Nomination for Garden Theater Block

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received AUG - I 1983 date entered historic Garden Theater Block and/or common same 2. Location street & number 353-367 Main Streete n/anot for publication city, town Greenfield n/avicinity of state Massachusetts code 3.

Classification Category Ownership district X building(s) public X private - structure both site Public Acquisition object in process X being considered 025 county Franklin code 011 Status X occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible - yes: restricted yes: unrestricted no Present Use _ agriculture X commercial _- educational .entertainment - government - industrial - military museum -park - private residence - religious - scientific .transportation _ other: 4. Owner of Property name Western Massachusetts Theaters, Inc. street & number 359 Main Street city, town Greenfield n/avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 01301 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Franklin County Registry of Deeds street & number 425 Main Street city, town Greenfield state 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys title Inventoryf thl Coomin Aalet", #18 has this property been determined eligible? Massachusetts -yes X no date 1979 federalX state - county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town 297 Washington Street; Boston state Massachusetts 02108 7. Description Garden Theater Block, 353-367 Main Street, Greenfield, MA Check one X unaltered _ altered Check one X original site _ moved date n/a Condition x excellent - good fair - deteriorated ruins unexposed Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

Located east of Bank Row on the south side of Main Street, the Garden Theater Block is part of a row of commercial buildings in Greenfield's central business district. The block consists of three sections, namely a two-storey front (north) building containing offices, stores and a lobby, a one-storey lobby (middle) and an auditorium (south). A11 are built of brick and concrete with steel supports; roofs are flat and covered with tar and gravel. Of the block's three sections, only the north elevation of the front section contains a finished facade which is visible from the street. Built of red brick laid in Flemish bond and trimmed with cast-stone, this facade is symmetrical about a central pavilion. This pavilion is framed by paired pilasters which support a decorated cornice and pediment.

At the pavilion's first storey are display cases flanking a deep lobby which is panelled with dressed stone (marble) and has three bronze doors (east, west and south) as well as three pairs of French doors leading to the theater lobby; this lobby has been altered only by the removal of its octagonal ticket kiosk(1960s). At the pavilion's second storey are three 6/1 windows set in arched surrounds with cast-stone fans. The pavilion's pediment is decorated with a central shield and swags executed in bas-relief in cast-stone. Extending out from the pavilion is a pressed metal marquee decorated with a variety of classical motifs and some opaque art glass. Above the marquee and set out from the facade on metal supports is an original electric sign bearing the name "GARDEN" on each side.

Flanking the central pavilion are two narrow bays and four wider bays divided by single pilasters which support a decorated cornice at the roofline. Each of the narrow bays contains a single storefront at the first storey and a single 8/1 window set in a rectangular frame with a keystone at the second storey. Wider bays each contain a single storefront at the first storey (except for the westernmost bay where it has been closed), and two 6/1 windows in rectangular frames with keystones at the second storey. Each storefront contains a recessed center entry in front of which plate-glass windows with copper trim are set on bases of polished green marble. Store entries are paved with orange, buff and black tiles; doors are of wood with single fixed lights.

East and West elevations of the block's front section are mostly concealed by neighboring structures; its rear (south) elevation is partially exposed at the first storey and fully exposed at the second. Rear elevations of all sections of the building are of un- decorated utilitarian design. Retaining nearly all of its original Colonial Revival style fittings, the theater con- tributes to the historical

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

significance of the building. Entered through a deep lobby at the facade's central pavilion, the theater contains an outer lobby with a panelled wainscot and moulded plaster cornice; moving south from this lobby is a two-level inner lobby. The upper level of the inner lobby is decorated with one wall of raised panelling (west) and a sham timber-frame ceiling. The lower level of the inner lobby contains three sets of raised-panel doors leading into the theater, a wainscot of feathered boards and three eared door frames with pediments. The theater itself is a large, open hall with a shallow balcony and walls which curve inward to a stage. The proscenium arch is framed by fluted Corinthian pilasters which rise to support a decorated cornice and elliptical fan. Set on either side of the stage are oriels with lattice-filled arches and domed roofs.

