Royal Theatre (1916-1937)

The recently published Park and Three Star Theaters were similar: both were small theaters accommodating several hundred seats. Today's discussion adds another compact theater to the list: the Royal Theater.

The story begins with James J. Hannifan, born in Holyoke on January 19, 1874, to Patrick and Catherine (Dowd) Hannifan. Both of James' parents emigrated from Ireland, and Patrick Hannifan worked as a mason.

James J. Hannifan operated a lunch cart at the corner of High and Lyman Streets from 1903 to about 1915. 

In August 1909, Dennis J. Stiles sold to James Hannifan a lot on the west side of High Street where the future theater would be built. The property had 24.44 feet of frontage and a depth of 90 feet back to the alley. The atlas below identifies the location of this lot.

In July 2015, a party wall agreement was reached with Osia M. Menard, who owned the building neighboring Mr. Hannifan's lot. Mr. Menard's building was located at the southwest corner of High and Lyman Streets. 

In the latter half of 1915, the theater building was constructed. The theatre's address was 101 High Street, and the entryway to the apartments above the theatre was at 99 High Street. The theatre featured silent movie presentations.

The Royal Theatre held its opening performance on January 10, 1916. The theatre seated 325 patrons. In May 1916, Mr. Hannifan sold the business to Moises Demers. Mr. Hannifan planned to retire from the theatre business and resume selling from his lunch cart. He did retain ownership of the building. 

In November 1916, ownership of the Royal Theater transferred again to Philippe Desnoyer, who had recently sold his interest in the Grand Theater, also on High Street. Three different owners operated the theater during its first year.

In 1924, Mr. Hannifan is again listed in the City Directory as the theatre operator. The theatre gained some local notoriety that year when the basement, known as the Submarine, was raided for alleged gambling violations.

In the late 1920s, Oliver J. Lanone became the theatre proprietor, followed by Walter Rapulus in 1931 and Frank A. Roberts in 1932. The latter was a veteran Holyoke theater operator with ownership interests in the Three Star and Majestic Theaters.

In 1931, the theatre added talking pictures to its presentations, and Mr. Hannifan was again the owner. Technology had improved, allowing spoken words to sync with mouth movements.

The theatre closed on occasion during the 1930s, likely due to changing ownership, equipment upgrades, and the Great Depression. The theatre reopened under the direction of Wilfred Cadorette in 1936; however, this was short-lived, as it no longer appears in directories after 1937.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, Boston, Massachusetts

James J. Hannifan, Royal Theater proprietor/manager and

owner of realty at 99-101 High Street

1911 Richards Atlas of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The blue-highlighted lot was the future location of the Royal Theatre built in 1915.

H

There is no listing of the Royal Theater or another theater 

operating at 101 High Street beyond 1937.

c.1982 view of the 2-story 99-101 High Street theater site

Google Maps view of 99-101 High Street 

shown in the center of this photo.