That neighborhood could sure use a movie theatre. For that matter, all the other Boston neighborhoods could, too. There are currently no movie theaters in any Boston neighborhood outside Downtown, Back Bay, and the Fenway, except for the Circle on the Brighton/Brookline line. And a recent news story says that may soon close because a residential developer wants to buy it.
the latest from Lee Eiseman of Gaiety Theatre Friends:
January 19, 2005
Recent Gaiety Developments
As Kensington moves toward demolition by erecting staging along the north wall of The Gaiety, City Councilors and Ritz Tower plaintiffs make motions in two venues.
Yesterday at 1:00 PM Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner and Felix Arroyo filed an appeal with The Boston Zoning Board of Appeal to reverse the demolition permit for The Gaiety on the grounds that the issuance was in violation of section 38 – 21 of Boston Zoning code. This section protects theaters in the Midtown Cultural District from demolition unless the Zoning Board of Appeal grants a change of use. Should a theater be demolished illegally or legally in this district it must be replaced on site or another existing theatre restored. The prospect of a requirement to replace The Gaiety should give Kensington pause before commencing demolition, and would encumber the permitting and financing of the proposed tower project.
In another venue, the three plaintiffs in the Ritz Tower who were denied standing in Land Court to sue against irregularities in the PDA process will be filing an appeal this week in Massachusetts Appeal Court.
Unfortunately, neither action seems likely to save our theater.
the latest from Lee Eiseman of Gaiety Theatre Friends:
January 19, 2005
Recent Gaiety Developments
As Kensington moves toward demolition by erecting staging along the north wall of The Gaiety, City Councilors and Ritz Tower plaintiffs make motions in two venues.
Yesterday at 1:00 PM Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner and Felix Arroyo filed an appeal with The Boston Zoning Board of Appeal to reverse the demolition permit for The Gaiety on the grounds that the issuance was in violation of section 38 – 21 of Boston Zoning code. This section protects theaters in the Midtown Cultural District from demolition unless the Zoning Board of Appeal grants a change of use. Should a theater be demolished illegally or legally in this district it must be replaced on site or another existing theatre restored. The prospect of a requirement to replace The Gaiety should give Kensington pause before commencing demolition, and would encumber the permitting and financing of the proposed tower project.
In another venue, the three plaintiffs in the Ritz Tower who were denied standing in Land Court to sue against irregularities in the PDA process will be filing an appeal this week in Massachusetts Appeal Court.
Unfortunately, neither action seems likely to save our theater.
Sex in this city doesn’t pay: Worcester cops nab 29 in theater, street sting
Years after Boston cleaned up its Combat Zone, Worcester police are cracking down on the city’s seedy sex attractions.
A downtown stint over the weekend netted 29 arrests on various illegal sex acts – including a high school teacher from the northwestern part of the state caught masturbating to a skin flick, a source said.
…
More than half of the arrests were made at Paris Cinema, an adult theater with a reputation among gay men and a history of resident complaints
…
Cops found men engaged in sex acts alone and with others when they busted into the packed movie-house on both Friday and Saturday night
The Staples store that replaced the Allston Cinema is having its grand opening tomorrow.
While the Allston Cinema had interesting programming in the 1970s, it was a sad-looking building that won’t be missed. Allston used to have several much more impressive-looking theatres: http://www.bahistory.org/Theaters.html
At one point this was part of the ‘ABC Great States’ theatre chain. Did it stay continuously under ABC ownership from the time it was a cinema to its conversion into a television studio?
Even if the theatre is torn down, which seems quite likely, the main zoning lawsuit still has to go to trial. A judge could ultimately decide that the developer needs to replace the Gaiety with a new theatre in any new construction.
According to a Boston Globe article published on October 6, 1994, the final films to show on the three Charles screens were “My Fair Lady,” “Schindler’s List” and “Corrina, Corrina”. The large screen had 900 seats.
A notorious incident in the Pi Alley’s late history, from the Boston Globe archives (November 10, 1985):
“Krush Groove,” a popular “rap music” movie, opened in Boston on Friday night, resulting in broken windows, several slight injuries and four arrests.
More than 1,000 youths left the Sack Pi Alley Cinema on Washington Street at about 10 p.m. Half had seen the earlier show of the feature film and half had been turned away from the later screening after their efforts to get in resulted in damage to the theater and cancellation.
