Before the long-running Victory Theater opened at the northeast corner of Suffolk and Chestnut Street, another theater with a similar name opened one year earlier. This was the Victory Theatre, a short-lived entertainment venue located in the Churchill neighborhood.
On May 22, 1919, the Victory Theatre at 677 High Street opened its doors with a screening of Shirley Kaye, a comedy movie. Matinee admission was 6¢, and evening shows were 11¢.
Coward & Coward held the lighting contract, and Daniel O'Connell's Sons handled the work inside the theater. The theater accommodated about 400 patrons. Its address is somewhat unclear: newspaper ads list 667 High Street, while city directories list 677 High Street, which was later the location of the Churchill Hall Theatre.
The theater operated for the rest of May 1919 before its summertime shutdown. In August 1919, the theater reopened for the fall season.
Two months later, on October 29, 1919, George E. Gordon bought the theater. Mr. Gordon had more experience in theater operations than the original owner and was then operating the successful Strand Theater on Maple Street. The newspaper announcement stated that he had "obtained a long number of years for the Victory Theatre."
On February 9, 1920, an advertisement indicated the theater was once again under new management. Aside from one matinee and evening showing on February 10, 1920, no additional information about this theater has been found. The Victory Theater at Suffolk and Chestnut held its grand opening celebration on December 30, 1920.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript -Telegram; publication dates and pages shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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