Many thanks to everyone who posted here for so much good information. I must confess, I never found the Copley to have the charm or appeal of some venues in Boston. But at least it’s a venue. So many have been lost. I saw TITANIC here in one of the auditoriums that slopes uphill toward the screen. I felt seasick (honest!). I also saw EVITA in another venue here that had almost no rake to the seating at all. Does anyone recall a small theater near the old North Station/Boston Garden that showed art house films in the sixties? I saw THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET there around 1965, one of my first trips in to the BiG City as a teenager. My impression was that the theater was quite small, almost a store front operation. Given its size, it was a likely candidate for conversion to a porn house.
Gerald: Timely and fascinating article about the Gayety in the Phoenix. Thanks. It’s a case study. I’ve seen mayors in other cities become similarly obsessed with high rise condo towers, though this situation has the added factor of the Glass Slipper. Why bother have zoning and plans if they get thrown out the window? This theater is a gem, and it’s a venue that could meet a market need.
The Parisian really does evoke the sensibilities of opulent older theaters. It has a lobby that’s several stories high with open stair cases and faux marble columns. The projection and sound are decent, though no THX auditoriums that I’m aware of. Stadium seating.
I used to live a few blocks away from the McClurg in Lake Point Tower in the mid-1970s. I only saw a couple films there, even though it was an easy walk. I saw a revival of 2001. Sound and projection were suberb. I’ve heard it rumored that it was designed for single lens Cinerama. I think I recall the screen had some curve to it. By the time I’d moved to Chicago, the three-projector Cinerama theater had closed.
Gerald, I also saw “Sundays and Cybele” at the Fenway Theater. I was in high school, and our French class went to see it. I was 16 and a month away from getting my driver’s license. I didn’t know Boston at all. We went in at night by bus. It’s like revisiting a dream to know I was there.
The Cameo was a fairly decent, first run, single-screen venue. It had surprisingly good monophonic sound. The last film I saw there as a single was “The Last Great Train Robbery,” with Sean Connery, 1979. As a twin, it’s less enjoyable with its bowling alley auditoriums. But at least it survives. Some of the colonial revival details also survive.
I saw a number of films here when I was in high school in the sixties, including the surf documentary “Endless Summer.” My last visit was five years ago when I saw a second run of “Titanic.” Some seats were roped off because the ceiling seemed to be coming apart, possibly from water damage. For a number years, this theater attempted to run “family fare,” pictures with G and PG ratings.
A few years ago, the management at the One Beacon Street Building expanded their underground garage. I used to park my car there. I’m pretty sure that was the space occupied by the Beacon Hill Theater, so the theater substructure most likely has been demolished. I saw several films when it was an art house venue (“Kagamusha,” “Say Amen, Somebody,”) and a couple when it became a grind house. The last film I saw there was “Beverly Hills Cop II,” and the urban crowd at the matinee was rowdy. You had to climb a lot of stairs to get back to street level.
I saw “It’s a Mad…Mad World” here in 1965 or so when it was the Music Hall. I remember the projection booth was on the first floor, and they cut out some of the decorative mouldings under the balcony to make way for the projector beam. About five years as the Wang Center, I saw the restored Vertigo there at a wide screen festivel. I visited the booth (now above the balcony) to see the 70mm projectors which used reels rather than platters.
I saw only one film (To Live and Die in L.A.)at the Pi Alley when it had become two bowling alley style auditoriums. The year was 1985. The venues were small but adequate.
Gerald, Thanks for posting the Phoenix article. The Gaiety is an absolute gem of a theater. At the moment I live out of state, however, I recall the building clearly. The mayor should work some kind of compromise here. The BRA can plunk condo towers in any number of other places. Most cities would be ecstatic to have this facility and work to preserve it.
I’m pretty sure the Trans-Lux was, at least at one time, in the Park Square building which was bounded by Stuart, Arlington, and Berkeley Streets. I never saw a film there, but I sure remember the signs for it, since a friend of my dad’s had a sporting goods store in that building which had an arcade of retail shops. As a kid, I always wondered what exactly “trans-lux” meant.
The new Braintree Cinema on Grandview is now an AMC Cinema with the demise of the General Cinema chain. It’s one of the last theaters to have been built by General Cinema with conventional seating before the advent of stadium style auditoriums. I attended a charity Star Wars Marathon they had for the opening. I paid extra to see the films in the THX auditorium. I think they have (or had) two of them. The smaller auditoriums are delightful, almost like private screening rooms. I saw the original plans for the building. They’d planned that half the auditoriums would have stereo equipment. By the time the building was finished, all the auditoriums had stereo. One auditorium has an HPS-4000 speaker system. It’s superb and has better mid-range than the THX venues. General Cinema was quality company. I’ve not visited the theater since it was bought by AMC.
I saw a screening of “A Clockwork Orange” at the Pacific in December of 1971. The theater was still single screen at that time, and the place was packed for either a Friday or Saturday evening performance. I recall the crowd was a bit rowdy. We sat in the balcony. The lobby seemed small for the auditorium which was huge. Somewhere on the web is a site with black and white photos of the marquis and lobby for that “Clockwork Orange” run. I’ll try to find it again. “A Clockwork Orange” was a rather violent film for that era. Heck, it would still be violent. I’ve never seen it again. The first viewing was vivid enough. Emerging from the theater after the film, I looked up at the radio towers on the building looming in the darkness. It all had a noirish quality.
