Cinemart Theater
2300 Dixwell Avenue,
Hamden,
CT
06514
2300 Dixwell Avenue,
Hamden,
CT
06514
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I worked at The Cinemart starting in 1973 as an usher gradually taking on various managerial responsibilities such as inventory and payroll. Upon graduation from Franklin Pierce univesity with a BS in managIement I stopped in to visit and left as the assistant manager. I was transferred in Sept. 1979mtom their aorange location. I was a newlywed and my wife and I were communicating through notes as we worked opposite shifts so I had to switch careers. Blockbuster went out of business in 2010 and that site is now occupied by Men’s Wearhouse, various retail stores, a Chinese restaurant and an Aspen Dental office. I could have sworn the original Showcase carpeting was still there. It was my first and greatest of careers. The closest theatre left was in the next town over: North haven and was also a National Amusement Theate and eventually was sold to RAVE Theatres amd the Orange location also closed. Back then, movie theatre employees were like family and the Cinemart was no less.
I recall being taken there as a child to see The sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Admission was a whopping $3.00 while the second run houses were between 75 and 99 cents. The Cinemart was thhen the classsiest theatre in the area, with seating for 1151 until they twinned it which ws a botched job. You could easily hear the dialogue from the other twin. Technology and architecture have taken care of it.
Some of my fondesr memories come from there.
I hope this conjures up some pleasant memories from other readers.
Regards,
Rich
The Cinemart was twinned in late 1977, if I recall correctly, and I believe the last feature to play there when it was a single screen was “The Deep.”
Unfortunately the twinning job was somewhat botched as the seats were never realigned to face the screen, leaving them all to face the blank corner where the center of the single screen used to be.
The Norelco projectors were awesome – I was told they had to be lowered in by crane before the building’s roof was installed. God knows how they got those big suckers out.
I worked there for a brief time . .out of all the theaters that’ve gone dark around me I miss that one the most.
Does anyone remember that the building had a massive undersea mural painted on it in the late 70’s making it look like an aquarium ?
Another theater ruined by “plexing”.
The address for the Blockbuster Video is:
2300 Dixwell Ave
Hamden, CT 06514