Theaters Trivia

            The first “moving pictures” in Millinocket were shown on the third floor of the McCaffrey Block, price 5 cents. The first “movie house” in town, as theaters were called in the early 1900’s, was the Dream (near Speed’s Insurance). It had a short run.

            The Millinocket Opera House (692 seats, built 1912) was on the site of the former Woodman Hall (built by Charles Rush). Along with movies, the Opera House was the site of graduations, town meetings and the Papermaker’s Ball.  By 1930, Samuel Kurson of Bangor owned the Opera House and changed the front entrance. He owned and operated the theater for 41 years.

The Four Star Movie Hall was on Penobscot Avenue for a time in the 1930’s. The Crown Theater (350 seats) opened in 1937. It was located at 75 Penobscot Avenue. Built by Milton Glickman, the name later changed to Keith Theater. Both the Crown and Keith had short runs.

The site of the former Four Star Theater would become the location for the Millinocket Theater with Frank LePage, Jr. as manager. It had 702 seats. Its gala opening took place on Sept. 9, 1938.  The Millinocket Theater had a successful run until it was sold in the early 1960’s. Not long after, an explosion and fire destroyed the theater. A bowling alley was located on the site later.  

After the closure of the Millinocket Theater, the Opera House was the place to “go to the movies.” The Opera House also had a fire which caused the building to undergo changes. The building went from three stories to two stories. The elegant entrance (used often through the years for photo-ops) was gone and the new entrance was on a corner of the building.  The Opera House continued in business until 1971.

The last movie theater in Millinocket was at the shopping center on Central Street in the 1980’s. It went under the name K-Cinemas, Plaza Cinemas, then The Movie Mill.

                   Some bits and pieces of Millinocket movie theater trivia:

1.    The Dream Theater (silent movies, 1920’s) probably small building left of Our Katahdin building.

2.    The Opera House showed the first “Talkie.

3.    Maine passed a law in the 1940’s allowing movies to be shown on Sundays.

4.    3 theaters at the same time (Keith, Opera House, Millinocket Theater) – total 1744 seats.

5.    Glen Wheaton, age 11, started working at the Millinocket Theater passing out programs & selling candy. Grown up, he left town for a time, then returned as theater manager for many years.

6.    Millinocket Theater won a lawsuit (1943) & gained right to show major motion pictures and had the first Cinema Scope (a very wide screen).