Many thanks to everyone who posted here for so much good information. I must confess, I never found the Copley to have the charm or appeal of some venues in Boston. But at least it’s a venue. So many have been lost. I saw TITANIC here in one of the auditoriums that slopes uphill toward the screen. I felt seasick (honest!). I also saw EVITA in another venue here that had almost no rake to the seating at all. Does anyone recall a small theater near the old North Station/Boston Garden that showed art house films in the sixties? I saw THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET there around 1965, one of my first trips in to the BiG City as a teenager. My impression was that the theater was quite small, almost a store front operation. Given its size, it was a likely candidate for conversion to a porn house.
Gerald: Timely and fascinating article about the Gayety in the Phoenix. Thanks. It’s a case study. I’ve seen mayors in other cities become similarly obsessed with high rise condo towers, though this situation has the added factor of the Glass Slipper. Why bother have zoning and plans if they get thrown out the window? This theater is a gem, and it’s a venue that could meet a market need.
A view of the interior may be seen here: http://www.muvico.com/main/parisian_visual_3.htm
The Parisian really does evoke the sensibilities of opulent older theaters. It has a lobby that’s several stories high with open stair cases and faux marble columns. The projection and sound are decent, though no THX auditoriums that I’m aware of. Stadium seating.
I used to live a few blocks away from the McClurg in Lake Point Tower in the mid-1970s. I only saw a couple films there, even though it was an easy walk. I saw a revival of 2001. Sound and projection were suberb. I’ve heard it rumored that it was designed for single lens Cinerama. I think I recall the screen had some curve to it. By the time I’d moved to Chicago, the three-projector Cinerama theater had closed.
Gerald, I also saw “Sundays and Cybele” at the Fenway Theater. I was in high school, and our French class went to see it. I was 16 and a month away from getting my driver’s license. I didn’t know Boston at all. We went in at night by bus. It’s like revisiting a dream to know I was there.
Correction: I confused this theater with the Telepix in Park Square. Apologies.
The Cameo was a fairly decent, first run, single-screen venue. It had surprisingly good monophonic sound. The last film I saw there as a single was “The Last Great Train Robbery,” with Sean Connery, 1979. As a twin, it’s less enjoyable with its bowling alley auditoriums. But at least it survives. Some of the colonial revival details also survive.
I saw a number of films here when I was in high school in the sixties, including the surf documentary “Endless Summer.” My last visit was five years ago when I saw a second run of “Titanic.” Some seats were roped off because the ceiling seemed to be coming apart, possibly from water damage. For a number years, this theater attempted to run “family fare,” pictures with G and PG ratings.
A few years ago, the management at the One Beacon Street Building expanded their underground garage. I used to park my car there. I’m pretty sure that was the space occupied by the Beacon Hill Theater, so the theater substructure most likely has been demolished. I saw several films when it was an art house venue (“Kagamusha,” “Say Amen, Somebody,”) and a couple when it became a grind house. The last film I saw there was “Beverly Hills Cop II,” and the urban crowd at the matinee was rowdy. You had to climb a lot of stairs to get back to street level.
I saw “It’s a Mad…Mad World” here in 1965 or so when it was the Music Hall. I remember the projection booth was on the first floor, and they cut out some of the decorative mouldings under the balcony to make way for the projector beam. About five years as the Wang Center, I saw the restored Vertigo there at a wide screen festivel. I visited the booth (now above the balcony) to see the 70mm projectors which used reels rather than platters.
I saw only one film (To Live and Die in L.A.)at the Pi Alley when it had become two bowling alley style auditoriums. The year was 1985. The venues were small but adequate.
Gerald, Thanks for posting the Phoenix article. The Gaiety is an absolute gem of a theater. At the moment I live out of state, however, I recall the building clearly. The mayor should work some kind of compromise here. The BRA can plunk condo towers in any number of other places. Most cities would be ecstatic to have this facility and work to preserve it.
I’m pretty sure the Trans-Lux was, at least at one time, in the Park Square building which was bounded by Stuart, Arlington, and Berkeley Streets. I never saw a film there, but I sure remember the signs for it, since a friend of my dad’s had a sporting goods store in that building which had an arcade of retail shops. As a kid, I always wondered what exactly “trans-lux” meant.
A handsome black and white photo of this unusual building may be seen at this web site:
http://www.mangogroves.com/pbica.htm
The new Braintree Cinema on Grandview is now an AMC Cinema with the demise of the General Cinema chain. It’s one of the last theaters to have been built by General Cinema with conventional seating before the advent of stadium style auditoriums. I attended a charity Star Wars Marathon they had for the opening. I paid extra to see the films in the THX auditorium. I think they have (or had) two of them. The smaller auditoriums are delightful, almost like private screening rooms. I saw the original plans for the building. They’d planned that half the auditoriums would have stereo equipment. By the time the building was finished, all the auditoriums had stereo. One auditorium has an HPS-4000 speaker system. It’s superb and has better mid-range than the THX venues. General Cinema was quality company. I’ve not visited the theater since it was bought by AMC.
I saw a screening of “A Clockwork Orange” at the Pacific in December of 1971. The theater was still single screen at that time, and the place was packed for either a Friday or Saturday evening performance. I recall the crowd was a bit rowdy. We sat in the balcony. The lobby seemed small for the auditorium which was huge. Somewhere on the web is a site with black and white photos of the marquis and lobby for that “Clockwork Orange” run. I’ll try to find it again. “A Clockwork Orange” was a rather violent film for that era. Heck, it would still be violent. I’ve never seen it again. The first viewing was vivid enough. Emerging from the theater after the film, I looked up at the radio towers on the building looming in the darkness. It all had a noirish quality.