The marquee in front suggests that it might have once been a 3-screen cinema. I don’t know where the third screen could have been, since the existing two are both quite small.
It is the only remaining single-screen second-run theater that I know of in this area. I’m not sure how they stay in business, but I’m glad they’re still around.
If you go to the comments for Copley Place Cinemas you’ll find more discussion of this topic. A number of the old movie theaters are still standing, but either used as live stages or still awaiting reuse.
(The Prudential Center, by the way, has changed greatly in the past decade and relates much better to the surrounding neighborhood now.)
There aren’t any movie theaters anywhere in downtown Boston now, except the 19-screen Loews Boston Common, which was built on the site of the former Astor/Tremont Theater.
The restaurant was called simply “The Restaurant At the Orson Welles” in its early days. It may have changed its name to something else before Chi-Chi’s replaced it.
For a year or so in the mid-1980s, right before Sack Theatres acquired it, the Janus ran a program of frequently changed double features, mostly recent hits with some classic revivals mixed in.
They published a monthly schedule whose format looked nearly identical to what Cinema 733 in Boston had done in the 1970s. Somewhere in between, I recall the Harvard Square Theatre (when it was still a single screen) printing a similar monthly schedule format.
I never really liked this place, as it was long and narrow, like a bowling alley.
I have some idea that it was not always called “Village Cinema”, and that it may have originally been part of a chain, but I haven’t been able to find more information.
When Loew’s abandoned the Ohio in 1969, the chain was very proud of its two brand-new suburban single-screen theaters: Loew’s Morse Road and Loew’s Arlington.
Today, both of those are closed, forgotten, and unlamented (and maybe even demolished), but the Ohio lives on gloriously.
The CITGO sign sits atop 660 Beacon, which was originally built as an automobile showroom. The entire strip of Comm. Ave. from here to Allston used to be full of car dealers.
In the late 1960s and early 70s, the Columbus area had so many drive-ins that the Columbus Dispatch printed a whole separate section of movie listings for them. There was the Eastside, the 40 East, the Linden Air, Miles North High, Miles East Main, the Kingman, and many others whose names I no longer remember.
In the late 1970s, the Park Square and Kenmore Square were owned by Justin Freed, who published elaborate monthly repertory schedules for both theaters. He closed both of them shortly after buying the Coolidge Corner.
In the late 1970s, both this theater and Park Square were owned by Justin Freed, who ran primarily repertory programming. Their monthly schedules, distributed widely around the city, were quite elaborate productions.
He closed both the Kenmore Square and Park Square shortly after buying the Coolidge Corner.
When I submitted this theater, I specified this web page, but somehow the link didn’t get posted. Much of the information I posted came from this page.
Here’s a photo of the theater. It is not dated, but the blank marquee suggests that it has closed and is awaiting demolition, some time in the mid-1990s.
Here’s a whole web site about the Demise of the Drexel North, with photos and some history of the theater.
According to this site, CVS purchased and then closed this Revco store several years after it opened. It sat vacant for two years, and then in August 2003 became the Columbus Sports Connection gym.
The Brattle Theatre surely predates it, but that’s across the river in Cambridge. The other Boston revival houses I remember from the 1970s were the Park Square and Kenmore Square, both owned by Justin Freed. I don’t know which of these three theaters came first.
The 733’s programming was considerably more mainstream than the other revival theaters.
The marquee in front suggests that it might have once been a 3-screen cinema. I don’t know where the third screen could have been, since the existing two are both quite small.
Was this theater ever used as a live stage? Its name suggests that it was.
It is the only remaining single-screen second-run theater that I know of in this area. I’m not sure how they stay in business, but I’m glad they’re still around.
I believe this is the same Ralph Hoagland who founded the CVS drugstore chain. Anyone know for sure?
There’s a separate listing here for the Wang Center. When it was still the Music Hall it often presented rock concerts.
If you go to the comments for Copley Place Cinemas you’ll find more discussion of this topic. A number of the old movie theaters are still standing, but either used as live stages or still awaiting reuse.
(The Prudential Center, by the way, has changed greatly in the past decade and relates much better to the surrounding neighborhood now.)
There aren’t any movie theaters anywhere in downtown Boston now, except the 19-screen Loews Boston Common, which was built on the site of the former Astor/Tremont Theater.
The restaurant was called simply “The Restaurant At the Orson Welles” in its early days. It may have changed its name to something else before Chi-Chi’s replaced it.
For a year or so in the mid-1980s, right before Sack Theatres acquired it, the Janus ran a program of frequently changed double features, mostly recent hits with some classic revivals mixed in.
They published a monthly schedule whose format looked nearly identical to what Cinema 733 in Boston had done in the 1970s. Somewhere in between, I recall the Harvard Square Theatre (when it was still a single screen) printing a similar monthly schedule format.
I never really liked this place, as it was long and narrow, like a bowling alley.
I have some idea that it was not always called “Village Cinema”, and that it may have originally been part of a chain, but I haven’t been able to find more information.
When Loew’s abandoned the Ohio in 1969, the chain was very proud of its two brand-new suburban single-screen theaters: Loew’s Morse Road and Loew’s Arlington.
Today, both of those are closed, forgotten, and unlamented (and maybe even demolished), but the Ohio lives on gloriously.
In the late 1960s and early 70s it was called “Marzetti’s Studio 35”.
The CITGO sign sits atop 660 Beacon, which was originally built as an automobile showroom. The entire strip of Comm. Ave. from here to Allston used to be full of car dealers.
In the late 1960s and early 70s, the Columbus area had so many drive-ins that the Columbus Dispatch printed a whole separate section of movie listings for them. There was the Eastside, the 40 East, the Linden Air, Miles North High, Miles East Main, the Kingman, and many others whose names I no longer remember.
The AMC Fenway megaplex is just a few blocks away from BU.
That cannot be correct. As Alan Karr posted above, this theater is now the BU Barnes & Noble, and that bookstore’s address is 660 Beacon Street.
Want to open one in Boston, Joe? Copley Square is a pretty poor excuse for an art-house and it’s going to close soon anyway.
In the late 1970s, the Park Square and Kenmore Square were owned by Justin Freed, who published elaborate monthly repertory schedules for both theaters. He closed both of them shortly after buying the Coolidge Corner.
In the late 1970s, both this theater and Park Square were owned by Justin Freed, who ran primarily repertory programming. Their monthly schedules, distributed widely around the city, were quite elaborate productions.
He closed both the Kenmore Square and Park Square shortly after buying the Coolidge Corner.
At least part of the Beacon Hill (which had 3 screens when it closed) is now a Copy Cop.
When I submitted this theater, I specified this web page, but somehow the link didn’t get posted. Much of the information I posted came from this page.
Here’s a photo of the theater. It is not dated, but the blank marquee suggests that it has closed and is awaiting demolition, some time in the mid-1990s.
The Strand’s official web site seems to have disappeared. Instead, try http://www.cityofboston.gov/arts/strand.asp .
The Music Hall, originally the Metropolitan, is now the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. It is primarily a live stage, but they occasionally show classic films.
Here’s a whole web site about the Demise of the Drexel North, with photos and some history of the theater.
According to this site, CVS purchased and then closed this Revco store several years after it opened. It sat vacant for two years, and then in August 2003 became the Columbus Sports Connection gym.
The Brattle Theatre surely predates it, but that’s across the river in Cambridge. The other Boston revival houses I remember from the 1970s were the Park Square and Kenmore Square, both owned by Justin Freed. I don’t know which of these three theaters came first.
The 733’s programming was considerably more mainstream than the other revival theaters.