Assembly Square Cinemas
35 Middlesex Avenue,
Somerville,
MA
02145
35 Middlesex Avenue,
Somerville,
MA
02145
2 people
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Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments found
Ron, wow. thanks for the info.
AMC will build a new 12-screen theatre in Assembly Square, according to today’s Boston Globe. Construction will start this year, and it may open by fall 2013.
Thanks Ron.
Sack, then USACinemas, then Loews. But the ads just called it ‘Somerville’.
A.K.A.Loews Assembly Square?
And still empty now. I was over there today and it looks the same except the glassed in front was covered in plywood.
I wonder how the roof’s holding up? It was raining hard all day today.
Still sitting empty, more than three years after it closed.
I don’t know why but I think they work somewhere across the street or some office buildings next to the old cinemas.
Thanks. Why are so many cars parked in the lot?
This is old Somerville Assembly Square Cinemas. It is still closed.
Pics took on November 19, 2008
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Movies that I recall seeing at the Assembly Square Theatre, in Somerville, MA, include the following:
Killing Fields
Perfect Storm
Spiderman I and Spiderman II
L. A. Confidential
and afew others.
I’m sad. I worked there 13yrs and have many happy memories of the place.
I agree it wasn’t in good shape, though. I don’t know why they don’t fix it up. It’s a good location.
I am aware of this. I feel not safe to walk into there.
ScottM and DBrenson:
I may sound a little bit like an old prude saying this, but I think there are more risks to walking through an unlocked door and through the interior of a dark, abandoned movie theatre than just simply being caught by the police, who might rail at you some a bit:
A) There’s the risk of a large chunk of heaven-knows-what falling down on somebody’s head who walks in there, whether it be alone or with someone else.
B) One never knows who may be hiding out in there—it’s possible to encounter a bullet, a switchblade, or to get beat up, assaulted, or worse. Imho-it’s not worth the risk of walking in there, whether one’s alone or accompanied.
I remember going to the Assembly Square AMC (then Lowes) cinema a number of times, even to late shows by myself. One day, about a year ago, when I was perusing the Arts/Movies section of the Boston Globe, I noticed that the Assembly Square Lowes Cinema wasn’t there anymore. Not long after that, I heard from somebody that AMC had bought that particular theatre and for whatever reason, didn’t want to keep it, and that there’d been some discussion of the possibility of building a new cinema to take its place. I’m sort of hoping, (though it’s just wishful thinking on my part), that, if it does get renovated into a new cinema, that it gets renovated into a movie theatre that plays independent film, and older classics, etc., as opposed to the schlock that most theatres play nowadays.
Yet, at the same time, that area could get kind of wierd. Audiences were often quite rude, and, yes, the theatre did start looking kind of grubby and run-down shortly before it closed. Since the mall pretty much closed down, it began to lose customers, I think, too.
Federal Realty’s plans for future Assembly Square development include a movie theatre. Federal’s land is between the current strip-mall and the Mystic River, and does not include the land occupied by this former cinema and its parking lot.
The nearest multiplex to Somerville is actually not in Fresh Pond. It’s the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, which has 5 screens. There’s also the Capitol Theatre in East Arlington, with 6 screens, and the AMC-Loews Harvard Square, with 5 screens.
Good riddance to a real rathole. I can corroborate br91979’s report: I stopped going there in the early 1990s after my brother reported a rat running over his foot during a movie.
If they ever properly re-develop the Assembly Square area, a brand new theater would be a big success in this location: Somerville is the most densely populated town in Massachusetts, and the nearest multiplex is all the way over in Fresh Pond. Maybe if the new IKEA ever gets built, someone will try again in Assembly Square.
If you have a chance to return, it might be neat to take photos of the big two-sided sign above the adjacent office building. This sign used to list all 12 movies being shown, for the benefit of drivers on I-93. Probably hard to get a good camera angle for it, though.
No, I haven’t try it.
Was the left door still openable when you took these photos? Did you open it and go in?
Here are some pictures of formerly Sack / Loews Cinema in Somerville, MA.
Pictures taken on Dec. 11, 2007 in the afternoon.
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I would not recommended to walk in unlock door. There is always risk of getting caught by police so it is best to stay away. I was going to take a picture of outside theater and post the link here yesterday but I didn’t have time. Someday I will.
Thanks for the information, Ron; interesting about the security situation. I am tempted to stop by and see if I can maybe explore the inside of the building at some point when I’m home during Christmas week, but I’d probably walk up to the unlocked front door, pull on it, open it, and then, after a moment’s hesitation walk away, afraid of being caught by the police; if I was with someone, I’d feel bold, but, on my own, in that kind of situation, not so much. All that being said, I do hope the building is secured before an act of vandalism, or worse, is committed.
The building is still standing and still empty. All of the signs still look exactly as I reported above on March 3.
When I walked by it three days ago, I was able to open the front glass door! There appeared to be no security whatsoever. Had I not been on my way somewhere else, I could probably have wandered in and walked around in there for hours.
Does anyone know if the Assembly Square Mall cinemas are still standing or if any definitive redevelopment plans have been announced? The last time I passed by, in late July, the theatre was in the same state Ron described in his posting on March 3rd, except the right glass entry doors were boarded up, due to a likely attempted break-in. (The left glass entry doors, as well as the box office, were untouched.)