Circle Cinemas
399 Chestnut Hill Avenue,
Brookline,
MA
02146
399 Chestnut Hill Avenue,
Brookline,
MA
02146
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 114 comments
Well, it depends upon how one defines “porn.” The Circle did, on occasion, show soft core X-rated fare. In its single screen days, the Circle had the exclusive Boston run of “Emmanuelle.” Another soft core booking from the 1970s was the X-rated “Alice in Wonderland.”
At the Circle? Not that I’ve ever heard of. Why do you ask this?
Are there any theaters showing porn?
danpetitpas- the original Circle was built in 1940 and was set well back from the street, with parking in front. Someone who worked near the theater in the early-1960s told me that when S. Redstone took it over in 1965 it was drastically remodelled, especially the front of the building, which was totally changed.
danpetitpas -
The border between Brookline and Boston actually juts out through the main lobby of the theatre. Portions of the lobby ARE in Brookline, but the auditoriums are in Boston. I speak from experience in dealing with the police, licensing, and health departments of both governments.
I thought I’d drop in my 2 cents.
I looked on a map of Boston and technically the entire cinema and parking lot is inside Boston. All of Cleveland Circle is part of Boston and the Brookline border at that point is the Riverside T trolley tracks which run next to the theater.
I worked at 2001 Beacon Street (office building) for six months and I learned to park on the Brookline side down Beaacon Street where you could put in a couple of quarters for 10 hours, whereas on the Boston side, the Boston meter maids went crazy tagging people who had parked more than an hour or two.
Cleveland Circle is sort of a weird part of Boston because the zip code is Brookline’s zip code, and if you dialed 911, you would get Brookline’s police and fire departments. We had to have the Boston police and fire department numbers at our desks in case there was an emergency. So technically, the theater is inside the Boston city limits, but the zip code is Brookline’s.
On another matter, I use to go to this theater in the late ‘70s to early '90s, and I find it hard to believe that this building was converted from an older theater. It’s typical '50s-'60s cinderblock architecture with a modern-style glass-enclosed, split-level lobby. Could the older theater have been flush with the street, where the front parking lot currently is, and was demolished, or could it have been next to the current site, such as where the restaurant is? That seems to make more sense.
After the rear auditoriums were twinned, I tried to see pictures only in the two front theaters. I remember seeing Schindler’s List there around Christmastime 1993 with a packed theater. Movies were quite often sold out on weekends. I also saw Late For Dinner in 1991 in one of the shoebox cinemas in back after the Globe gave the movie a great review. It was the only theater anywhere playing it. Luckily the movie was better than the theater.
Oh, yes! I forgot to mention “Chinatown”.
Ah, well. Another one bites the dust.
It’s disheartening to read/hear about a movie theatre closing. I remember when the Circle barely escaped being converted into condominiums afew years ago, but was barely saved (correct me if I’m wrong here, anybody). I still remember seeing some cool movies there, however; A Day at the Races, The Great Race, Superman I and II, Harry Potter and the Phoenix, and Munich.
It would be nice if it would be converted into another type of theatre, along the lines of the Coolidge and/or the Brattle. Wishful thinking, as that’s probably not going to happen.
I’m e-mailing the Globe to inform them that “Circle Cinemas opened in November 1965” is incorrect. I’ll point them at this page for the correct information.
From the Boston Globe:
Curtain will close on two cinemas
Brookline, Lawrence theaters called not financially viable
By Angel Jennings, Globe Correspondent | August 26, 2008
National Amusements Inc. said yesterday that it will shutter two theaters in the Boston area in September because the locations are no longer financially viable.
The Dedham-based movie chain plans to close the Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 on Monday and the Circle Cinemas in Brookline will close for business after the last show on Sept. 7. The private company said it would try to find positions at its other locations for the 51 employees affected by the closings.
“We watch all of our theaters closely,” Wanda Whitson, the company’s spokeswoman, told the Globe yesterday, “and make every effort to keep them as viable operating businesses. Once they are no longer viable, we make the decision to close them.”
