The Mystic Theater in Weld, Maine

Nestled in the mountains of western part of Maine in Franklin County is the charming rural town of Weld. During the 1920’s to 1930’s, Weld had its own cinema in the building which was home to the Masons. Known as the Mystic Tie Lodge #154 and first organized in 1869, this Masonic Lodge started to build its meeting house in 1922, according to an article in The Franklin Journal and Chronicle dated May 3, 2019. Even though the lodge was single storey, it was large enough to hold the meetings as well as contain a stage complete with curtains, much like any other cinema of that time period. Called the Mystic Theater after the lodge’s name, the citizens of Weld soon became regular patrons. Back then, silent films were the order of the day, along with other forms of live entertainment in this town of 521 citizens.

The Mystic Tie Lodge building was completed in 1926 and has two floors. Located on South Street near the Weld town center, the lodge is built from wood and consists of a front-gable roof, with clapboard siding, four evenly spaced windows on the first floor on the front, while the four windows on the second floor are spaced more closely, allowing a center portion large enough to contain the Masonic shield above the doorway. Entering through the front door of the lodge, one can easily find the remnants of the former Mystic Theater. What used to be the lobby with a ticket booth and a staircase leading to the second floor where the Masons held their meetings. It is on this second floor where the projection room was located, with projectors dating back to the 1920’s to 1930’s. What is interesting about the projection room is that it was accessed by a ladder in the kitchen on the first floor.

According to entries in Moving Picture World from 1924, some of the silent films shown at the Mystic Theater were: “Bought and Paid For” (1922) starring Agnes Ayres and Jack Holt; “Blood and Sand” (1922) starring Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi; and “Crimson Challenge” (1922) starring Dorothy Dalton and Jack Mower. As with so many silent films, however, both “Bought and Paid For” and “Crimson Challenge” remain lost silent films.

In addition to silent films being shown at the Mystic, many other events were held on the same floor of the Masonic Hall. Dances were held, as one advertisement appears in the Sun Journal, Lewiston dated July 3, 1931. The Weld high school graduation exercises were held there as well, in addition to summer stock players, minstrel shows, masquerade balls, town meetings, and other social events, providing plenty of entertainment for the citizens of Weld.

Since 1940, the Mystic Tie Lodge #154 was bought by the town of Weld. Today the building serves as Weld’s Town Hall on the first floor, where the entertainment was held, with the second floor being leased to the Masons, who still hold meetings there periodically. This Masonic Lodge/Town Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Image Credit: Mystic Theater, in the Mystic Tie Lodge #154 in Weld, Maine. Copyright, Zindbar.