Members of the group headed toward the Park Street MBTA station and attacked two people on the Common, according to Boston and MBTA Police. Part of the group rode the Orange Line, got off at Egleston and broke the window of a bus, injuring the driver, they added. Four arrests were made. The MBTA Police sent officers onto the Orange Line to ride with the youngsters, a spokesman said.
Sack district manager Michael Senez said the film, a monologue set to a driving beat and synthesizer background, was being shown on both screens at the Pi Alley, which has a joint seating capacity of 650.
“We felt we were prepared. But the kids were just overanxious to get in and started pushing and shoving. This was the result,” he said, surveying two broken floor-to-ceiling windows and a crack in the box-office window. It was because of that damage that the theater canceled Friday’s 10 o'clock show. The theater was open for business for all five showings yesterday with wooden boards in the windows' places.
Teen-agers with booming radios the size of small suitcases yesterday milled around the moviehouse where posters advertising “Krush Groove” proclaimed: “They’re rocking it the hard way, in the streets, on the subways, in the clubs…”
This ‘rooftop’ theatre was outdoors? What did they do if a show was scheduled there, but it rained? Wasn’t there so much ambient noise aruond 42nd street that it would cause acoustical problems for the performers and audience?
I remember that a few years after the Orson Welles burned, a group was trying to resurrect it at the One Kendall Square complex, going so far as to apply for building permits and cause public hearings to occur.
Obviously they didn’t succeed — I’m not sure why. But not too long afterwards, Landmark built this theatre at a different location in the same office complex.
My only complaint is that despite its name, it really isn’t in Kendall Square, and it’s a rather lonely, desolate walk from the Kendall T station.
What is now located on this site?
When did it close, and what is now located on this site?
That neighborhood could sure use a movie theatre. For that matter, all the other Boston neighborhoods could, too. There are currently no movie theaters in any Boston neighborhood outside Downtown, Back Bay, and the Fenway, except for the Circle on the Brighton/Brookline line. And a recent news story says that may soon close because a residential developer wants to buy it.
the latest from Lee Eiseman of Gaiety Theatre Friends:
January 19, 2005
Recent Gaiety Developments
As Kensington moves toward demolition by erecting staging along the north wall of The Gaiety, City Councilors and Ritz Tower plaintiffs make motions in two venues.
Yesterday at 1:00 PM Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner and Felix Arroyo filed an appeal with The Boston Zoning Board of Appeal to reverse the demolition permit for The Gaiety on the grounds that the issuance was in violation of section 38 – 21 of Boston Zoning code. This section protects theaters in the Midtown Cultural District from demolition unless the Zoning Board of Appeal grants a change of use. Should a theater be demolished illegally or legally in this district it must be replaced on site or another existing theatre restored. The prospect of a requirement to replace The Gaiety should give Kensington pause before commencing demolition, and would encumber the permitting and financing of the proposed tower project.
In another venue, the three plaintiffs in the Ritz Tower who were denied standing in Land Court to sue against irregularities in the PDA process will be filing an appeal this week in Massachusetts Appeal Court.
Unfortunately, neither action seems likely to save our theater.
the latest from Lee Eiseman of Gaiety Theatre Friends:
January 19, 2005
Recent Gaiety Developments
As Kensington moves toward demolition by erecting staging along the north wall of The Gaiety, City Councilors and Ritz Tower plaintiffs make motions in two venues.
Yesterday at 1:00 PM Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner and Felix Arroyo filed an appeal with The Boston Zoning Board of Appeal to reverse the demolition permit for The Gaiety on the grounds that the issuance was in violation of section 38 – 21 of Boston Zoning code. This section protects theaters in the Midtown Cultural District from demolition unless the Zoning Board of Appeal grants a change of use. Should a theater be demolished illegally or legally in this district it must be replaced on site or another existing theatre restored. The prospect of a requirement to replace The Gaiety should give Kensington pause before commencing demolition, and would encumber the permitting and financing of the proposed tower project.
In another venue, the three plaintiffs in the Ritz Tower who were denied standing in Land Court to sue against irregularities in the PDA process will be filing an appeal this week in Massachusetts Appeal Court.
Unfortunately, neither action seems likely to save our theater.
How do you pronounce ‘Modjeska’ ?
So what happened to the sound stage and recording studio?
has any IMAX theatre ever closed before now?
From today’s Boston Herald:
Sex in this city doesn’t pay: Worcester cops nab 29 in theater, street sting
Years after Boston cleaned up its Combat Zone, Worcester police are cracking down on the city’s seedy sex attractions.
