Another Globe article says that the name changed from Loew’s Orpheum to just Orpheum in August of 1967, which seems to be confirmed by the daily film listings for that month. (I haven’t yet figured out if there’s a way to see advertisements in the Globe archives.)
Later articles in 1971 say that films returned to the Orpheum/Aquarius from time to time, with a showing of “Jimi Hendrix At Berkeley” on 9/3/71, and a 99-cent double-feature festival programmed by Justin Freed (later of the Park Square, Kenmore Square, and Coolidge Corner) during the first ten days of 1972: A Man Called Horse with The Detective; The Sterile Cuckoo with Plaza Suite; Rosemary’s Baby with Wait Until Dark.
I just found part of the answer, since the Boston Globe now provides free access to its entire archive for 7-day subscribers. The Orpheum closed as a movie theatre on January 31, 1971 and reopened as the Aquarius, a live concert hall, on May 27, 1971. The first featured performer was James Brown.
The new owner was an African-American business owner and activist named Arthur Scott. Newspaper articles of the time compared his new venture to the Apollo Theatre in New York City.
Can anyone here establish exact dates when the theatre was renamed to Aquarius, and when it reverted back to Orpheum? It would also be nice to know when the last regularly-scheduled movie ran, and what it was.
There were a couple of AMC multiplexes on either side of Hamilton Road just north of Eastland Mall, which don’t have pages on CinemaTreasures. The old cinema in the mall does have a page here.
The Forum was on the south side of Refugee Road just east of the mall, but it had only 3 screens.
On East Main Street in Whitehall there were a Town & Country Cinema (General Cinemas) and Cinema East (local independent). Click on ‘Ohio’ near the top of this page, view all, sort by city, and then look at Columbus and Whitehall (and Bexley) theatres.
CAPA are good folks, who got their start by saving the historic Ohio Theatre downtown back in 1969. They even have a little experience in movie exhibition, with the Ohio’s summer film series.
I’m also getting the “This site needs a different Google Maps API key” error. I don’t understand why since the pages don’t have any maps on them.
Somerville Theatre will be doing some repertory programming this summer: View link
Test to see if I can still leave a comment here.
I hope you can preserve all of the old URLs since people have linked to them from all over the web.
Sack, then USACinemas, then Loews. But the ads just called it ‘Somerville’.
Jacks' Joke Shop closed in 2006, in the Theatre District.
If you know more about it, please add a page for it here.
Did Grand Opera House ever show movies? If so, it should get its own page here.
Where was the Hub Theatre? (The State Theatre had this name for a while, but not in 1912-14.)
Yes, Meeting House Hill is just a few blocks away, with First Parish (Dorchester) church on top of the hill.
What other Boston theatres does he say he performed at?
Another Globe article says that the name changed from Loew’s Orpheum to just Orpheum in August of 1967, which seems to be confirmed by the daily film listings for that month. (I haven’t yet figured out if there’s a way to see advertisements in the Globe archives.)
According to the Boston Globe archives, the last show at the Back Bay Theatre was the Four Seasons on Sunday night, May 26, 1968.
Later articles in 1971 say that films returned to the Orpheum/Aquarius from time to time, with a showing of “Jimi Hendrix At Berkeley” on 9/3/71, and a 99-cent double-feature festival programmed by Justin Freed (later of the Park Square, Kenmore Square, and Coolidge Corner) during the first ten days of 1972: A Man Called Horse with The Detective; The Sterile Cuckoo with Plaza Suite; Rosemary’s Baby with Wait Until Dark.
I just found part of the answer, since the Boston Globe now provides free access to its entire archive for 7-day subscribers. The Orpheum closed as a movie theatre on January 31, 1971 and reopened as the Aquarius, a live concert hall, on May 27, 1971. The first featured performer was James Brown.
The new owner was an African-American business owner and activist named Arthur Scott. Newspaper articles of the time compared his new venture to the Apollo Theatre in New York City.
Which would mean the supposed ‘1968’ photo referred to above is misdated.
Can anyone here establish exact dates when the theatre was renamed to Aquarius, and when it reverted back to Orpheum? It would also be nice to know when the last regularly-scheduled movie ran, and what it was.
What was the Crystal Slipper?
Boston had what sounds like a similar ‘film distribution district’ in the Bay Village neighborhood.
Also, on East Livingston Ave near Reynoldsburg was the York Plaza Cinema, originally built as a Jerry Lewis cinema. That one is also listed here.
There were a couple of AMC multiplexes on either side of Hamilton Road just north of Eastland Mall, which don’t have pages on CinemaTreasures. The old cinema in the mall does have a page here.
The Forum was on the south side of Refugee Road just east of the mall, but it had only 3 screens.
On East Main Street in Whitehall there were a Town & Country Cinema (General Cinemas) and Cinema East (local independent). Click on ‘Ohio’ near the top of this page, view all, sort by city, and then look at Columbus and Whitehall (and Bexley) theatres.
If you now own this theatre, what are you planning to do with it?
If 35mm film comes off their logo, how long before it disappears from their theatres too?
411 South Street? Google Maps puts that address in the middle of the Arboretum.
CAPA are good folks, who got their start by saving the historic Ohio Theatre downtown back in 1969. They even have a little experience in movie exhibition, with the Ohio’s summer film series.
Same bank branch as is there today (now Citizens Bank)? Quite a handsome building in its own way.