The Boston Arena is still there. It has been renamed Matthews Arena and is an athletic facility for Northeastern University. It claims to be the world’s oldest ice-hockey arena.
This is great news! Looking at their initial calendar with its daily changes, it almost seems like the second coming of the Fox Venice or the original Nuart.
One question – why will it be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?
slightly correcting the above – Boston now has only three operating movie theaters — one opened in 2001, one in 2000, and one in 1984. The last will close soon, and will not be lamented. Anyway, there’s nothing left here from the 1940s, 50s, or 60s. Sorry for the digression, and back to the Beekman now.
from the Post article: “While the city landmarked and preserved virtually all of the old Broadway houses under laws that were passed in response to plans to demolish Grand Central Terminal, it failed to follow cities from Boston to San Francisco that have also saved movie theaters.”
Boston is hardly a good example to follow here. In the entire city there is NO movie theatre operating that was built before 2000. Three old downtown movie palaces have been restored for live performance use, but four others sit vacant (one in danger of immediate demolition), four have been demolished, two converted to non-theatre uses. The three restored theatres are all from before 1930.
The Harvard Square Theatre, originally a single screen, reopened as a triplex on December 17, 1982. At the same time, the entrance moved from Massachusetts Avenue to Church Street.
Initially, they featured first runs on two screens but continued running double-feature repertory programming on the third. The printed double-feature schedules, and the programming on them, were similar to that of the old Cinema 733 in Boston. Later, the double features moved a couple blocks away to the Janus Cinema.
For some time, a group was trying to open a new Orson Welles Cinema at One Kendall Square. It never happened, but eventually Landmark opened their Kendall Square Cinema in the same complex. It occupies roughly the same niche that the Welles once did.
That’s a pattern that has repeated itself throughout the history of the Sack – USACinemas – Loews chain of ownership. They build or buy a theatre, gradually let it run down, then close it. Happened to the Beacon Hill, the Pi Alley, the Charles, the Savoy, the Saxon, the Gary, the 57, the Cheri, the Nickelodeon, the Janus …
There aren’t any now-closed subway stops around there. The tunnel system once connected to Boylston station on the Green Line, by way of the Little Building.
(See my previous post.)
One curiosity about this cinema: it has NO marquee or advertising sign of any kind visible from the surrounding streets. You can walk all the way around the Copley Place mall-office-hotel complex without ever learning that it contains movie theatres.
Even when you’re inside the mall, the cinema entrance and marquee are at the end of a side corridor, not visible from the main flow of pedestrian traffic.
Looking through the Boston Globe and Herald archives, I see that the theatre officially changed over from Sack Theatres' Music Hall to the Metropolitan Center on July 7, 1980.
The last show to be presented by Sack was a seven-week live production of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, starring Herschel Bernardi.
The Boston Arena is still there. It has been renamed Matthews Arena and is an athletic facility for Northeastern University. It claims to be the world’s oldest ice-hockey arena.
This is great news! Looking at their initial calendar with its daily changes, it almost seems like the second coming of the Fox Venice or the original Nuart.
One question – why will it be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?
This entry needs to be combined with the “Loews Salem Avenue Theatre” entry at
/theaters/9916/
This entry needs to be combined with the “Salem Avenue Cinemas” entry at
/theaters/8929/
The weekly Boston Phoenix has, along with publishing the most comprehensive coverage. Neither of the dailies have taken an official position.
The best way to get something like that fixed is to fill out the Contact Us form, specifying that this is a “Correction”.
Today’s Boston Phoenix has an update on the situation.
Today’s Boston Phoenix has an update on the situation.
slightly correcting the above – Boston now has only three operating movie theaters — one opened in 2001, one in 2000, and one in 1984. The last will close soon, and will not be lamented. Anyway, there’s nothing left here from the 1940s, 50s, or 60s. Sorry for the digression, and back to the Beekman now.
from the Post article: “While the city landmarked and preserved virtually all of the old Broadway houses under laws that were passed in response to plans to demolish Grand Central Terminal, it failed to follow cities from Boston to San Francisco that have also saved movie theaters.”
Boston is hardly a good example to follow here. In the entire city there is NO movie theatre operating that was built before 2000. Three old downtown movie palaces have been restored for live performance use, but four others sit vacant (one in danger of immediate demolition), four have been demolished, two converted to non-theatre uses. The three restored theatres are all from before 1930.
The Harvard Square Theatre, originally a single screen, reopened as a triplex on December 17, 1982. At the same time, the entrance moved from Massachusetts Avenue to Church Street.
Initially, they featured first runs on two screens but continued running double-feature repertory programming on the third. The printed double-feature schedules, and the programming on them, were similar to that of the old Cinema 733 in Boston. Later, the double features moved a couple blocks away to the Janus Cinema.
For some time, a group was trying to open a new Orson Welles Cinema at One Kendall Square. It never happened, but eventually Landmark opened their Kendall Square Cinema in the same complex. It occupies roughly the same niche that the Welles once did.
Interesting — both Cleveland and Columbus had both an ‘RKO Palace’ and a ‘Loew’s Ohio’.
Is there no way that the hospital could build above the theatre instead of tearing it down?
That’s a pattern that has repeated itself throughout the history of the Sack – USACinemas – Loews chain of ownership. They build or buy a theatre, gradually let it run down, then close it. Happened to the Beacon Hill, the Pi Alley, the Charles, the Savoy, the Saxon, the Gary, the 57, the Cheri, the Nickelodeon, the Janus …
There aren’t any now-closed subway stops around there. The tunnel system once connected to Boylston station on the Green Line, by way of the Little Building.
(See my previous post.)
Anyone know when this opened? Did it have any relationship to the Paris cinema in New York City?
What happened to that stairway when the theater was demolished?
You mention that it was ’re-opened' in the 60s. For how long had it been closed? Was it used only as a stage house before the re-opening?
One curiosity about this cinema: it has NO marquee or advertising sign of any kind visible from the surrounding streets. You can walk all the way around the Copley Place mall-office-hotel complex without ever learning that it contains movie theatres.
Even when you’re inside the mall, the cinema entrance and marquee are at the end of a side corridor, not visible from the main flow of pedestrian traffic.
If you have a library card in Massachusetts, you can get to them here:
http://www.mmrls.org/homeaccess.html
Go to “NewsBank” after entering your library card number.
What will the future development be?
Looking through the Boston Globe and Herald archives, I see that the theatre officially changed over from Sack Theatres' Music Hall to the Metropolitan Center on July 7, 1980.
The last show to be presented by Sack was a seven-week live production of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, starring Herschel Bernardi.
And now it looks like the demonstration has been postponed to Friday, January 7 at noon, because of anticipated bad weather on Thursday.
The court hearing has also been postponed, to Tuesday, January 11 at 10 am, still at 1 Beacon Street, third floor.
And now it looks like the demonstration has been postponed to Friday, January 7 at noon, because of anticipated bad weather on Thursday.
The court hearing has also been postponed, to Tuesday, January 11 at 10 am, still at 1 Beacon Street, third floor.
The Janus closed without any advance notice on Thursday, October 22, 1998, according to a Boston Globe article published the following day.