Side walls of the theater are decorated with imitation stone walls above which is a large painted mural of houses, churches (Continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Greenfield: Garden Theater Item number Block OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS usa anly recaived date entered Page 1 and other buildings meant to represent "Colonial Village"; windows of these buildings are backlit to give the appearance of being three-dimensional. Exits from the theater are treated as garden gates except at the lobby where the exits are flanked by sham facades of seventeenth-century houses with overhanging second stories and diamond-pane casements. The theater's ceiling is illuminated by many small lights set in star-shaped surrounds.

Painted blue-black, the ceiling was originally partially illuminated by a "cloud machine" which cast a dim, varied light to give the appearance of clouds moving across the night sky. Behind the proscenium arch is a stage with equipment to house and move scenery; beneath the stage is an orchestra pit and dressing room. 8. Significance Garden Theater Block, 353-367 Main Street, Greenfield, Mass.

Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric - community planning archeology-historic _ conservation agriculture _ economics architecture education art engineering commerce _ exploration/settlement communications - industry _ invention landscape architecture law literature military - music - philosophy politics/government religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian x theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1928-1929 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder Architect Mowll & Rand of Boston, Architects The Garden Theater Block possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, in addition to historical associations as the location of Greenfield's largest and most ornate theater. Designed by Mowll & Rand of Boston, and constructed at a cost of $500,000 by the con- tracting firm of George H. Reed of Greenfield, the Garden Theater Block was built in 1928-1929 for Nathan and Samuel Goldstein of Springfield, then the owners of twenty-two theaters throughout Western Massachusetts. Nearly unaltered from its original design, the block preserves one of Greenfield's finer examples of Colonial Revival style architecture in its Main Street facade (north). The block's major significance, however, is derived from the theater around which it was planned.

Thus, the theater block meets criterionC of the National Register of Historic Places. Opened on March 3, 1929, the Colonial Garden Theater, as it was then called, was an "atmospheric" theater, designed to create on its interior the effect of being outside in a "colonial garden" - To this end, the lower portions of the theater's walls are covered with rough-cast plaster, scored to give the appearance of a stone garden wall. Above the rough- cast are painted murals depicting a Greek Revival style church, a brick house with a gambrel roof, a "saltbox" house and other buildings and plants which are characteristic of New England. These murals were painted by Frederick Marshall, a theatrical mural painter living in California, and were designed to have cut-out windows, a steeple clock, and other features which are back-lighted to simulate the appearance of real buildings.

The theater's ceiling is equipped with lights set in star-shaped frames, some of which "twinkled"; two cloud machines are set in the orchestra pit to create the illusion of clouds moving across the ceiling. At present, all of these features remain in addition to a large variety of Colonial Revival style details in the theater's lobbies. The theater's opening in 1929 was greeted with scepticism that Greenfield could support a third theater. Previous local theaters, however, had been built at a smaller scale to accommodate silent movies and vaudeville performances. Typical of these other theaters were the Bijou that was built into a pre-existing commercial block in 1911-1913 and that closed shortly thereafter. More successful were the Lawler and Victoria Theaters, both of which were built in 1913 within commercial blocks at a much smaller scale than the Garden Theater.

Of these earlier theaters, only one remains in altered condition. Local enthusiasm for the newly completed Garden Theater was manifested in the parade that preceded the opening and in the sellout audience of 1,900 which attended the opening night. In a program which was characteristic of the type of entertainment for which the theater was planned, the opening night included several newsreels, "three vitaphone specialty vaudeville acts" , a film comedy entitled "The Newly-weds" and "George M. Cohan's 'The Home Towners' , an all-talking film". In addition, the theater was equipped with an organ and employed Mary Hallinan of Greenfield as its regular organist.

