If you fill out the Contact Us form, specifying a “Correction” and including a link to this page, someone will come along to fix the name, number of screens, seat count, etc.
I don’t know about NYC, but in the Boston area, National Amusements operates as ‘Showcase Cinemas’. Most of their theatres here have no name at all. They are listed in newspaper ads simply with the names of their towns — Woburn, Lowell, Lawrence, Revere, etc.
Quincy now has the eight-screen Flagship Cinemas, in the ‘Quincy Fair’ building at 1585 Hancock Street. This was built as an Entertainment Cinema, then became a Showcase Cinema, then closed and was reopened by Flagship. I haven’t been there yet, but they can’t be doing very well — they never advertise in the Globe, and they just changed to a policy of $2.50 admission at all times.
Is this the same location as any of the Quincy theatres you mentioned?
He was also not happy that the theatre preceded this Disney film with a trailer for the James Bond film Octopussy, which he felt was totally inappropriate for children under 6.
The address was 792 Beacon Street, Newton MA 02459. Google shows both Pier 1 and a Kaplan Test Prep center at that location now.
Was the Academy theatre building demolished and replaced, or just gutted for retail space?
Other theatres in the Sonny & Eddy’s chain:
Allston Cinemas (2 screens)
Central Square Cinemas, Cambridge (2 screen)
Galeria Cinema in Cambridge (single screen; later renamed ‘Janus Cinema’ under different ownership)
Exeter Street Theatre, Boston (1 screen)
The Cinema 57 (which has its own page here) had two screens when it closed. It never had more than two. One is now the live-stage Stuart Street Playhouse, the other is a golf school.
Sonny and Eddy’s Theatres, which I think also had the name ‘Fall River Theatres’ at one point, was a small art-house chain which at its high point ran the Allston Cinemas, Central Square Cinemas in Cambridge, Galeria Cinema in Cambridge (later renamed Janus Cinema under different ownership), Exeter Street Theatre in Boston, and Academy Twin Cinemas in Newton Centre. None of these are still open.
Cate Enterprises at one point owned the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge.
And here’s another example of a successful film series in a truly classic old theatre (one of the first to be saved and preserved anywhere): Summer Movie Series at the Ohio Theatre.
Jim: Boston’s largest and most opulent theatre, the Wang Center (formerly Metropolitan/Music Hall), very occasionally shows old films. People love this series. If it can work here, why not at Radio City?
By Samantha Bordes, Associated Press, 2/13/2005 16:56
PARIS (AP) An explosion ripped through a well-known Paris theater Sunday morning, gutting its first two floors and slightly injuring seven people, officials said.
The cause of the blast at the 3,000-seat Theatre de l'Empire, or Empire Theater, near the Champs-Elysee was not immediately known. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said nothing was being excluded. He did not address the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Seven people, primarily passers-by, suffered minor injuries in the explosion, mostly scrapes from shards of glass and shock to the eardrums, said Olivier Delplace, spokesman for rescue workers. Two watchmen inside the building were among those slightly injured, police said.
Authorities rushed to the scene shortly after 6:30 a.m.
Police used sniffer dogs to try to determine the origin of the blast and to ensure that no one remained trapped in the theater or in surrounding buildings. The occupants of a neighboring six-story apartment block were able to escape without assistance.
Built in the 1920s, the theater had served in recent years as a venue for concerts, dinners and fashion shows. Designer John Galliano was to present his ready-to-wear collection there March 5.
The theater had been sold several years ago to private investors with plans to transform it into a luxury hotel, Girard said.
In its prime, the Empire Theater was a noted music hall for jazz stars and the likes of actor, crooner and dancer Maurice Chevalier.
By the way, if you or anyone else know something about the Newton Paramount, please add it to this site as well.
Thanks again. Do you know why it closed?
If you fill out the Contact Us form, specifying a “Correction” and including a link to this page, someone will come along to fix the name, number of screens, seat count, etc.
I don’t know about NYC, but in the Boston area, National Amusements operates as ‘Showcase Cinemas’. Most of their theatres here have no name at all. They are listed in newspaper ads simply with the names of their towns — Woburn, Lowell, Lawrence, Revere, etc.
Quincy now has the eight-screen Flagship Cinemas, in the ‘Quincy Fair’ building at 1585 Hancock Street. This was built as an Entertainment Cinema, then became a Showcase Cinema, then closed and was reopened by Flagship. I haven’t been there yet, but they can’t be doing very well — they never advertise in the Globe, and they just changed to a policy of $2.50 admission at all times.
