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At the address, 35 Lowell Street Manchester, NH, lies a destitute parking lot beside a Red Arrow Diner. Where this parking lot lies, however, once stood a roller skating rink known as Mechanics Hall. In 1909, the rink was converted to a theater for the purpose of preserving photographs, a somewhat new technology at the time. This theater came to be known as Mechanics Theater. It was the first building in Manchester to preserve and display photographs. However, attendance at Mechanics Theater died down due to the Star Theater opening across the street. It was repurposed as a meeting hall called, “The Academy.” A mysterious fire in 1938 resulted in the structure burning down.

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In 1909, the roller skating rink known as Mechanics Hall was converted to a theater. This theater came to be known as Mechanics Theater until it became a meeting hall called, “The Academy." A mysterious fire resulted in the building burning down. Today, it is a parking lot next to a Red Arrow Diner.

Mechanics Hall/Theater

Beginning on the outskirts of Manchester NH, at Saint Anselm College, this tour takes visitors through museums and historic sites in downtown Manchester NH. The tour includes many ghost theatres from the Great White Way of the early 20th century, only 1 of which still exists as a theatre today. The tour ends on a fitting note, bringing visitors to the Currier Museum of Art, a fine mix of New Hampshire’s history, education, and art.

Saint Anselm College was named after Anselm of Canterbury, who lived from 1093 to 1109. The college was given the ability to grant academic degrees in 1895 by the state of New Hampshire. The mission statement of Saint Anselm College is as follows: Saint Anselm is a Catholic, Benedictine college providing all its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. It does so in a learning community that encourages the lifelong pursuit of the truth and fosters intellectual, moral and spiritual growth to sustain and enrich its graduates' personal lives, work, and engagement within local, national, and global communities. Saint Anselm College currently reaches admission levels of around 2,000 and is well known for their involvement in the national election process, having hosted many debates and important presidential speeches.

Founded August 1, 1889, Saint Anselm College is a non-profit, private, liberal arts college. Benedictine monks of Saint Mary’s Abbey in Newark, New Jersey arrived in New Hampshire by an invitation from Bishop Denis M. Bradley, the first Bishop of Manchester, NH. The monks organized a six-year curriculum of philosophy and theology in the new college. 

Saint Anselm College

In 2000, a $9 million grant from Senator and former NH governor Judd Gregg and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) was granted towards the construction of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Construction was finished in 2001, prompting an upsurge in candidate visitations, despite Saint Anselm College’s popularity for presidential candidates dating back since the 1950s. Since 2003, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics has hosted presidential primary debates at least once for every general election cycle. CNN, Fox News, and ABC have also visited NHIOP every general election cycle, allowing students to intern as “runners” for the news stations. Fox News even hosted live airings in 2004 and 2008 at the college while candidates visited NHIOP.

In 1995, Assistant Vice President of Saint Anselm College, in talks with the college’s Politics Department proposed the idea of an Institute of Politics on campus to the NH Board of Trustees. The idea was prompted by an effort to reap the benefits of New Hampshire’s tradition of being the first state to vote in primary elections. Later that year, the Board of Trustees passed the proposition.

New Hampshire Institute of Politics

Joseph Boivin started the first credit union on November 24, 1908, and became its first president. Monsignor Pierre Hevey, a local pastor, and Alphonse Desjardins, a Candian credit union pioneer were his partners who hoped to improve French-speaking mill workers’ economic stability. At first, the bank was only open in the evenings and holidays but it outgrew those hours, becoming one of “the state’s most stable financial institutions”. The original name was Saint Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association, it was renamed La Caisse Populaire Ste. Marie, or “Bank of the People, St. Mary’s" in 1925.As an attorney, Boivin counseled French-Canadian residents of Manchester. He volunteered his evenings to help those who needed sound financial planning and saving information. The museum now occupies the space where he took these meetings and their website says that they offer “a one-of-a-kind interactive experience that brings to life a vision as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. The Museum is more than a collection of artifacts and documents. It's the soul of an unwavering national movement of people helping people. America's Credit Union Museum honors our shared history, documents today's achievements, helps credit unions prepare for tomorrow's challenges, and inspires our industry's collective future.” Today, Saint Mary's Bank is a few streets away, on McGregor Street while the museum continues to reside in the original three-story, three-family Classical Revival house.

America’s Credit Union Museum is located at 418-420 Notre Dame Avenue. It inhabits the same building as the first credit union founded in the United States. The credit union was opened in 1908 in attorney Joseph Boivin’s home until 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Armand Lemire donated the building to create a museum where the first two floors became exhibit space. America’s Credit Union Museum and CUNA Research Center Facebook page states that “ultimately, America's Credit Union Museum is a cooperative resource that celebrates the credit union movement past, present, and future. It embraces and strives to demonstrate cooperation, caring, and imagination, the characteristics that have made credit unions such a vitally important part of American life today.”

