BRATTLEBORO
LATCHIS THEATRE
Updated
This week at Latchis Theatre: Sat 10/17 — Schlock it to Me! – Oct. 17, Sun 10/18 — World Cinema Club: Salaam Bombay (1988). Upcoming: Fri 10/23 — The Trouble with Harry – Live screenplay reading – Oct.. 23, Sat 10/24 — The Optimist – Film and Q&A with Latchis family member and producer Dean Lyras – Oct. 24, Sun 10/25 — Canoe Dig It?.
ABOUT
The Latchis Theatre is a historic Art Deco cinema at 50 Main Street in Brattleboro, Vermont, part of the larger Latchis Hotel and Theatre complex. The venue operates as a four-screen cinema: the grand main auditorium (originally 1,140 seats, now reduced after renovation) features an intact Atmospheric-style ceiling with signs of the zodiac, while three additional smaller theaters seat between 74 and 130. It is one of only two Art Deco buildings in Vermont.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Latchis shows first-run Hollywood films, art-house and independent cinema, classic film retrospectives, and hosts live performances and special events. The main theater's interior is adorned with murals and Greek mythology-inspired decor by Hungarian muralist Lajos Jambor, honoring the Latchis family's Greek heritage -- a style described as "Greco Deco." The building also includes a hotel, ballroom, and retail space.
HISTORY
The original 500-seat Latchis Theatre opened on April 13, 1920. The building was completely renovated and reopened as the Latchis Memorial Theatre on September 22, 1938, designed by architect S. Wesley Haynes. Built as a memorial to Demetrius P. Latchis, a Greek immigrant who operated fourteen theaters across New England, it is the last surviving Latchis theater. A second screen opened in 1987, a third in 1988, and a fourth in 2008. The nonprofit Brattleboro Arts Initiative purchased the building in 2003.