Despite the inclusion of a stage, dressing rooms and storage space for theatrical backdrops, the Garden Theater was rarely, if ever, used for live entertainment and, within a few years of its opening, was used exclusively as a movie theater. (Continued) 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Greenfield Daily Recorder. March 12, 1929. Pp. 1-2. Greenfield Recorder Gazette. 200th Anniversary Edition. June 9, 1953. p. F-19. Blair & Ketchum's Country Journal. Vol, II, no. 11. December 1975. pp. 48-51. Severance, Charles S. History of Greenfield, 1930-1935. Greenfield: Town of Greenfield, 10. Geographical Data - 630 acres Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name Greenfield Quadrangle UT M References Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 A 1,8 6/9,6/9,1,0 14,7175,80 Zone Easting Northing Northing CLULLILL LILILL ELULLILLL LILILLLI LiLu Easting DLLLALLL FLIJLLILULILILLL GLIJLLILN LILILLII Verbal boundary description and justification The nominated property includes only the lot on which the theater building stands; its boundaries are shown and described at Lot #10 on Greenfield Assessors' Map #U-51.

List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries State n/a code county code State code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Preservation Planning Director, with Brian R. Pfeiffer, Architectural Historian, ACT for Massachusetts organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date May, 1983 street & number 294 Washington Street Boston telephone (617) 727-8470 Massachusetts 02108 city or town state 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national State X local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Officer signature itun LWeslouski State Historic Preservation Officer title Massachusetts Historical Commission date 7/20/B For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register lur fupbeper of the National Register ° Dyeu Entered in the Nationa] Register Attest: Chief of Registration date 9/1/83 date -1954.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet Greenfield: Garden Theater Item number Block OMB No.1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS use only received date entered Page 1 In 1930, the management of the theater passed from the Goldstein Brothers to another group, (Publix-Lawler), due to the terms of a merger agreement between the Goldsteins and Paramount-Publix Corporation. Following the bankruptcy of Publix-Lawler in 1933, the management of the Garden Theater reverted to the Goldstein family, which has operated it as a motion-picture theater since then. Garden Theater Block 353-367 Main Street Greenfield, Massachusetts Assessors' Map U-51 Lot #10 1" = 50' BANK 71 January 1, 1982 30° 35° 96° 28' 30° 36' 7 31/70 IEZAIS 105° 16 90 N 24 103 21 8' co.

82° 128° 24° 147° 6'^ 147- W 75' 66° - 46' 104* 26° 255 NORTH 86° 53' 60° 77 27° 96 50' HOPE STREET 80 ROW SS- 32' 87° 10 116° 116 THIRD CONGO. "1C' 59' 116' 60° 97° MAIN STREET WASO Form - 177 ("'R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Garden Theater Block Franklin County MASSA CHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: sample Reviewer's comments: -request Jappeal Working No._ AUG 1 1983 Fed. Reg. Date:. 2-7-84 Date Due: T,183 - Action: LACCEPT - Entered in tbo _RETURN_ Natioal Registor REJECT_ Federal Agency: _ 115/8: 1118 -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer Discipline Date - see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _technical corrections cited below _ substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3.

Classification Category vnershi Jblic Acauisitio 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one J original site moved date- 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9.

Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _national _ state .local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed - Date - Phone: - Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet INCOME TAX -BLOCK DISCOUNTI COGARETTES 6.6. EVES 789 RATED R *Framery KEEP RIGHT Dacauz CARDEN BRAD'S PLACE Garden Theater Block Greenfield, Massachusetts B.R.

