Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

14 Beale Street (Wollaston Theater)

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Wollaston/East neighborhood of Quincy is bounded by Quincy Shore Drive (East), Furnace Brook Parkway (South), the MBTA tracks (West) and Hayward Street-Hancock Street-Albion Road-Vassall Street (North). An outstanding feature of this area is the Josiah Quincy House (1770), mansion house of the Quincy estate which derived from the original 1635 several thousand acre grant to Edmund Quincy of some of the best farmland in New England. Other important features in this area are the 83-acre Merrymount Park (1885); historic Blacks Creels, the site of Edmund Quincy's tidal grist mill; and the National Sailors Home Cemetery, the only evidence of the 80-acre National Sailors Home (1865, now demolished). The development process of Wollaston East was greatly accelerated by the Old Colony Railroad which began operations in 1845 as well as by the advent of Quincy's extensive street railway system.

The Wollaston Theatre is a well-loved aspect of Wollaston community life and every effort should be made to insure its preservation. It was built as a 1259-seat legitimate theatre at a cost of $90,000 in 1926. The original owner was W. W. Wilson, a Wollaston realtor, but he sold it to the well-known contractor Edward H. Sears, who had actually built the building, by 1932. The architect for the building is listed as "James Tucker" which may be James A. Tuck of Boston. In between 1930 and 1935, the structure was converted to a movie theatre. In an amazing example of longevity of ownership, the Sears retained the theatre until 1977 when they sold it to the present owner, Arthur Chandler.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
Building Permit, 1929, garage.
H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974.
Diane Maddwx, ed. Built in the USA. The Preservation Press, 1985.
Robert A. McCaughey. Josiah Quincy, 1772-1864: The Last Federalist. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974.
Doris Oberg, Quincy Historical Society.
William S. Pattee. A History of Old Braintree and Quincy, 1878, p. 310.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The charming Wollaston Theater is a perfect illustration of Craig Morrison's (author of "'Theaters and Movie Houses" in Built in the USA , page 163) comment on Movie Houses, "..they reflected the architect's goal to bring an oasis of regal elegance into the lives of a newly urbanized industrial populace." It is an elegant building, an attractive survivor of pre television days which should be considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as a fine example of' a 1920s movie house. Both the exterior and the interior were richley decorated.

Although one half of the facade has been obliterated by signage (which is reversible) one can still admire the fine classically detailed front of the theater. The entrance is clearly identified by the marquis on top of it which in turn is topped by a raised parapet with a cartouche in the center breaking the horizontal line of the raised parapet. The facade is composed of simple store fronts which are separated by stylized Corinthian pilasters. The parapet is embellished with raised cast stone classic swags on top of each commercial establishment. The welcoming doors in the recessed entrance are topped with transoms of stained glass filled with urns and ribbons; the mosaic floor at the entrance has the initials "W.T.". The interior is divided into the outer lobby and the inner lobby. In the latter there is one large crystal chandelier descending from a oval frieze filled with urns, relating the design of the stained glass of the entrance. The dado is made up of three different colored marbles. The ticket booth is free standing and is probably original. The inner lobby also has a chandelier with the same oval frieze with urns, stained glass windows and a terrazo floor. The theater proper has a large center chandelier with four chandeliers at each corner. This suburban opulence is still intact and worthy of preservation. The Wollaston Theater is a significant factor in the Beale Street Streetscape and an important 1920s public building of Quincy.

Back