Weybosset Street was alive with excitement as nearly 14,000 people attended the opening of the new 3,100 seat Loew’s State Movie Palace on October 6, 1928 to see the movie “Excess Baggage” on the big screen. Those lucky enough to have seats to the show were led by their usher, past talking parrots, into the opulent theater. People in Providence enjoyed the last days of the fabulous Roaring Twenties with no idea that in a little over a year the Jazz Decade would end, and the city built on industry would succumb to the Great Depression.

Since 1978, the Theatre has been on the National Register of Historic Places and has undergone extensive (historically accurate) renovations, becoming a world-class venue. Launching 14 national tours since 2008, the PPAC presents a major roster of Broadway touring theatricals annually. A broad range of concerts, dance, comedy, family shows and much more bring hundreds of thousands of people into Providence each year to experience the magic of live performance in what has been called “the jewel of Weybosset Street.”

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Few theaters can say they’ve housed the evolution of American entertainment like this one. Now home to the Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, this space has vaudeville roots, showed blockbuster hits, and now wows audiences with live theatrical productions. The former Emery Majestic Theater was opened by local vaudevillians, the Emery Brothers, in 1917. Seating around 3,000 people, it was the largest theater in Providence at the time. When vaudeville was replaced by movies as America's favorite form of entertainment, the Majestic became downtown Providence’s premiere movie theater, showing first runs of Warner Brothers and 21st Century Fox films. However, the growth of movie theaters in the suburbs with ample parking slowed business for the Majestic, and it closed its doors in the mid-20th century.

Fortunately, the doors were not closed for long. The Majestic’s history of live performance meant the building was a natural fit to house Providence’s newly formed Trinity Repertory Company. Founded in 1963 in Upper South Providence, Trinity Rep was, and remains, a major part of Providence’s flourishing art scene. Considered “one of the most respected regional theatres in the country,” Trinity Rep is notable for having one of the last resident acting companies in the United States. The Company produces a variety of contemporary and classical plays and musicals, including an annual production of A Christmas Carol, a Rhode Island holiday tradition.

When you visit, be sure to examine the building's facade! With the exception of the iconic “Majestic” marquee, the facade retains its original elegance.

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While the story is set in Newport, many of the scenes were shot at MGM Studios in Culver City, California, with a Bel Air mansion standing in for Newport. The film opens with a scenic flyover of Newport and its Gilded Age mansions including The Breakers and Clarendon Court. While some filming took place in Newport, many scenes filmed there were merely used as establishing shots, but you can definitely see Bellevue Avenue in the background of some driving scenes.  During Rhode Island filming, Grace Kelly stayed on the secluded side of Newport’s coastline at the Castle Hill Inn. Between takes, Kelly would sneak away to its quiet, rocky beach, where she could enjoy some privacy from autograph seekers. Kelly had recently announced her engagement to Prince Ranier of Monaco, and she wore her own engagement ring in the film. Because the climb back up from the beach was difficult, the staff of the Castle Hill Inn built a staircase to accommodate her. Today, the beach still has that staircase built for Kelly, and it is accessible to the public. The location is now called “Grace Kelly Beach.” In the film, the character played by Grace Kelly is wooed by three men including a jazz musician played by Bing Crosby, whose character is in charge of the Newport Jazz Festival in which Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra are to appear. The use of Newport as the setting for the film reinforced the “old money” lifestyle of the main characters. Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm sing “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” as they explore the opulent home of Kelly’s character. After the opening flyover, the scene changes to Armstrong and his Orchestra in their Greyhound bus, with scenes of Newport in the background. The father of late state Representative Paul Crowley allowed MGM’s crew use his station wagon to secure the camera as they drove down Bellevue Avenue to film this sequence.

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In 1888, William Kissam Vanderbilt gave his wife Alva Marble House as a 39th birthday gift. The railroad magnate spared no expense on his wife’s summer home, which used 500,000 cubic feet of various marbles, gathered from across the globe, and is estimated to have cost $11 million at the time of construction. Francophile Alva Vanderbilt appreciated the work of architect Richard Morris Hunt, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Hunt built Marble House in the shape of a perfect cube, drawing inspiration from King Louis XV’s Petit Trianon château in on the grounds of Versailles.  Marble House was featured in the 2008 film 27 Dresses, as the location of a decadent wedding. The film centers on Jane, played by Katherine Heigl, who wrestles with her decision to coordinate a wedding between her sister and a man who Jane secretly loves. Although the film presents Marble House in a flattering light, Alva Vanderbilt might have found irony in her home being used as the backdrop for a film that revolves around themes of marriage and women’s dependence on men.  Alva and William Vanderbilt shocked high society in March 1895 when they announced their divorce. In addition to a $10 million dollar settlement, Alva walked away from the divorce with Marble House and several estates. Alva was particularly enamored by Marble House, and chose to construct an elaborate Chinese teahouse behind the residence, inviting workers from China to complete the project.

Alva Vanderbilt became involved in the Suffrage movement, and in 1914 a meeting of woman activists inaugurated the teahouse. Marble House became a haven for women’s rights activists, and when Alva died in 1933, her funeral was conducted entirely by women. Today, the Preservation Society of Newport maintains Marble House. The property’s ornate appearance makes it an ideal location for grand events, and for movies that feature them.

