on Union Street, I really dug the three buildings below.

I will discuss the building on the left below. In the middle is the Phinney Building, which rose in 1915. From MACRIS: "Seth J. Besse built this structure in 1915 and named it after his wife's maiden name (Clara Phinney). It was used as an office building with a ground floor storefront. Mr. Besse was the president of The New Bedford Textiles Company - and was active in the business community until his death in 1939."

On the right is the circa-1913 New Bedford Dry Goods Building, also known as Star Men's Clothing Store.

Below is a shot from a different angle of the other building in the above trio: the Star Store.

I love that the name of the store is carved into the facade. These three buildings were erected at different times and were once all part of the same business. "The New Bedford Dry Goods Company opened the Star Store at 715 Purchase Street at the corner of Union Street in 1844," according to this WBSM article. "As New Bedford grew, so grew the Star Store." In 1969, Boston-based department-store chain Gorin's acquired the Star Store. In 1983, Almy purchased the store from Gorin's, but two years later the outlet closed.

The City of New Bedford acquired the building in 1995, and shortly thereafter signed a 20-year lease with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, which operated its College of Visual and Performing Arts there. Unfortunately, last fall the campus closed in a funding dispute, according to the WBSM article. I'm not sure what the plan is for the building.

At 555 Pleasant Street is the Standard Times Newspaper Building.

I made that photo because I like the simplicity of the Cafe Italia awning. Little did I know that the restaurant closed back in 2022. As for the building, here's what my old friend MACRIS has to say: "The four story building was built in 1894 by the Pleasant Street Trust Co....In 1954 the site was sold to E. Anthony & Sons by Mrs. Basil (Mary C.) Brewer. The Standard, under E. Anthony and Sons purchased the Union For Good Works (later Boys Club) in order to house its expanding operations. The original building had equal frontage on Market and Pleasant Sts (sic). The present site is half the size of the original due to the widening of Pleasant St. in 1923 & 1925. A fifth story was added in 1912 along with the building to its South."

In between the the police department and Our Lady's Chapel (which I will discuss below), I made a photo of Sears Court, assuming it was named for a local outlet of the nearly-defunct retail chain. There may have been a Sears in downtown New Bedford at some point, but this little alleyway is named for a local denizen.

"Sears' Court, as originally named, runs from Purchase to Pleasant Streets, an area formerly called Cheapside," according to this Digital Commonwealth photo description of a house that no longer stands. "The New Bedford Five Cent Savings Bank (site of the aforementioned Vault) occupies the land where this house stood....[F]ronting on Purchase Street...was the home of the late Willard Sears. Willard Sears once operated a tannery on the south of Sears' Court."

Cool. If you want to know more about Cheapside, check this out.

Now, let's talk about Our Lady's Chapel.

With an absolute stunner of a facade, the chapel really stands out amid the old commercial blocks and the rather staid library across the street. Operated by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, the chapel was built in 1950. The friars conduct Mass there every day.

In front of the library is the very dramatic Whaleman Statue.

Sculpted by Bela Pratt, the statue was gifted to the City of New Bedford on June 20, 1913, by William W. Crapo, according to Explore New Bedford. Pratt's works include ones for the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Mint and the Boston Public Library.

The final stop in my tour of downtown New Bedford was the Genensky Samuel Building on Pleasant Street.

The two-story building has stores on the first floor and offices on the second, and was built in 1924.

At this point, I hopped back in my car to hit a few outlying destinations. Whenever I'm planning to explore a town or city, I search online for any old/current diners, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and the like. My first stop was the old Orpheum Theatre on South Water Street. It's decades past its prime, but holy cow is it an amazing building.

Designed in the Beaux Arts style, the Orpheum opened on April 15, 1912, the same day that the Titanic sank. It was built by -- get this -- the Club of French Sharpshooters, "a benevolent fraternal organization comprised of French Canadian residents that immigrated to the city to work in its burgeoning textile industry," according to MACRIS. The organization was looking for a building "that would house a theatre, an armored shooting range, a ballroom and several meeting rooms," MACRIS continues.

(Rear of the theater, seen from South 1st Street.)

The Sharpshooters leased the building to the Orpheum Circuit of Boston, which was one of the largest vaudeville and entertainment franchises in the country, according to MACRIS. As New Bedford grew into a bustling city, it was able to support two dozen theaters across its miles. The Zeiterion, which I mentioned in the first part of this series, is the sole survivor.

From MACRIS: "In 1962, the City of New Bedford came into control of the building for tax title causes. In 1971, the Lesco family purchased the building and operated a wholesale beverage company out of the building. In 1998, the Diaz family purchased the building and [operated] an ethnic grocery market on the first floor of the building."

There is more history buried in this place. When I posted photos of this place on Facebook, a friend did some detective work and determined that the old sign on the front facade is for a McCrory’s five and dime store. This was the same company that operated the J.J. Newberry’s chain.

I'm not sure whether Central Foods Market is the same store the Diaz family operated, and whether it's currently still in business.