The closings come at a time when many Massachusetts movie theaters are hurting as a result of competition from DVDs and the rise of home movie theater systems. According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, there were 112 movie theaters in Massachusetts last year, down from 117 locations in 2005.
To attract moviegoers, some theaters are adding more amenities. For its part, National Amusements is trying to turn some if its theaters into entertainment complexes where people come to do more than just watch movies.
Earlier this month, National Amusements opened the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Patriot Place, a 14-screen upscale theater in Foxborough that offers a lounge with a full bar and in-seat dining. Another theater following this same concept is being built in Dedham at Legacy Place and is slated to open next year. And a 12-screen theater is being built at the vacated Macy’s building at the Westgate Mall in Brockton.
National Amusements, which operates more than 1,500 theaters worldwide, including 15 locations in Massachusetts, also plans to expand overseas.
Employees at the two theaters that are closing received a short, four-sentence memo Friday about the closings. In the memo passed out at Circle Cinemas, Jose M. Perez, the theater’s managing director, wrote with a “heavy heart” about the closing of Circle Cinemas.
“Please note that this decision is in no way a reflection of the hard work and dedication you have all shown over the years,” Perez wrote.
The six-screen Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 opened in June 1965, and is located a short distance from its counterpart, Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 7-14. The larger, eight-screen theater will remain open. Circle Cinemas, which has seven screens, opened in November 1965.
Circle Cinemas employs 21 workers and Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 has 30 employees.
“Our employees are very important to us, and this is not a decision we make lightly,” Whitson said.
R.I.P Circle Theater you were a wonderful learning venue.
That was reported way back in 2005 (see above) but did not happen then. Where did you hear this latest news?
I have heard that the Circle will close soon so that the property can be “redeveloped”. This is not unexpected news.
This theater is a disgrace. I don’t think it should be torn down b/c the area needs a theater, but this hardly qualifies and it’s highly unlikely that the abutting Brookline/Brighton residents would ever approve a larger building. The smaller theaters with the TINY TINY TINY screens and awkwardly deep spaces (a result of splitting a large theater in half) barely warrant charging one fifth of a matinee price, let alone full price. It’s obviously a gold mine for the chain that runs it b/c of BC, but how sad that this is the best Brighton has to offer its students and residents.
Although I lived within a 3 minute walk of the theater for 4 years, I boycotted it shortly after moving there in favor of a longer trip to the Fenway, a far superior theater.
Hey all-’m one of the projectionists at the Circle currently, and would be happy to answer questions about the technical side of The Circle, assuming I have the answers!
Thanks!
The architectural firm which designed the 1965 revamp of the Circle Theatre for Sumner Redstone’s Showcase Cinemas was William Riseman Associates, of Boston. Many floor plans, sections, sight-line diagrams, and seating plans from the project are now part of the J. Evan Miller Collection of cinema plans which is held by the special collections department at Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Hello 70sfan too many years have passed for me to remember what material was used in the screen area. You might try contacting the current manager for answers on this matter. I do remember that the Circle was minus a stage in the screen area. When we had regional premieres featured performers had to stand at orchestra level with their backs to the screen addressing the audience with a handheld mike. No raised platform was ever built to help raise them above seating level, which always struck me as rather crude treatment toward stars of these flicks.
I saw many films at the old Circle during the late 60s and early 70s, when the theatre was still a single screen, exclusive run house. I remember seeing “The Great Race” (still a fav), “The Gambler”, and “Warhol’s Dracula” there. The one thing no one’s mentioned yet was the singular oddness of the “screen”. It was, as I recall, not a traditional screen (perforated with the speakers behind), but an indented wall — much like a blank picture frame. I remember walking up to it after the movie and touching it to discover it feeling like… cement! I don’t recall if the picture brightness suffered (although it probably, like most theatres, was a bit dim), but the sound probably was worse off, since the speakers were above the “screen”. Please correct me if I’m off on some of this — it was a very long time ago. Thanks as well, to all of your great posts for bringing back great memories!