A downtown stint over the weekend netted 29 arrests on various illegal sex acts – including a high school teacher from the northwestern part of the state caught masturbating to a skin flick, a source said.
…
More than half of the arrests were made at Paris Cinema, an adult theater with a reputation among gay men and a history of resident complaints
…
Cops found men engaged in sex acts alone and with others when they busted into the packed movie-house on both Friday and Saturday night
CinemaTour has a photo tour of the former Allston Cinema. Compare these with the photos that I linked in my previous post!
The Staples store that replaced the Allston Cinema is having its grand opening tomorrow.
While the Allston Cinema had interesting programming in the 1970s, it was a sad-looking building that won’t be missed. Allston used to have several much more impressive-looking theatres: http://www.bahistory.org/Theaters.html
The ‘Chain’ for this should be listed as ‘FEI’.
Sure, it’s a chain of only two theatres, but the other one (Somerville Theatre) has it correctly listed.
Was this converted into the Elks Lodge, or demolished and replaced by that lodge?
What is now at this location?
At one point this was part of the ‘ABC Great States’ theatre chain. Did it stay continuously under ABC ownership from the time it was a cinema to its conversion into a television studio?
What relationship, if any, did this theatre have with the United Artists movie studio? Was it a preferred place for United Artists films to be shown?
Kensington owns the Gaiety Theatre building, so eminent domain is not involved there.
However, Kensington does not own the neighboring Glass Slipper, which the city proposes to take by eminent domain and then re-sell to Kensington.
Even if the theatre is torn down, which seems quite likely, the main zoning lawsuit still has to go to trial. A judge could ultimately decide that the developer needs to replace the Gaiety with a new theatre in any new construction.
According to a Boston Globe article published on October 6, 1994, the final films to show on the three Charles screens were “My Fair Lady,” “Schindler’s List” and “Corrina, Corrina”. The large screen had 900 seats.
A notorious incident in the Pi Alley’s late history, from the Boston Globe archives (November 10, 1985):
“Krush Groove,” a popular “rap music” movie, opened in Boston on Friday night, resulting in broken windows, several slight injuries and four arrests.
More than 1,000 youths left the Sack Pi Alley Cinema on Washington Street at about 10 p.m. Half had seen the earlier show of the feature film and half had been turned away from the later screening after their efforts to get in resulted in damage to the theater and cancellation.
Members of the group headed toward the Park Street MBTA station and attacked two people on the Common, according to Boston and MBTA Police. Part of the group rode the Orange Line, got off at Egleston and broke the window of a bus, injuring the driver, they added. Four arrests were made. The MBTA Police sent officers onto the Orange Line to ride with the youngsters, a spokesman said.
Sack district manager Michael Senez said the film, a monologue set to a driving beat and synthesizer background, was being shown on both screens at the Pi Alley, which has a joint seating capacity of 650.
“We felt we were prepared. But the kids were just overanxious to get in and started pushing and shoving. This was the result,” he said, surveying two broken floor-to-ceiling windows and a crack in the box-office window. It was because of that damage that the theater canceled Friday’s 10 o'clock show. The theater was open for business for all five showings yesterday with wooden boards in the windows' places.
Teen-agers with booming radios the size of small suitcases yesterday milled around the moviehouse where posters advertising “Krush Groove” proclaimed: “They’re rocking it the hard way, in the streets, on the subways, in the clubs…”
This ‘rooftop’ theatre was outdoors? What did they do if a show was scheduled there, but it rained? Wasn’t there so much ambient noise aruond 42nd street that it would cause acoustical problems for the performers and audience?
I remember that a few years after the Orson Welles burned, a group was trying to resurrect it at the One Kendall Square complex, going so far as to apply for building permits and cause public hearings to occur.
Obviously they didn’t succeed — I’m not sure why. But not too long afterwards, Landmark built this theatre at a different location in the same office complex.
My only complaint is that despite its name, it really isn’t in Kendall Square, and it’s a rather lonely, desolate walk from the Kendall T station.
I think that’s George Mansour, who at various times programmed the Nickelodeon, Loews, and the Boston Film Festival.
The locations aren’t that near each other. I’d estimate that a walk between them would take at least a half hour, maybe even 45 minutes.
This theatre has 9 screens, not 8 as listed above.
If it was a CBS studio, why was the PBS show Sesame Street produced there?