Pfeiffer, photographer May 14, 1981 negative at: ACT for Massachusetts 45 School Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 view of the building's north elevation taken from a position facing southwest OX OHEE PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Town of GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 14 Court Square Town Hall, Greenfield, Massachusetts 01301 (413) 774-2884 March 10, 1982 VASSACHUBETO RECEVED MAR :: 1002 MASS. HIST. COMM. Pat Weslowski Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Dear Ms. Weslowski: The Town of Greenfield is consdering applying to the State for a grant for the conversion of the Garden Theatre in the Town of Greenfield as a civic center. It is our intention to do this as a preservation project. As such, we need to get this site on the National Register of Historic Places as quickly as possible.

We have been in contact with representatives of Senator Olver's office and Senator Isongas's office and have asked their cooperation in seeking designation to the National Trust. Our consultant has prepared an application which I have enclosed. Please advise if this application is complete or if any additional information would be requried at this time. I will be contacting you in the next couple of days for your advice. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at my office in Greenfield. We look forward to working together with you in preserving this historic building in the Town of Greenfield. One further note, we have approximately $250,000 in CDBG funds towards this project already that must be spent in this fiscal year. Sincerely, Apla Pyngr Ryan, Jr Planhing & Community Development RJR/sjn CC: Doug MeGarrah, Sen. Tsongas's Office Sen. Olver's Office Rep.

Benson's Office CHARLES H. PERCY, ILL.. CHAIRMAN HOWARD H. BARER, JK.. TENN. JESSE HELMSN.C S. I. HAYAKAWA, CALIF. KICHARD G. LUGAK INO. CHARLES MC C. MATHIAS, JR., MD. NANCY L. KASSEBAUM, KANS. KUDY BOSCHWITZ MINN. LARRY PRESSLER, S. DAK. CLAIBORNE PELL, R.I. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., DEL. JOHN GLENN, OHIO PAUL S.SARBANES, MD. EDWARD ZORINSKY. NEBR. PAUL E. TSONGAS, MASS. ALAN CRANSTON, CALIF. CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, CONN. EDWARD G. SANDERS, STAFF DIRECTOR GERYLD B. CHRISTIANSON, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR Qnited States Senate COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS WASHINGTON. D.C. 20510 Room 2003F J. F. K. Federal Building Government Center Boston, MA 02203 March 19, 1982 RECEIVED MAR % 100 NASS. HIST. COMM.

Patricia Weslowski Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108 Dear Pat: The town of Greenfield has recently submitted an application to your office to nominate the "Garden Theatre" for the National Register of Historic Places. I am familiar with a special aspect of this project and wanted to share this with you. As you know, the Garden Theatre is in the heart of downtown Greenfield. Due to the economics of operating large, old movie theatres in today's market, the building is utilized and in somewhat rundown condition. However, as documented in the application, this 1929 Colonial Revival style structure is still largely intact and is a key to downtown revitalization efforts. The Town has committed $250,000 of Community Development Block Grant funds to this project.

Funding from other local groups is being organized around a coherent development strategy that considers the needs for the entire Greenfield community. leadership from all sectors has arrived at an agreement on the priorities for the town's development. It is an important step for Greenfield and this project represents the first thrust of this effort: For the Garden Theatre project to be successful, local officials must be able to show rapid progress on the project. For this reason, quick approval of this important property for historic designation is essential. The I hope you will be able to give this application your immediate attention. Please contact Doug MoGarrah in my Boston office for further information. Thank you. incerely Paul PAUL E.

TSONGAS United States Senator PET: adm COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS aannm 5511 Office of the Secretary of State MASSACHUSETTS 294 Washington Street HISTORICAL Boston, Massachusetts 02108 COMMISSION 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State July 20, 1983 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston - Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church (local) Boston - Harrison Loring House (local) Chicopee - Valentine School (1ocal) Gardner - Heywood-Wakefield Complex (local) Greenfield Garden Theater Block (local) Monterey - Rock Ridge (local) Pittsfield - Allen Hotel (local) Williamstown - Col.

Benjamin Simond House (local) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the state Historic preservation Oiticer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Camments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Candlace lenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director Massachusetts Historical Commission tue'd AUG - | 1983 CJ/hi Enclosure