America’s Credit Union Museum (Saint Mary’s Bank)

The Millyard Museum examines a variety of other historical topics. The Millyard Museum also houses an archive of documents from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company as well as those of New Hampshire families and businesses throughout the years. The archive holds a variety of documents such as photographs, letters, oral histories, books, and manuscripts. The museum shares the building with a science center known as SEE which,like the history of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, focuses in on technological advancement.On top of these exhibits, the Millyard Museum also hosts events such as theater galleries showcasing Manchester, NH’s rich artistic history.

 The Millyard Museum was opened in 2001 by the Manchester Historic Association. It is housed in one of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company’s mill buildings (Mill Building No. 3) on Commercial and Pleasant Streets. Operating Tuesday through Saturday, the primary attraction of the Millyard Museum is the exhibit Woven in Time, 11,000 Years at Amoskeag Falls, which explores the history of civilization in Manchester.

Millyard Museum

The building can be found at 60 Pleasant Street was built in 1904 to store the New Hampshire State Union Armory. The Romanesque architecture can be seen on the head house that looks out on Pleasant Street and the drill hall that extends behind it all the way to West Central Street. The two-story structure has a fortress-like main entrance that is framed by two massive brick pilasters. All four outer walls are made of brick and the left side wall is attached to the DoubleTree Hotel entrance on Pleasant Street.Alfred A. Collins, the person who built the arsenal, was said to be “one of the best-known citizens in New Hampshire” when he passed away. He is listed as an engineer, builder, and architect on the National Register of Historic Places for the N.H. State Union Armory in Manchester. It seems that the armory was used from 1900 to 1924, then it became the Hermsdorf Manufacturing Building which was a plastics manufactory. Now, it is privately owned and used commercially. There are no markers to tell what it originally was.

The New Hampshire State Union Armory located at 60 Pleasant Street was built and opened in 1904. The project was done under the supervision of Alfred A. Collins. It was the first state armory in New Hampshire and was the first place where state police could consolidate their fundamental tasks and equipment. The brick structure’s function originally was defense and later became a building for Hermsdorf Manufacturing. Today, it is privately owned, commercially used, and unmarked. The historic armory was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 1982.


The New Hampshire State Union Armory

In January of 1916, the Eagle Theatre opened its doors to the public. It was renamed to the Vitaphone Theatre by 1941, but may have closed soon after the renaming. The Eagle Theatre made sure that audiences could see performances almost every afternoon for relatively low prices, causing a surge in customers. The theatre also provided the first movie with sound in the city. During the Great Depression, the theatre allowed for people to come in during their “dish night” to grab a plate or bowl and engage in social interaction. Currently, the structure is a site occupied by the Manchester Place luxury apartments.

Built in 1916, the Eagle Theatre was renamed to the Vitaphone Theatre in 1931. Audiences could see performances for low prices compared to other theatres and the theatre also provided the first movie with sound in the city. Today, the structure is a site occupied by the Manchester Place luxury apartments in Manchester, New Hampshire.




The Eagle Theater/Vitaphone Theatre

From 1856 to 1899, the Park Theatre was known as Smyth’s Hall, named after the owner, Frederick Smith. Smith was governor of New Hampshire and four-time mayor of Manchester. Before becoming Park Theatre in 1899, the theater cycled through the names Gorman’s Theatre, the Music Hall, and New Elm Street Theatre before settling on Park Theatre. Managers of park theatre elected to bring in a projectionist booth, changing the theatre from a performance hall to a motion picture showing. Additionally, Smyth introduced Abraham Lincoln as “the next president of the United States,” which gave the theatre a lot of fame. In 1930, the theatre closed and in 1970 it was demolished in order to build the Hampshire Plaza.

The Park Theatre existed from 1856 to 1930.  It was known as Smyth’s Hall before the change of name in 1899. The theater cycled through the names Gorman’s Theatre, the Music Hall, and New Elm Street Theatre before settling on Park Theatre. In 1930, the theatre closed and in 1970 it was demolished in order to build the Hampshire Plaza. It was part of a vibrant set of movie theatres in the city now known only in memories.

