I just came back from seeing CSA: The Confederate States of America in that tiny new screening room. I counted only 16 seats, some fixed, some moveable. In any event, the number of screens should officially be changed to four.
Yep. To make things totally clear, the theatre had these names in sequence:
Metropolitan Theatre (its original name)
Music Hall (under Sack Theatres ownership)
Metropolitan Center for the Performing Arts (first name under new non-profit ownership)
Wang Center for the Performing Arts (after Wang gave money to the non-profit)
Wang Theatre (after the Wang Center organization took over the Shubert too)
Ron Newman
commented about
#on
Apr 25, 2006 at 1:30 pm
the Drexel Theatre Group now has four theatres: the original Drexel in Bexley, the Drexel Grandview, the Arena Grand in downtown Columbus, and the new Drexel Gateway on North High Street across from Ohio State University.
A few single screens still operate in the Boston area, though attending a movie at one is no longer the grand experience you and others recall from the 1940s. Here are the survivors I know of:
This building now contains Anthony’s Wine and Liquors, along with two smaller storefronts. The liquor store’s address is 269-267 Spring Street. That is probably how the theatre should be listed here, unless someone has another address from an old advertisement or directory.
Reading the above, I have to wonder where the people of Malden go for entertainment now. Not only are there no movie theatres at all remaining in Malden, there are also none in any of the surrounding towns. (Stoneham’s has been restored as a live stage; otherwise, all are gone now.)
The recent documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (available on DVD) briefly mentions and shows the Beverly Canon theatre. Jerry Harvey, the subject of this documentary, programmed the Beverly Canon before moving on to program first SelecTV and then the Z Channel.
At the Beverly Canon, Harvey was responsible for, among other things, showing an uncut version of [i]The Wild Bunch[i].
Actually, Emerson College does not yet own this building. However, they have a purchase option which they expect to exercise in June. They plan to turn the top nine floors into a dormitory. The Colonial Theatre will remain a commercial live stage.
The Coolidge now has effectively four screens, though the newest and smallest has only 20 seats, with movable folding chairs. Newspaper ads include films (and videos) in all four rooms.
CinemaTour.com has lots of photos of the Needham Cinema, both before and during demolition. I’m guessing that it was built in the 1920s or earlier, but I don’t know for sure.
I looked through some old, printed USGS topographic maps and found this theatre’s location. It was on the west side of Alewife Brook Parkway (Route 16), just south of the bridge over the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks.
If you look at this current USGS topo map, you’ll see the site marked “Substa”. That’s because it now contains a large field of electrical equipment. The Google map also shows this if you look at the Satellite or Hybrid view.
I just came back from seeing CSA: The Confederate States of America in that tiny new screening room. I counted only 16 seats, some fixed, some moveable. In any event, the number of screens should officially be changed to four.
Yep. To make things totally clear, the theatre had these names in sequence:
Metropolitan Theatre (its original name)
Music Hall (under Sack Theatres ownership)
Metropolitan Center for the Performing Arts (first name under new non-profit ownership)
Wang Center for the Performing Arts (after Wang gave money to the non-profit)
Wang Theatre (after the Wang Center organization took over the Shubert too)
I have no idea why you posted this here.
It’s not my picture — ask David.
the Drexel Theatre Group now has four theatres: the original Drexel in Bexley, the Drexel Grandview, the Arena Grand in downtown Columbus, and the new Drexel Gateway on North High Street across from Ohio State University.
A few single screens still operate in the Boston area, though attending a movie at one is no longer the grand experience you and others recall from the 1940s. Here are the survivors I know of:
Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Studio Cinema, Belmont
Loring Hall, Hingham
Stoughton Cinema Pub
Cabot Street Cinema, Beverly
Newburyport Screening Room
This building now contains Anthony’s Wine and Liquors, along with two smaller storefronts. The liquor store’s address is 269-267 Spring Street. That is probably how the theatre should be listed here, unless someone has another address from an old advertisement or directory.
Reading the above, I have to wonder where the people of Malden go for entertainment now. Not only are there no movie theatres at all remaining in Malden, there are also none in any of the surrounding towns. (Stoneham’s has been restored as a live stage; otherwise, all are gone now.)
Does anyone know exactly when the theatre was renamed from ‘Newton’ to ‘West Newton’ ?
The recent documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (available on DVD) briefly mentions and shows the Beverly Canon theatre. Jerry Harvey, the subject of this documentary, programmed the Beverly Canon before moving on to program first SelecTV and then the Z Channel.
At the Beverly Canon, Harvey was responsible for, among other things, showing an uncut version of [i]The Wild Bunch[i].
I wonder how they decided such things. West Newton is much closer to Newton Corner than it is to Natick.
It was WAKR when I lived there, and I didn’t realize that they had later changed their call letters.
Actually, Emerson College does not yet own this building. However, they have a purchase option which they expect to exercise in June. They plan to turn the top nine floors into a dormitory. The Colonial Theatre will remain a commercial live stage.
Here is Emerson’s official press release, issued on February 24.
The Coolidge now has effectively four screens, though the newest and smallest has only 20 seats, with movable folding chairs. Newspaper ads include films (and videos) in all four rooms.
And if the Report stated that, it was wrong. The West Newton Cinema was also open in 1941, though it may have been called just “the Newton” back then.
The address I posted is from this Needham Times article. It may be in error, or the address may have changed over time.
CinemaTour.com has lots of photos of the Needham Cinema, both before and during demolition. I’m guessing that it was built in the 1920s or earlier, but I don’t know for sure.
WAKR (not WAKC) was originally Channel 49. It moved to Channel 23 some time between 1965 and 1968, while I was living there.
If you compare this photograph with a Google Maps satellite view of Wheeler Street, it appears that cars entered the Drive-In from dead-end Wheeler Street, and the screen was next to the entrance, facing north.
It also looks like the westmost part of the former Drive-In is used today as a parking lot.
I looked through some old, printed USGS topographic maps and found this theatre’s location. It was on the west side of Alewife Brook Parkway (Route 16), just south of the bridge over the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks.
If you look at this current USGS topo map, you’ll see the site marked “Substa”. That’s because it now contains a large field of electrical equipment. The Google map also shows this if you look at the Satellite or Hybrid view.
The Paramount in Newton Corner would have been much closer competition for any theatre in Watertown Square.
Drive-ins.com has a page on this theatre. I’d like to nail down its exact location, and what is now on the site.
Where was this on Mt. Auburn? When did it close?
The photo described above is the first one on this page.
Also, the photo mentioned above is probably the first one on this page.