Peter Dawe's Bijou Theater, 275 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport, CT

The Bijou was Peter Dawe’s first theater that he purchased, or
took control of in 1910. Of the three movie houses he owned and
operated in Bridgeport, it is the only one still standing. The
Palace was torn down in the 50’s, and Dawe's Theater in the
1960’s.

It’s a mystery how he came to own the Bijou, it was the only one
of his theaters that he didn’t build. It was conceived, designed,
built, and opened, all in 1909 by Lillian L. Ashmun a local
developer. Mrs. Ashmun was a crafty real estate speculator who
specialized in commercial projects. She started her career, after
her father Frank Armstrong passed away in 1893 and left her a
sizable estate.

She purchased the property at 227-275 Fairfield Ave. from
Thomas Taylor and hired the architect Ernest G. Southey to
design a three story commercial building containing a silent
movie theater and retail store on the first floor, with a second
story ballroom, and a third story circular balcony overlooking the
dance floor below.

The exterior was constructed in the Spanish Colonial Revival
style with Arts & Crafts elements of patterned brickwork, with
inset blue ceramic tile and mosaic panels. It was a handsome
and unique building in 1909 and remains so today. The interior
is very functional with some lovely decorative touches but not
with an over abundance of frills. It’s quite clear that the
developer was willing to pay for a solid building erected using the
best construction techniques of the era, but restrained the
architect from adding what she felt were excessive ornamental
interior touches. The construction was finished in six months,
and movies were being screened by Xmas of that year.

The theater was first leased to an experienced Nickelodeon
operator William E. Smith who owned the Arcade Pictorial and
the Bijou at 1060, and 1123 Broad St., Bridgeport. I’m guessing
that he transferred the Bijou name to this theater and closed the
one on Broad St.

The 2nd and 3rd floor ballroom was leased to Daniel C. Quilty
Sr. for the princely sum of $3000 per year. He was a well known
and respected dance instructor who operated a combined dance
school and public ballroom above the Bijou for over 40 years
until his death in the 1950’s. The retail space on the ground floor
was turned into a café.

I have not had the time to research the property and tax records
for the Bijou, so I don’t know exactly how and when Peter took
control of the building and theater. I do know that it was a wise
investment that lead Peter to devote the remainder of his life to
providing quality entertainment to the people of Bridgeport.

Peter operated the Bijou till April 1923 when he sold it to Star’s,
Inc. to raise cash to help cover the financial difficulties resulting
from his building the Dawe theater on State St. in 1921. The
Star’s Corp. had been formed by three local investors who
operated the theater for a few years before leasing it to Anthan
G. Prakas, a Greek immigrant, who operated the confectionery
shop in the retail space next to the theater. Mr. Prakas renamed
it the Rivoli in 1929 and purchased the Bijou from Star’s in the
early 30’s, during the Depression. That name stuck until 1969
when Mr. Prakas’s son-in-law, George Crist, changed it to Studio
Cinema, after a long due upgrade to the projectors, screen, and
seating.

The theater remained in the Parkis/Crist family until a few years
ago when it was sold to Phil Kuchma, a local builder/developer
who is in the process of restoration/renovation of the Bijou and
other surrounding buildings he owns into the Bijou Square
Development.