Waltham Cinema I & II
475 Winter Street,
Waltham,
MA
475 Winter Street,
Waltham,
MA
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Just wanted to mention a couple of things about this posting. First the Google maps picture has the wrong address of where this theater was. Second I added a comment to the one photo here that gives the correct address of where this cinema was. If you got off the highway coming from the north at Winter Street, there is a small plaza on the right as you come off the off-ramp. My wife told me there used to be a 2 screen cinema there. I saw an old placemat she has from the Chateau Restaurant in Waltham, that had an ad for the cinema on it. Its' address was 475 Winter Street, Waltham, MA. That’s where the new plaza is. Just wanted to help update your info.
The Waltham Cinema opened on May 26, 1971. The initial attractions were second run engagements of the Disney film “The Barefoot Executive” and the Dick Van Dyke comedy “Cold Turkey.” Source: The Boston Globe.
This former Westonian paid many visits to the Waltham Cinema growing up as well—-it was always a buck house. On rare occasions the cinema would show first run films, which were invariably “B” movies that had bypassed nearby first run houses such as the GC Shoppers World or Loews Natick.
I grew up in Weston and was a frequent visitor to the old Waltham General Cinema. As I recall, it was originally a first run GC house. As times changed, it downgraded to a buck house. I can still remember the GC jingle that played before each show. Lanai Island was the name of the Chinese restaurant next door.
No pictures guys,such good stories no one thought to snap a few pictures.
Hi, ErikH. Thanks for your input. I see where you’re coming from regarding bicycling to the cinema with friends to catch a weekend matinee, or going with other people (i. e. family or whoever) during the evening hours, but, as a woman, I was not really comfortable with the idea of going to such a secluded place by myself in the evening, particularly because of the problems that they did have there at that time. Don’t know what that general area’s like right now, but regarding that grisly incident I mentioned in my earlier post, that secluded area by the Lincoln-Waltham line is where those two teenaged boys got taken, and badly beat up by a pair of nasty drunks who’d picked them up. Scary indeed.
You’re right, thought about economics, industrial needs, the proliferation of home video in the early 1980’s, and the lack of room for the Waltham Cinema’s expansion due to that office retail building.
As kids, my sister and I frequently went to the old, vintage Embassy Theatre in Waltham, on Moody Street, either by ourselves, or with our friends and/or family. That theatre was a real palace of a theatre—it was cool. Fond memories abound, but it’s no more, and, since I no longer live near that area, I don’t much think about it any more.
Interesting comments MPol; I wasn’t aware of those problems. During the 1970s, I would often bicycle over to the cinema with friends to catch a weekend matinee or go to an evening show with family (with dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the same building as the cinema either before or after the movie). Never felt unsafe.
Not sure I would agree, though, that the Waltham cinema failed for reasons of location or the type of films that played there (unless you are referring to second run films in general). While the cinema was located in a commercial/industrial area, its location by the Winter Street exit off of Route 128 meant that it was easily accessible by car. During the 1970s, sellouts on weekends were not uncommon. I remember that “The Sting” played there for many weeks during the summer of 1974—-more than six months after the film had opened in first run. “Jaws” and “Star Wars” also had extended runs there—-many months (and in the case of “Star Wars,” probably more than a year) after they had debuted in first run.
What caused the Waltham cinema to close probably had more to do with industry trends, such as the sharp reduction in the second run market due to the exponential growth of home video in the 1980s. And theaters with a single screen or few screens were on the decline as well, due to the economics. The placement of the Waltham cinema within that office/retail building made expansion impossible, and the cinema’s two small auditoriums were clearly unsuitable for subdivision into additional screens.
I only went to the old Embassy on Moody Street once (I think the film was “With Six You Get Eggroll”), and remember it as very atmospheric—-it could not have been more different from the mundane cinema by Route 128.
Hi, ErikH. I grew up in a town that abutted Waltham, and remember the old, original Embassy Theatre very well. My sister and I often went to that movie theatre as kids, with friends, by ourselves, or with family, before we were of the driving age. A very elegant, baroque-looking theatre the old, original Embassy Theatre it was…both inside and out.
I remember the Waltham Cinema I and II quite well, despite my having gone there only once or twice, and it didn’t have nearly the feel, decor and magnetism that the old, original Embassy Theatre on Moody Street did. The intersection of 128 and Winter Street, which was right near the Lincoln-Waltham border, was not the best location for a cinema, especially because the cinema was so isolated and secluded. Moreover, it was close to the part of Winter Street, near the Lincoln-Waltham border, which was a notorious Lovers' Lane—people would regularly go there, park and make out, at all hours of the day, but especially at night. Not only was that stretch of Winter Street near the Waltham Cinema a notorious Lovers' Lane, but there were also a lot of fights down there, and one girl even got assaulted, at one point.
