Framingham Views

Right around the corner from the St. George, on Kendall St. was the Gorman Theatre. I remember going there once in awhile, but only when there was nothing worthwhile playing at the St. George. The Gorman was smaller, and didn’t seem to be as much fun, except one rainy Saturday in 1963. The place was packed for a showing of “Children of the Damned” and the kids were getting a bit out of hand. Someone in the balcony bagan throwing empty popcorn and candy boxes at the screen, and others followed the lead. It got so bad, that kids ran up to the front to retrieve what was already thrown. Not too much time passed, and suddenly the film stopped and the house lights came up. The Manager came up to the front and bellowed “if you kids don’t stop throwing things at the screen, I’ll stop the show and you’ll all go home”.  Things settled down, and the rest of the movie was uneventful.

A few years later, I met the Manager, whose name was Joseph Goldberg. I worked a relief shift in order for him to get a day off every week.  The theatre was torn down a year or so later, and the spot on Kendall St. remains a vacant lot.

You can read the history of the theatre on my framinghammass.info web page.

Circa 1981, here’s a photo of the Cinema Lobby with the game machines of the day.

I’m sure there’s a Pac Man there, and an Asteroids, as well as Donkey Kong. There were experts who were regulars, that knew the patterns on all these games, and would come in every day to play. There was a game called Defender, which was pretty hard, but I remember someone who could play it for hours on one quarter.

I’m sure there’s someone out there who remembers the red carpet, and the glass chandeliers in the Cinema Lobby. The photo is bright, but if you could see outside, you’d be looking out on the stairs that went up to the Jordan’s Basement Store, or the Roundup which was just outside the back exit from the theatre lobby.

One popular attraction at Shoppers World, was the petting zoo. At Christmas, they would have reindeer in a corral, for the kids to look at. At other times, various farm animals. These would be on the end of the mall which originally had a playground. Here’s a photo, early to mid 1970’s, showing the petting zoo. How can I tell the age? House of Zodiac in the background.

Back in the 1960’s, Kodak had a great idea for those millions of people who wanted convenience in their photo hobby.  In the parking lots of many shopping centers, one could drive up and drop off their film. Here’s a drawing of a Kodak Fotomat.

We still have the remains of a Fotomat in Framingham, located at the shopping center on Franklin St.  I think of finding remnants of the past like this, almost like urban archeology. Here’s a photo of the Framingham Fotomat.

Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building was the gathering spot for many social events from the 1930s through the 1960s. This Kodacolor slide, which I found a few years ago amongst some memorabilia, shows what looks like a chorus, entertaining a full house.

When the Dennison was Framingham’s biggest employer, the Nevins Hall was hired by the Dennison Associates to throw the annual Dennison Company Christmas Party. Families of the employees would get dressed up on a Saturday afternoon just before Christmas, to attend. The Mothers would each get a Dennison Gift Wrap box which contained an assortment of gift wrap and tags, and the kids would line up to go onstage and receive a Christmas present from Santa Claus, who was sitting on a throne onstage.

Back around 1969, the Archies musical group made an appearance here.

And in recent years, there have been concerts by the Air Force Band.

Even though the grand hall has lost some of it’s glamour, if you visit some day, you can still imagine how it must have appeared to generations years ago.

Here’s an artist’s rendering circa 1950, of what Jordan Marsh would look like once built. The drawing was presented to the newspaper for publication in advance of the building of Shoppers World.  Thanks to the original management of Shoppers World, George Shrigley, and George Apt, for saving such rare views.

Fashion shows were held at the Shoppers World,  and this ad from 1955 shows what a family event it was.  There was probably a runway running down the middle with models doing a show a couple of times a day. I remember going to Jordan Marsh one night and seeing what looked like mannequins,  dressed in the latest ladies fashion.  People were stopped, watching, and then suddenly, the model would move! Everyone in the crowd was impressed with how still they had remained for such a long time. People today probably wouldn’t be so impressed. Here’s an ad from the Framingham News, advertising a gala week.

A visit to downtown Framingham in the 1950’s and ’60s for any kid, wouldn’t be complete without a stop into Joe Brown’s Hobby Shop on Kendall St.  Usually when we rode our bikes downtown, we’d stop at Woolworths,  or Bonds to buy candy, and then see a movie at the St. George or Gorman.  Either before or after the show, we’d stop into Joe Browns to look at the model kits, or railroad train stuff.  Joe Brown had the Aurora Monster kits, and custom cars. Every year, he’d have a contest for best custom car model. His store was a combination hobby shop, and sporting goods store.  It was located in the building next to the Kendall Hotel, and later became the Anderson Driving School.  The Gorman Theatre, next door, was torn down in 1969, and the spot remains a vacant lot. Here’s probably the only photo in existence, of his store, and sign.  Anyone who remembers, or has more information about whatever became of him, please reply with a comment.

Downtown Framingham near Irving Square was interesting in 1958. Signs on buildings add a lot of character to a downtown. This picture shows Irving Street at the intersection of Hollis. Connery’s looks nice today, but back then, the Ballantine sign on the building made it look even nicer. Today’s business don’t spend the same on advertising, and I think the aesthetics suffer because of it.

Here’s a view of the Golden Mile, as Rte 9 in Framingham was known, taken in the early or mid 1970’s. Starting from the left, you can make out the Holiday Inn sign, which was on the Natick town line. I notice here a billboard for Fun & Games, and a sign for P Brillo, as well as the sign for the Chateau DeVille in it’s heyday. In between, would be the Marshalls Mall, Monticello, and Howard Johnsons. As one approached this stretch of highway from the west, it was an impressive site from the top of the hill. Of course back then, Virginia Lucier of the Framingham News would hail it as Framingham’s little touch of Vegas. Some may have thought it was gaudy, but it was neon, lights, action, and excitement. Today, most of the stores are closed by 10 or even earlier. Back then, you could go to the Golden Mile and have a complete night out, from shopping, to dinner, to a nightclub and a midnight snack. Thanks to reader Sumner Weisman, for his rare nostalgic photo. Scenes like these are hard to recapture, and we always appreciate contributors memories.