Park Theatre

The Strand Theater was located at 20 Hanover Street, Manchester NH 03101. The Strand Theater was originally the Manchester Opera House, which opened in 1881. The Opera House was run by Edward W. Harrington Jr. However, the Opera House closed and was sold and renamed The Strand Theater in 1906. This change occurred because the Opera House could no longer make a profit and compete with the new movie industry or Boston, Massachusetts’s theaters. This theater featured one screen and 1,265 seats. By the mid-1930s, Shea Theaters was running the Strand. In August 1935, the Manchester Union stated that repairs and air conditioning were being installed to the theater and that it would re-open in the fall. The Strand showed “first-run” films up into the late 1960s.In 1938, the stage of the Strand Theater was actually cut back to create space for more seats. This implied that more movie-goers were going to the theater than it could originally hold. Throughout the 1940s, the theater changed managers almost yearly. Some managers of theater, at this time, were Francis W. Lamarre, Bernard Hickey, and Albert W. Foley. The theater officially closed in 1977. On March 9, 1985, there was a fire that destroyed The Strand Theater and the surrounding shops and commercial centers of the Harrington-Smith Block area. Restoration projects sought to recreate the storefronts and original features of the area. However, the theater was completely demolished. The theater's location was ultimately converted into street-level stores and apartments on the higher levels with the name "Opera Block Apartments". Today, the “Strand” letters are still outlined in the tile walkway outside of the building. Harrington-Smith Block, in downtown Manchester, is still considered an important, historic area today.

The Manchester Opera House, located at 20 Hanover Street, Manchester NH, opened in 1881. The building was designed by John H. Flanning in the Queen Anne style. The Opera House closed due to the competitive nature of the movie industry and, in 1906, it was repurposed into The Strand Theatre. The stage of the Strand Theatre was cut back in 1938 in order to create more space for seats, bringing in more audience members. In 1977 the theatre closed and on March 9, 1985, there was a fire destroying the theatre and its surroundings. After the theatre was destroyed, its site was converted into apartment buildings. The “Strand” letters can still be found outlined on the tile walkway outside of the building in downtown Manchester.


Strand Theatre (Opera House)

Once located at 1128 Elm Street in Manchester, NH, the State Theatre opened in November of 1929. The first screening at this theatre was a movie called, “Hollywood Revue of 1929.” Musician Francis Fay Farrel would play the organ before the starting of shows and the ushers were usually teenage boys. The location, under the same manager, was renamed to Queen Theater, Cine 1, and Cine 2 over the course of forty years. Manchester tore the theatre down a month after the manager’s death in 1978. Today, the only thing that reminds people of the existence of the State Theatre is a Greek head on the campus of Saint Anselm College. The Stone head was on the theatre in 1929 and now remains on the ground in front of the Dana Humanities Center after being donated to the College in 1984 by Arnold A. Green.

Once located at 1128 Elm Street in Manchester, NH, the State Theatre was renamed to Queen Theater, Cine 1, and Cine 2 over the course of forty years. Today, the only thing that reminds people of the existence of the State Theatre is a Greek head on the campus of Saint Anselm College. The Stone head was on the theatre in 1929 and now remains on the ground in front of the Dana Humanities Center after being donated to the College in 1984 by Arnold A. Green. 

The State Theatre

In 1914, the Star Theatre opened in an unused building at 30 Lowell street, Manchester, NH. The structure was originally built in 1840. When Manchester was on route to becoming the textile manufacturing powerhouse of the world, the land was gifted to the Universalist Society by the Amoskeag Manufacturing company while roads were just being built in the area. The Universalist Society used the land to build the Lowell Street Church. The company, E.J. Caron paid $3,000 for renovations to change the structure from a church to a movie house. In 2018 this would be similar to $74,000. The theatre held shows and featured stars such as Mary Pickford up until 1932. The building was then converted again, this time to “The Coconut Grove,” which was a ballroom and social hangout that lasted until 1953. In the early sixties it became a retail outlet and it was demolished in 1981 to build the parking lot that resides there now.

In 1914, the Star Theatre opened in an unused building at 30 Lowell street, Manchester, NH. The theatre held shows and featured stars such as Mary Pickford up until 1932. The building was then converted to “The Coconut Grove,” which was a ballroom and social hangout that lasted until 1953. It was demolished in 1981 to build the parking lot that resides there now.

The Star Theatre

Located at 97 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH, the Crown Theatre opened in 1925 and was renamed to the Variety Theatre in 1955. In 1961, the theatre closed and in 2014 it became an office space. Today, it is a tavern pub, “The Crown Tavern.” The tavern stays "true to their roots" and highlights the Crown Theatre's history on their website. The Crown Tavern moved over to 99 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH but makes sure to base their tavern off of two principles: "never forget where you came from, and never forget where you came to eat." The Crown Tavern makes sure to remind the public of the history of Manchester, NH and one of the city's many ghost theatres.