To Tony0356 – send me, at , your US Mail address and I will send you a copy of the MGM Report. Be warned that the quality is no great shakes (my copy is a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox, etc.) If you happen to have $52 burning a hole in your pocket, you can order a high-quality copy of the MGM Report (for the Circle, or any other theatre in the series) from the THSA archive in Elmhurst IL.
Ron,
Would it be possible to see the pictures you have of Circle back then? Any neccesary arrangements can be made. I have worked for National Amusements for several years and have been at Circle the last year or so. I am very intersted in looking into the history of the theater. Let me know if you think there is anything you can do.
Thanks!
Hello again Dwodeyla; I ’m glad to hear about your Framingham adventure, you must have been at Shoppers World for a homebase? My Brother,Mom,and I went to see a show there not long after it opened since we lived in Billerica. Meanwhile,back to the Circle in its renovation in 1965 the old projectors were donated to the Donnelly Theater", in downtown Boston,which was used by the Catholic Diocese. One evening I looked up to see Cardinal Cushing enter our lobby. He asked to see our Manager Mr. Muir to personally thank The Circle for the projector gifts. Mr. Muir (who was Jewish) said he wanted to thank the Cardinal for living were he did,“What do you mean?,asked the Cardinal,Mr. Muir mentioned the number of the Cardinals house address,to which Cushing admitted that was correct, "Well said our Manager, "I played that number last night and it payed off!”, they both laughed about that. Opening of ,“The Singing Nun”,brought Debbie Reynolds up from NYC in her own Hertz Rent a Car, as the star of the film she was greeted by then Senator Ed Brooke, plus a local High School Marching Band all this in less that mild October weather. Ms. Reynolds was attired in a lightweight filmy short sleeved dress while the serenading Band members wore heavy woolen uniforms. Debbie listened outside to their music then patiently shook hands with each player while goosebumps multiplyed on her arms, what a trooper! The roof marquee sign at the Circle overlooked downtown Boston,with a little creative removal of the huge sign letters as the ushers putup the new feature titles sometimes creating interesting and somewhat naughty script messages for the populist to enjoy,probably tame by today standards…..I’d like it clearly understood that I did not approve of these antics,but they were amusing ,sometimes. Thanks to Ron Salters for pin pointing the actual construction date of the original Circle Theater as 1940, guess if I’d thought about it ,it would have dawned on me that materials to construct a new theater in 1946 right after the end of WW2 would not have been possible. Hope your enlightened by these ramblings.
The Circle was included in the MGM Theatre Photograph and Report project. There is an exterior photo dated April 1941. There was a parking lot in front and the building had 2 wrap-around marquees, one at each front corner. The entrance appears to be under the one on the right. Attractons are “Lady Eve” and “Flight from Destiny”. Both movies are posted on each marquee. The Report states that the address is “339 Chestnut Hill Avenue” (probably a typo). It states that the theatre has been a MGM customer for one year; that it was built in 1940, that it’s in Excellent condition, and has 1000 seats on the main floor and 207 seats in the balcony. The patronage is “Neighborhood – High Class”. Competing theatres are listed as Capitol, Allston, Egyptian.
We both worked at different Cinemas as ushers around the same time. I was at the Framingham Cinema as an usher from 1966 until about 1968. We weren’t as formal as the Circle, from the way it sounds. Usher’s jackets were bright orange, tux pants, white shirts, and black clip-on bow ties. (I think General Cinema did it a bit cheaper than Redstone.) The Circle being closer to Boston probably played first run, while the suburbs had to wait 21 days.
I remember watching the end of the Silencers and The Group a few dozen times, standing on the back aisle with a flashlight behind my back. We were taught to ask “where would you like to be seated”, rather than “where do you want to sit?” which I guess sounded less polite.
Hello dwodeyla, Glad that you liked my ramblings I’ll add a few more thoughts about The Circle Theater Cinema as soon as I remember them.
Thank you for the great description of the way things used to be.