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Since 1999, MacFarlane has capitalized on Rhode Island’s quirks in his adult, animated sitcom Family Guy. Always irreverent, and often raunchy, the show is not for everyone.With more than 225 episodes and three primetime Emmys under its belt. Family Guy airs on the Fox Network to approximately seven million weekly viewers—six million of whom might have to watch when mom’s not in the room.  Filled with inside jokes, Family Guy is set in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. The show follows the weird escapades of the Griffin family including Peter, the classic dimwitted TV father; Lois, the long-suffering mother; two moody teenagers, Meg and Chris; Stewie, an evil-genius baby; and Brian, a walking, talking, car-driving dog who is the sanest, classiest one in the family.  Part lampoon, part celebration, McFarlane captures all that Rhode Islanders hold dear, and he showcases hometown favorites on the small screen. The Big Blue Bug, Del’s Lemonade, Wes’ Rib House, Brown University’s Van Wickle Gates, the Breakers mansion in Newport, and the Pawtucket Red Sox’s McCoy Stadium are all real Rhode Island highlights appearing in Family Guy.  Many recurring locations in the series have their real-life equivalent in Rhode Island like the series’ favorite bar, “The Drunken Clam” in Johnston; “Happy Go Lucky Toys,” an unmistakable nod to Hasbro; and Buddy Cianci Junior High School, a tribute to a long-time Providence mayor who spent some time behind bars.

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Redcoats are patrolling this fortified outcropping near Jamestown, when one sees a devil dog—black coat, with red eyes and fangs. The soldier takes such a fright that he dies two days later. Soon after, other British soldiers go insane from their encounters with the specter. Over time, people have added to this myth. Stories of dead soldiers wandering the halls are associated with Fort Wetherill, though it has never seen any combat. Ghost hunters and urban explorers still come here regularly, searching for the devil dog. Fort Wetherill fell out of use after World War II and in the 1970s became a state park After the Revolutionary War, Rhode Islanders constructed a more permanent fortification on this site, named Fort Dumpling after the way round boulders seemed to float on the surface of the water. Fort Dumpling was never used, except for target practice and as a romantic ruin by artists. During World War II, when Rhode Island was used as a base for overseeing an Atlantic minefield, the fort was again rebuilt. Fort Wetherill fell out of use after World War II and was purchased by the state of Rhode Island in the 1970s to be used for recreational purposes. In 2012, film director Wes Anderson used the state park as the setting for Moonrise Kingdom. In the film, two young lovers, a boy scout named Sam and a summer vacationer named Suzy, plot to run away to the “Moonrise Kingdom,” a secluded cove played by the bay below Fort Wetherill. Though their escape to the kingdom is fraught, the cove is as idyllic as they hoped. While on the beach, they swim, dance, listen to records, and make out. Moonrise Kingdom is a love letter to New England and its scenery. Set on a fictional island, New Penzance, the movie was filmed at several Rhode Island locations as varied as elegant Newport homes and an abandoned Linens ‘n Things store. Moonrise Kingdom is also unabashedly a Wes Anderson film, from its saturated color palette to its use of symmetry and flat, storybook planes. Like other Anderson films, it is lyrical and gentle and packs a punch all at once. It is considered by many to be his best film to date, exploring the themes of childhood, innocence, and love.

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Amistad is based on the 1839 story of Sierra Leone tribesmen, kidnapped as slaves, who staged a mutiny. The mutineers ordered the crew to return them to Africa, but the navigator instead sailed to New England. Importing slaves had been illegal since 1808, but since the Mende couldn’t talk with their captors, authorities presumed them to be American-born runaway slaves. The Mende were arrested and tried for murder in New Haven, Connecticut. While imprisoned, they taught a Yale linguist, Josiah Willard Gibbs, how to count to ten in Mende. Gibbs walked along the docks counting until a Mende sailor looked up. With the sailor serving as a translator, the men told their story and were set free. In Amistad, Newport’s Washington Square stands in for the New Haven Green, with Colony House serving as the courthouse. Djimon Hounsou starred as Cinque, leader of the Mende, and Anthony Hopkins played an astute John Quincy Adams.  Matthew McConaughey played the Mende’s lawyer, Roger Sherman Baldwin; Stellan Skarsgård was Lewis Tappan, an abolitionist who supported the Mende; and Morgan Freeman was cast as fictional abolitionist Theodore Joadson. The film crew used the first floor of the Colony House for staging, while the second and third floors became the court. Secondary locations included Queen Anne Square and Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Newport’s Point neighborhood. During filming, McConaughey was often spotted at Newport’s bars. The film encountered modern-day challenges beyond parades. Heavy wind turned the dirt used to cover modern asphalt roads into billowing clouds. The barely clothed actors portraying the Africans suffered in the cold. They covered themselves with blankets between takes although Spielberg reportedly wanted them to look genuinely cold. Newport’s changing weather posed a lighting issue for interior scenes. To handle fluctuations, the film crew mounted giant, adjustable screens on the outside of the building. Visitors can still tour the Colony House, now operated by the Newport Historical Society. Though not the site of the actual Amistad trial, the Colony House has served many purposes since its construction in 1736. The Declaration of Independence was read on its steps, the British Army resided in the building during the Revolutionary War, and it served as the statehouse of Rhode Island until 1901. 

