The Columbus Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island closed in June, ending a nearly 100 year history of showing movies. Recent news reports (see below) mention that the theater has been purchased by Cory Brailsford and David Fiorillo, who own the Comedy Connection comedy club.

Originally opened in 1926 as the Columbus Theatre, it operated as the Uptown Theatre from 1929 until 1962. The news reports say that the owners intend to rename it back to the Uptown Theatre again but didn't outright say that it would return to showing movies:

“We are thrilled to bring back the Uptown Theatre name and honor its legacy,” said Cory Brailsford. “Our goal is to preserve its historic charm while introducing exciting new programming that will appeal to a wide range of audiences.”

The theater will undergo renovations, but no opening date was announced.

Until that hopeful day when movies will return, moviegoers in the area will need to continue visiting one of the other nearby theaters, including the Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX and the Avon Cinema in Providence, and the Showcase Cinemas Seekonk Route 6 in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

Related News Articles

• Comedy Connection owners buy closed Columbus Theatre -- WLNE [Oct 24, 2024]
• Comedy Connection buys Columbus Theatre, restores former name -- WPRI [Oct 24, 2024]
• Comedy Connection owners purchase historic Columbus Theatre -- WJAR [Oct 24, 2024]