July's Spotlight Adult Theater: The Paris Cinema in Worcester, MA

The Paris Cinema
68 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA
The Stats (from Cinema Treasures)
Style: Spanish Atmospheric (converted to multiplex in 1962)
Seating: 2,500 (original capacity in 1926)
Balcony: Yes
Opened: 1926
Status: Closed January 2006
Date of top photo: April, 2011

The Paris Cinema 

Doc here with July's Spotlight Adult Theater, which is the Paris Cinema in Worcester, MA and located at 68 Franklin Street. I first became aware of this theater by Journal senior reporter, Tomkat (on the prowl). Tomkat and I were discussing Worcester's New Art Theater, and it's current state when discussion turned to the Paris Cinema. Tomkat was kind enough to forward a current photo of the Facade of both The Paris (and the New Art), which you will find above.

There are a few reasons why The Good Doctor picked this theater as the July 2011 JOAT centerfold: A lot of historical information was available, many photos available online, and a controversial closing in 2006.

History of the Paris Cinema

The theater's original name was the Capitol Theatre, and it retained that name until the 1960's when it was converted to a cineplex.

The Capitol Theatre, formerly the Paris Cinema, is a rare surviving example of the “atmospheric” theatres that were popular across the United States during the movie palace era of the early 20th century. Architect John Eberson developed the atmospheric style of theater design in 1923, beginning with the Majestic Theatre in Houston, Texas, and designed more than 100 by 1930.

Originally seating 2,500, the 1926 Capitol Theatre is one of three palace theatres built in Worcester in the late 1920’s. The others are Poli’s Palace on Southbridge Street (now undergoing renovation to become The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts) and the Plymouth on Main Street (now the Palladium).

The first “atmospheric theatre” in New England, the Capitol Theatre allowed its patrons to live the fantasy of attending a show in an outdoor amphitheatre in Spain. Not only is its interior elaborately detailed with decorative plaster and wrought iron in the Spanish style, but the impression was enhanced by projectors that created the effect of twinkling stars and moving clouds on the arched ceilings of its auditorium and second floor mezzanine lobby. Although the building was converted to a multiplex cinema in the 1960’s, much of the interior and ornamental detailing still survives.

The Paris Cinema (to the best of my research) began showing XXX fare in 1982, after the landlord kicked out a group dedicated to using The Paris as a pure "art" house. From this point until it closed in 2005, The Paris showed straight porn in the main auditorium downstairs, and gay content upstairs.

Quote from Commenter on Cinema Treasures:
The balcony was closed off for an upstairs cinema and the auditorium was partitioned to make a small cinema and an area used for storage for inventory of the adult retail store.

Quote from commenter on Cinema Treasures:
Two screens:1. Adult downstairs (straight porn), 2. Adonis upstairs (gay porn). Closed end of July 2005. Licence revoked. Saved by porn, destroyed by morality. Now what will happen to the place!

Paris Cinema Gallery

The End

In January of 2005, according to an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, “a series of police raids resulted in the arrests of 22 men for engaging in sexual acts in the theater, some in groups and others by themselves.” City Manager Michael V. O’Brien said that the cinema “painted an ugly picture of downtown at a time he’s pushing for revitalization.”

In January, 2006, the Paris Cinema was closed down by the authorities and has sat empty ever since, awaiting the wrecking ball, but Preservation Worcester has been trying to save it from this fate. The theater was once the pride of Worcester. Inside, much of the original architectural splendor is still there, although in a dilapidated condition.

***

Thanks to Tomkat for supplying the photo of The Paris that got this whole profile rolling.

Do you have a suggestion for next month's Spotlight Adult Theater?  If so, just e-mail The Good Doctor at emiliolizardo1@gmail.com. I will need the basic details of the theater (name, location, address if possible, and  status), and I can do the rest of the research. Some theaters have a rich documentation (The Westwood Art Theatre in Toledo and The Paris Cinema above), and some just don't for whatever reason.  I will take the best suggestions and highlight them here at The Journal, your one-stop-shop for this thing of ours.

Thanks,

Doc