A History of The Juliet Theater Annon Adams*
The Juliet Theater opened in the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York, before a select audience on January 6, 1938. Located at the corner of Raymond and Collegeview Avenues, it is near the line that divides the old Hudson River city of Poughkeepsie from the Town of Poughkeepsie. The first neighborhood theater built outside of downtown Poughkeepsie, the Juliet was in the small commercial area of Arlington, which adjoins Vassar College. The Juliet was also the first theater in the Poughkeepsie area to be built for sound pictures. Other area theaters were built before 1924, during the silent film era. As the souvenir program said: “Netco Theaters Corporation (Netco), operators of the Bardavon, Stratford, and State Theaters, Poughkeepsie, New York, and managing company of Paramount Pictures Theaters within the State of New York, proudly offer you the new Juliet Theater.” When the Juliet opened, there were three additional theaters in the downtown area, for a total of six. Netco had Vassar College in mind when it planned the Juliet, a “deluxe neighborhood theater.” Vassar’s President, Henry Noble MacCracken, gave the theater its name and was the featured speaker at the opening. The souvenir program for the opening featured many photos of the college. On January 7, the Poughkeepsie Eagle News reported: “The opening had something of the impressiveness of a metropolitan opening night, as a good share of the 500 guests arrived in formal Reprinted by permission of the Theater Historical Society of America from their quarterly publication, Marquee, Second Quarter, 2004. 1