Is this the same location as any of the Quincy theatres you mentioned?
In this 1983 letter found on the tobaccodocuments.org web site, an attorney complains to the Academy’s owner about a commercial for KOOL cigarettes that was shown before a 1:50 pm Saturday matinee of the the G-rated movie Snow White.
He was also not happy that the theatre preceded this Disney film with a trailer for the James Bond film Octopussy, which he felt was totally inappropriate for children under 6.
Thanks – the Academy is now listed.
The address was 792 Beacon Street, Newton MA 02459. Google shows both Pier 1 and a Kaplan Test Prep center at that location now.
Was the Academy theatre building demolished and replaced, or just gutted for retail space?
Other theatres in the Sonny & Eddy’s chain:
Allston Cinemas (2 screens)
Central Square Cinemas, Cambridge (2 screen)
Galeria Cinema in Cambridge (single screen; later renamed ‘Janus Cinema’ under different ownership)
Exeter Street Theatre, Boston (1 screen)
Sadly, none of these are still open.
I’d wait a day or so before contacting the site masters.
If this is still operating, even as a nightclub, then the status should be changed to “Open”.
None remain in Boston. The last one, the [url Pilgrim,]/theaters/6624/]Pilgrim[/url],[/url] closed in 1995 and was demolished the following year.
The Academy is not currently listed on this site. Please add it and give us whatever information you know.
The Cinema 57 (which has its own page here) had two screens when it closed. It never had more than two. One is now the live-stage Stuart Street Playhouse, the other is a golf school.
Sonny and Eddy’s Theatres, which I think also had the name ‘Fall River Theatres’ at one point, was a small art-house chain which at its high point ran the Allston Cinemas, Central Square Cinemas in Cambridge, Galeria Cinema in Cambridge (later renamed Janus Cinema under different ownership), Exeter Street Theatre in Boston, and Academy Twin Cinemas in Newton Centre. None of these are still open.
Cate Enterprises at one point owned the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge.
I thought the 57 was a twin from the beginning.
Does anyone know why the ‘annual’ classic film series ended? It sounded like a nice concept — each year, present the hits of a different studio.
Either this, or the Village Cinema in West Roxbury, was the last non-chain neighborhood theatre in Boston.
cinemaboy, do you have a list of his Boston-area theatres? Also, do you or anyone else know when the Pi Alley opened, and when it was twinned?
And here’s another example of a successful film series in a truly classic old theatre (one of the first to be saved and preserved anywhere): Summer Movie Series at the Ohio Theatre.
Jim: Boston’s largest and most opulent theatre, the Wang Center (formerly Metropolitan/Music Hall), very occasionally shows old films. People love this series. If it can work here, why not at Radio City?
Unfortunately, the photo shown here doesn’t make it look like much of an architectural landmark.
While Dorchester was once a ‘suburb’ of Boston, it was annexed to the city in 1870, which I presume was long before this theatre was built.
Noted Paris theater gutted by mysterious blast
By Samantha Bordes, Associated Press, 2/13/2005 16:56
PARIS (AP) An explosion ripped through a well-known Paris theater Sunday morning, gutting its first two floors and slightly injuring seven people, officials said.
The cause of the blast at the 3,000-seat Theatre de l'Empire, or Empire Theater, near the Champs-Elysee was not immediately known. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said nothing was being excluded. He did not address the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Seven people, primarily passers-by, suffered minor injuries in the explosion, mostly scrapes from shards of glass and shock to the eardrums, said Olivier Delplace, spokesman for rescue workers. Two watchmen inside the building were among those slightly injured, police said.
Authorities rushed to the scene shortly after 6:30 a.m.
Police used sniffer dogs to try to determine the origin of the blast and to ensure that no one remained trapped in the theater or in surrounding buildings. The occupants of a neighboring six-story apartment block were able to escape without assistance.
Built in the 1920s, the theater had served in recent years as a venue for concerts, dinners and fashion shows. Designer John Galliano was to present his ready-to-wear collection there March 5.
The theater had been sold several years ago to private investors with plans to transform it into a luxury hotel, Girard said.
In its prime, the Empire Theater was a noted music hall for jazz stars and the likes of actor, crooner and dancer Maurice Chevalier.
When the Paramount showed porn movies, was it still a General Cinema? It seems quite out of character for that chain.
Please add the Rialto to this site, with any information that you know about it.
Can you tell us when the Village opened, and when it closed?
I believe you are confusing the Paris with the ‘Pru Cinema’, a block further down Boylston Street. It played Deep Throat for years in the 1970s.