In an even grislier scenerio, there was an incident back in the early 1970’s, where a bunch of high school kids from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School were out on a double date one Saturday night, when, for some reason, they hitched a ride and got picked up by a couple of men who, although they were clearly intoxicated, didn’t seem unfriendly. The girls were let off before the guys, but then, things took a nastier, more vicious turn. One of the boys received a concussion from being hit over the head with a blunt, heavy instrument, and the other one almost got run over by their attacker’s car while they were escaping and going for help.
My hunch is that the Waltham Cinema failed after a relatively short stint due to its secluded location, the kind of movies that were played there, and the fact that this area was kind of a rough area where many people probably didn’t feel safe going into at night. But that’s my guess.
Following up on the above comments about there being another theater on Winter Street in Waltham in addition to the General Cinema “buck house.” I am familiar with the area, having grown up in Weston during the 60s and 70s and my family still lives there (the Waltham/Weston border is very close to Winter Street). There was only one theater on Winter Street: the “buck house.” Unless the Globe article is in error, the only possible explanation that I can think of is that the “buck house” was acquired by the Flick chain from General Cinema, probably no more than a few years before it closed in the 80s. The only other theater closing in Waltham in the past 40 years or so was the old Embassy theater on Moody Street.
A Boston Globe article in 1988 about the Waltham Flick closing mentions that Waltham has lost another theater recently and then goes on to state that the Waltham Cinema closed in 1986. Therefore it seems that they are different theaters.
Are you sure it isn’t the same one with a different name?
This cinema closed in 1986. There was also a theater on Winter Street in Waltham called the Waltham Flick that closed in 1988. Does anyone know anything about that one?
The Chateau is alive and well in all its 1970’s charm and glory. Wal-X is completely gone. They used to have the best pizza around. In 1998 one of the most unique eating places around left us- Chadwicks. This was located in Lexington on the Waltham border. Folks from around this area would remember all of these places.
Erik H—If you’d like to communicate about Waltham some more, my e-mail link is on this site for members, so just go to the Member Directory. I didn’t see an e-mail link for you. But I always love to chat by e-mail or IM about old times in Waltham. Thanks!
Thanks for those comments; I haven’t thought of the Chateau Restaurant in years (is it still in business?). I grew up in Weston about four miles or so from the Waltham cinema, which I visted often as a youngster.
I used the term “shopping center” a bit loosely when describing the building in which the cinema was located. The other major tenants in the building were a bank (located in the southeast corner with an entrance to the right of the cinema) and a Chinese restaurant with an entrance on the east side of the building facing Route 128. Instant Replay, one of the first video stores in the Boston area, opened next to the Chinese restaurant in 1980. The remainder of the building was, if memory serves, used for office space.
Actually, in the years of the Waltham Cinemas' existence, it was much easier for me, as a non-driver, and for many others in a similar situation to see films in the theaters of Boston and Cambridge, to where one could more easily travel by virtue of public transporation.
The beauty of the original & current Embassy theaters were & are their central locations within Waltham, very walkable from many residential parts of the city, but also accessible by bus and commuter rail for those coming from longer distances, with ample free parking—venues convenient for all variations of the movie-going public. The Waltham Cinemas' patrons were almost exclusively automobile drivers, or else children dependent upon parents & older friends & siblings, & adult non-drivers dependent upon driving companions, for rides to & fro.
The evolution that returned an Embassy Theater to Waltham is one of more than mere nominal re-emergence, for it also brought back the concept of a community theater accessible to more of its citizenry, as well to those from nearby and out-lying communities.
The new Embassy’s design, with state-of-the art screening rooms, sporting both cavernous and roomy ambience, and digital projection, plus a more abundant and varied refreshment menu, make it far superior to the sterile atmosphere and conditions of the Waltham Cinemas, which was a cinema experience in an age of transition, a duplex versus a multi-plex. Though none of the screens at the new Embassy are as large as that of the original location’s, there is more the spirit of the original present there than ever existed for movie-goers at the Waltham Cinemas.
I can understand that previous poster’s nostalgia for Waltham Cinemas based solely upon personal and inter-personal experiences involving that facility, which, after all, are what lend us our fond memories in life anyway. But based solely upon aesthetics, location and technological advancement, as well its spiritual connection to its nominal antecedent, there is no contest between the current Embassy Theaters and the now-defunct Waltham Cinemas, the latter to which I bid a hearty good riddance!
I grew up & lived in Waltham till I was 18, then off & on for a few years after my family moved following my father’s re-marriage, and went to see films at the original Embassy Theater until it was demolished in 1972, and have no memory of there having ever been a Waltham Cinemas I & II until after the Embassy was gone, which probably discounts the late 1960s theory posited by the previous poster. But it is possible I could be mistaken & I will research the matter further.