As of the 2009 MACRIS report, the theater remained unaltered and intact. "The ornate plasterwork and detailing is in poor shape, yet remains....The building, which was once surrounded by other architecturally rich structures, now stands alone, a gentle reminder of what it once was. The French Sharpshooter’s Club, which once boasted hundreds of members, quietly disbanded in 1974."

What ever will become of this place?

From here, I trekked over to 805 Rockdale Avenue, site of the former Angelo's Orchid Diner.

The diner was in business from 1945 until its closure in 2019, according to this Fun 107 article. "After owning the diner for more than three decades, owners Geraldine and Angelo Carvalho were both ready to hang up the spatula. They had worked into their 70s and they were tired."

In early 2023, developer Dave Vermette made an offer on the diner, looking to fix it up and sell it, or rehab it and lease it to someone who knows restaurants. "I don't know how to run a restaurant," Vermette said. "I can barely cook breakfast at home, but I'm hoping this could be a great opportunity for the right type of person."

I'm not sure of the status of that plan.

Next, I made my way to the Acushnet Avenue Commercial District in the city's North End. "The...[d]istrict survey area in New Bedford represents the core section of the North End’s retail business zone, which developed chiefly between 1900 and 1910 as hundreds of new houses were built on intersecting streets in response to the spread of textile mills north of the old city," according to MACRIS. My tour of this area was quick; I hope to check out more in the future.

The first place that caught my eye was Frem's Jewelry.

The building dates to 1907, and I'm assuming there are apartments or offices above the store. As for the jeweler, I haven't found out much information. MACRIS indicates that the storefront appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. I really dig the sign.

The reason I headed to this area of the city is because of two old theaters located along Acushnet Avenue.

Currently home to the Cape Verdean Cultural Center, the former Vien Theater/Strand Theater/Loews Center Theater was completed in 1910 and was owned initially by Cordelia Vien and her son, Eugene, according to MACRIS.

"In 1903 [Cordelia] moved from Worcester to New Bedford and bought the Park Hotel in Weld Square....She managed and lived in the hotel with her son, and in 1906 they formed E. H. Vien and Company," MACRIS indicates. "That same year she acquired the Strand lot, and in 1909 she filed a plan for what she initially called Vien’s Theatre, a two-story brick structure."

(Side view of the former theater.)

The theater hosted movies and live performances. In 1916, the Viens renamed the building as the Strand. Six years later, they sold the theater to Manuel Senna, who, in turn, sold the place to E.M. Loew Theatres around 1920, per MACRIS.

Like so many theaters from the early 20th century, the Strand went through quite a transformation in the following decades. Again, from MACRIS: "In 1950 Loew’s closed the Strand to install larger seats, which reduced the theater’s capacity from 850 to 650 seats, and reopened it as Loew’s Center Theater. Six years later, apparently attempting to create a niche for itself, the theater began to show foreign and 'arthouse' films and to offer exhibitions of area artwork.

"From its first foreign film — Bread, Love, and Dreams with Gina Lollobridiga — the theater’s offerings slowly descended into what [Theater historian Arthur] Gartaganis described as 'soft core pornography and by degree into hard core porno films abounding in the 1970’s. The Center straggled on for many years in a lascivious cinematic miasma.'"

!!!!!!

By the mid-1960s the Center was offering strip shows. In April 1992 the Cape Verdean Association in New England bought the property.

Our final stop in New Bedford is the old Capitol Theatre.

Completed in 1920, the Allen-Charrette Building "contains six street-level storefronts [and] a long row of windows for offices above that concealed the 1580-seat Capitol Theater running the full length of the building in the rear," according to MACRIS.

As with the Vien/Strand theater, the Capitol has a colorful history. "In 1929 the theater was leased to Olympia Operating Company," according to MACRIS. "About 1944 New England Theaters, Inc., part of Paramount Pictures, acquired the theater and in 1962 sold it to Zeiterion Realty Corporation. Zeiterion, owned by the Zeitz family of New Bedford, also owned and operated the State, Empire, Olympia, and New Bedford Theaters.

"By the end of the 1960s, according to [historian Carmen] Maiocco, 'the films shown at the Capital were getting a little ragged, such as one highbrowed offering entitled I Spit on Your Grave. In the 1970s there were rock concerts and other special events. Sometime around 1980, the lights came down at the Capital (sic) Theater for a final time.'"

Zeiterion sold the property in 1971, and the theater closed. Two years later, according to MACRIS, Andre J. and Olivia Fournier bought the building and "by April 1975 reopened the theater, but attendance was poor, and by winter that year the theater again closed in November 1976. In July 1979 they sold the property to Harold C. and Barbara G. Nelson."

The former theater lobby has been occupied by various businesses over the ensuing years. Changes may be afoot for the building. The Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) and the Waterfront Historic League Area League (WHALE) have struck a partnership to rehab the old theater, adding coworking and community space, as well as affordable housing.

To see photos of the inside of the Capitol, check out this link and scroll down.

Whew! That wraps up New Bedford. I have a feeling I'll get back there this year, so stay tuned.