Meriden Hub 1 & 2
77 State Street,
Meriden,
CT
06450
77 State Street,
Meriden,
CT
06450
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp.
Previous Names: Cinema 1 & 2, Meriden Mall Cinema 1 & 2
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This wasn’t a classic ANYTHING. But I am listing it here for historical reference. The Cinema 1 & 2 was a cookie-cutter mini cinema, featuring narrow auditoriums. Built 1968-70 as part of a now-abandoned urban redevelopment failure, the Meriden Mall, the Cinema 1 & 2 was opened on November 18, 1970 with Gig Young in “Lovers and Other Strangers” & Paul Newman in “WUSA”.
There is nothing which made this place memorable or architecturally significant. Walls were of cinderblock painted dark blue. There was blue lighting on the screen before each film. Walls of the entranceways to the auditorium were covered with purple carpeting. And… that’s about it.
The Meriden Cinema 1 & 2 was closed on November 17, 1980. The Meriden Mall was renamed Meriden Hub in March 1981 and the cinema reopened as the was renamed Meiden Hub 1 & 2 in the fall of 1981. It was closed in December 1982.
Contributed by
Bob Whitworth
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
I assume you are getting the 77 State St. address from CinemaTour. I used it there because that is the address I found in the newspaper and/or city directory listings for the Meriden Mall Cinema 1 & 2 during my research.
Since I do much research myself I have aquired a rather large database of U.S. theatres over the years. The address for this theatre is shown as 77 State Street. Very good work gentlemen.
In the “for what it’s worth department,” I actually was able to see this theater under construction. As a kid back in 1969/70, I used to routinely wander through construction sites, and hardly ever got yelled at or told to leave. I remember the construction crew using snap lines to mark the placements of the auditorium seats. I think the first film I saw in this was either “Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein” or “The Godfather.” The theater is NOT missed, and neither is the atrocious mall in which the theater was located.
The GCC Meriden Mall Cinema I & II November 18, 1970 grand opening featured “Lovers and Other Strangers” and “WUSA.“ General Cinema vacated at the midpoint of a 20-year lease on November 17, 1980 as the Meriden Mall had devolved to greyfield status losing the vast majority of its retailers.
In March of 1981, the Meridien Mall moniker changed to the Meriden Hub under new operators. The venue had one more chance as it reopened in the Fall of 1981 as the Hub Cinema I & II before closing in December of 1982. It does not appear to have reopened. The entire vacant Hub was mercifully demolished in 2007.
Despite the various research concerning the address placing it at 77 State Street, the opening ad for the Meriden Mall Cinema I & II stated it was on East Main Street. However, East Main and State do intersect. After the entire Hub was demolished it was redeveloped as an open space called Meriden Green.