I can tell you also that I remember no shopping plaza in the Waltham Cinemas location, at least while it was a small General Cinemas facility, only really recall there being one other business located on its premises, and not a retail business at that—looked more like some manufacturing entity or something like that. It was just off an exit on Rte. 128, so not very conducive to retail traffic. The only two shopping plazas located in that northern part of Waltham were the one already mentioned, at which the Wal-Lex recreational facilities (it also included a roller rink, miniature golf course & snack bar in its glory days) and a Stop & Shop were located, and one further north toward Lexington, at which there was a Star Market, Brigham’s and Turnstyle department store (later Osco Drug, also owned by the Jewel Companies, which owned Star, Turnstyle, Brigham’s, Dorothy Muriel’s bakeries and later Cal-dor’s).
As for the bowling alleys mystery posed—the theory involving Wal-Lex makes sense, geographically, but I also wonder why someone who worked there would offer that bit about the Holiday Lanes if it were not based on some inside information? But as I was a bowler in the years just before & during the Waltham Cinema’s existence, was especially mindful of candlepin alleys, since I didn’t bowl ten-pin, and my only recollection of alleys in the surounding area were Wal-Lex and also Riverside, located on the Watertown-Newton border, near the Nonantum section of Newton, parallel to California Street and also now gone.
I didn’t seee very many films at the Waltham Cinemas, was too emotionally attached to the memory of the much better, vintage Embassy Theater, where I saw many films as a child. But I do recall seeing “Fiddler on the Roof” there, perhaps also “Rocky,” and also a special Saturday midnight showing of The Rolling Stones' documentary “Gimme Shelter,” in the summer of 1979, to which I had walked from my residence in a rooming house just off of Moody Street (ironically, closer to the old Embassy Theater location). Although I had grown up in the solid middle class section of Warrendale, for a few summers in between college terms I returned to my hometown and lived in quarters that my then-low income would afford. I remember that screening of “Gimme Shelter” in particular, as I had been given a ride part of the way home by these very good-looking twin brothers who had seen me at the film and given me a ride home because they said I reminded them of Mick Jagger. As it turned out, they had just gotten off duty from their jobs as cooks at The Chateau Restaurant and wanted to party with me after the film. I regret to this day not having had any beer at my place, and as a Gemini can truly appreciate the myth of twin gods!
But that night’s very long walk to & halfway back from the Waltham Cinema illustrated very clearly why it never succeeded as long as either Embassies had—because it was located off a very busy highway not convenient to public transportation or pedestrian-friendly, much too far away from other retail and dining establishments for after-film socializing. I quite agree with the poster who said the current Embassy multiplex is a much better facility than the very bare-bones Waltham Cinemas, but also take into context the earler times of multiplexes. In any case, although the current Landmark-owned Embassy may be better technologically, the aesthetics of the older Embassy, with its balcony, grand staircases & Spanish art-deco design and glass ticket booth, the moon projected on the ceiling during the films' screenings, and the films, events and memories associated with that legendary theater make that, for true Walthamites & vintage theater afficionados, the best Waltham, Mass. moviehouse of them all!
Interesting comment about the “folklore.” But if my memory is correct, the Waltham cinema was one of the original tenants in that small shopping center by the Waltham/Weston and Waltham/Lincoln borders that was built in the late 1960s. A bowling alley would have been an unusual choice for that shopping center, particularly since the popular Wall-Lex bowling alley (built in the 1950s and demolished a few years ago) was located a few miles to the east in Waltham, and closer to the much more heavily populated neighborhoods of Waltham and Lexington.
Also, assuming for the sake of discussion that the cinema did in fact replace a bowling alley (and that no portion of the bowling alley space was taken over by other tenants in the shopping center), that would have been one small bowling alley—-those two screens, entrance area/box office and concession area didn’t occupy much space.
If I remember the folklore correctly, the Waltham Cinema I and II was originally a bowling alley, part of the Holiday Lanes chain that General Cinema owned, and was converted into a cinema when the company decided to get out of that business line. I belive that the Stoneham Cinema I and II had the same history.
When I was an assistant manager, sometimes I would be asked to cover some of the manager’s time off – it was an easy theatre to run, but very tired.
Why? Surely the Embassy is a better theatre in every way.
Bring back the Waltham Cinema 1 and2
Waltham now has something much better, and more centrally located: Landmark’s six-screen Embassy Cinema, in the heart of downtown just off Moody Street.
Didn’t mean to imply that General Cinema was a small chain, but that the string of G.C. “buck houses” represented a relatively small subset of theaters owned by a company that largely focused on first run exhibition.
If memory serves, the Waltham Cinema I & II closed for business sometime around 1988 or ‘89.