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The film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby,directed by Jack Clayton, starred Robert Redford as the newly wealthy businessman Jay Gatsby trying to win the affection of his former love Daisy Buchanan, played by Mia Farrow. Set against the rich social landscape of the Roaring Twenties, the film explores the decadence of the American dream and the nature of wealth and class division. The actors, draped in pastel seersucker, fine speckled cashmere, and silk ties and scarves in every color, played their roles against the backdrop of the gleaming white terracotta Rosecliff, standing in as Gatsby’s grand Long Island estate.  Rosecliff played its role perfectly. Theresa Fair Oelrich, a silver heiress from Nevada, commissioned the mansion in 1909, as a place for summer entertaining on a grand scale. Stanford White, the principal architect, modeled the estate after the Grand Trianon retreat of Versailles, with a classical arcade of arched windows and paired columns. The mansion offers unexpected views of the surrounding area through an en filade special arrangement; the doors dividing rooms are aligned on a single axis with those of connecting rooms, providing vistas from one end of the house to the other. The house includes a grand ballroom and a swooping limestone “sweetheart staircase” that greets guests when they enter. The back lawn, ideal for a leisurely roam, overlooks the Newport Cliff Walk and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1902, at the time of its completion, Rosecliff cost $2.5 million, the equivalent of about $65.5 million today. During the residency of the Oelrichs, servants kept Rosecliff in notoriously clean condition, with Theresa Oelrich conducting an inspection of the house every morning and instructing her domestic staff to change the beds daily regardless of whether or not guests had used them. Mrs. Oelrich was known to engage in the maintenance herself, taking a mop and a pail to any marble floor that fell short of her standards. “When I die, bury me with a cake of sapolio [soap] in one hand and a scrubbing-brush in the other; they are my symbols,” Mrs. Oelrich once said. The last private resident of Rosecliff, J. Edgar Monroe, became known for lavish parties, often with a Mardi Gras theme and involving fancy costumes. In contrast to the formal dinners thrown by the Oelrichs, the Monroes’ parties were notable for being relaxed and easygoing, with an air of conviviality uncommon in the social scene of the time, but perhaps more recognizable to Jay Gatsby. 

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As patrons poured into the Orpheum Theater on opening night, April 15, 1912, the celebration may have been muted by news of the sinking of the Titanic early that morning. However, these were good times for New Bedford. The city’s economy thrived on its foundation of textile production and immigrant labor, and a performance by the Five Musical Durands was soon to inaugurate a spectacular new theater in a prime location between shops and restaurants on busy Water Street in the South End.

Although known today as the Orpheum Theater, the French Sharpshooter’s Club of New Bedford—Le Club des Francs-Tireurs—constructed this building to serve as its headquarters. Formed by French-Canadian immigrants, the Sharpshooters Club was a social and paternal organization focused on competitive shooting, military-style drill teams, and marching bands.  The club hired Fall River architect and French-Canadian immigrant Louis Destremps to design the building. Destremps was familiar with the city, having worked on Saint Anthony of Padua Church (1912) in the North End and the New Bedford Car Barn (1910). Sharpshooters Hall featured a shooting range, grand ballroom, gymnasium, retail storefront at street level, and a 1,500-seat Vaudeville theater.  Destremps created a masterpiece of French Renaissance design. Enormous carved heads, representing the Greek Muses of arts and sciences, adorned the façade, along with complex bas relief detail cast in porcelain over a terra cotta base, the same technique that Destremps later used on the Star Store (1916) on Union Street in New Bedford. Above the four lower muses were ornate copper torches, which have since disappeared. Construction began in 1910 and was completed in 1912 at a cost of $110,000, about $2.7 million in 2016. The Sharpshooters didn’t operate the theater in their building, but leased it to the Orpheum chain, a booking agency that provided acts to theaters around the country. Sharpshooters Hall is the second oldest Orpheum Theater, after the Palace Theater in Los Angeles. Orpheum acts included Harry Houdini, actress Lily Langtry, and the Marx Brothers, along with jugglers, dancers, and other Vaudeville-style entertainers. With the advent of motion pictures, Sharpshooters Hall installed a projection system and treated its patrons to films like King Kong and Citizen Kane. During the Second World War, the shooting range was used to train soldiers, while the theater kept patrons distracted and informed with movies, short cartoons, and news reels. The theater itself was part of the show. The vast auditorium contained 1,500 seats and a wrap-around balcony. It was decorated with complex moldings, painted scenes on the ceiling, and intricate murals on the walls. The theater continued to operate sporadically throughout the 1950s, but closed in 1962 when the French Sharpshooter’s Club sold the entire building. A tobacco company used the building as a warehouse, and a market operated out of the back for a number of years. The theater was abandoned to face the ravages of time and neglect. Today, Sharpshooters Hall and the Orpheum are privately owned, and the building remains in disrepair. 

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