Located at 97 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH, the Crown Theatre opened in 1925 and was renamed to the Variety Theatre in 1955. In 1961, the theatre closed and in 2014 it became an office space. Today, it is a tavern pub, “The Crown Tavern.” The tavern stays "true to their roots" and highlights the Crown Theatre's history on their website.

The Crown Theatre/Variety Theatre

Established in 1914, the Palace Theatre was constructed by Greek immigrant, Victor Charas, with help from Henry Macropool and Leon Lempert. On April 9, 1915 the Palace Theatre had its opening night and joined other theatres in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire which were known as “The Great White Way.” The Palace Theatre prospered from its opening night and became a movie house from 1930 to the early 1960’s. In the late 1960’s it turned into a New Hampshire College classroom, but once the school moved elsewhere the Palace Theatre was left to deteriorate. In 1974, after John McLane and Mayor Sylvio S. Dupuis were able to get financial assistance from Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation, the Palace Theatre was restored and saw another opening night on November 2, 1974. In 1980 the Palace Theatre experienced a pipe burst which was followed by a fire on Hanover Street two years later. The Palace Theatre actually protected surrounding structures from the fire due to its firewall that was built during its original construction, which made the Palace Theatre the only first-class theatre in New Hampshire that was fireproof. Today, the Palace Theatre is the only survivor of “The Great White Way,” and brings in many visitors with its excellent shows.

Established in 1914, the Palace Theatre preserves the historic facilities of the theatre while providing entertainment to the community. Today, the Palace Theatre is the only survivor of “The Great White Way,” and brings in many visitors with its excellent shows.

The Palace Theatre

The Weston Observatory located on Oak Hill was built in 1896. Head &amp; Dowst Company constructed the tower who got their directions from a special committee appointed by the Manchester city government. There were ceremonies held in the area celebrating the preparations of the laying of the cornerstone. There was a grand parade, speeches, and the creation of a casket that was a time capsule. The top of the granite tower stands 360 feet above Elm Street. That fact explains why it was used as a spotting post by air raid wardens in World War II. Today, if someone was to stand on the observation deck during a clear day, they could possibly see Mount Washington.The 30,490 ft² structure was built to commemorate James Weston after his death and is the only architectural item left related to him in the city. He had it built to be an observation tower for the citizens of the city. The octagonal tower was originally open to the public during the warmer months of the year, but it was commandeered for military use. After the Second World War ended, the tower became the building that housed police transmitters, and during these years it fell into disrepair. Since then, it has been restored but surrounded by an iron fence so the public cannot get in unless invited for special events like the foliage viewing.

Located on Oak Hill Drive, the Weston Observatory is on the summit of Derryfield Park. The tower was built in 1896 in honor of James Adams Weston. He was a civil engineer, banker, and more famously a Mayor of Manchester and a Governor of New Hampshire. The sixty-six foot tower is normally closed to the public but it opens on certain weekends in October for people to view the foliage. While Weston was mayor, he put programs together “whose purpose was to beautify Manchester’s parks and cemeteries.”

Weston Observatory (Tower)

In 1929, the Currier Gallery of Art was opened fulfilling former Governor Moody Currier and Hannah Slade Currier’s dream to fund the opening of an art museum. The Renaissance-style building was created by Lascari, Salvator, and Tilton &amp; Githens. A great deal of art was able to be purchased with the Currier’s funding. New pavilions were designed by the New York firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, in 1982 to accommodate the growing collections, programs, and staff.The Currier is privately owned but is “dedicated to the social needs of its community.” They are known nationally for their cultural and educational programs that include studio workshops and classes for children and adults. The museum also owns and offers tours of famous houses in the area. One of the houses is the Zimmerman House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. In 2019, the museum acquired another of Wright’s creations but it is not open for tours, yet.

The Currier Museum of Art is located in Manchester, New Hampshire at 150 Ash Street. The museum was founded in 1929, as the Currier Gallery of Art. In the 1890s, former New Hampshire Governor Moody Currier and his wife, Hannah Slade Currier developed the idea to found an art museum. After the death of both Moody and Hannah, a board of trustees was appointed to construct their wishes. Even though he was not an art collector, Moody Currier desired to establish an art museum, “for the benefit and advancement of humanity.” The then-director says the gallery’s name was changed in 2002 in order to recognize “the Currier’s true mission and clarifies our function for those less familiar with us.” Since then there have been expansions to the museum offices and the museum has bought properties in the area.

Manchester NH History of Art and Education

Mechanics Hall/Theater

Introduction

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information