Coolidge Corner Theatre

290 Harvard Street,
Brookline, MA 02446

Unfavorite 26 people favorited this theater

Showing 1 - 25 of 64 comments

chitchatjf
chitchatjf on March 20, 2024 at 2:00 pm

As of Wed March 27 you can mark it as 6 screens

chitchatjf
chitchatjf on February 1, 2023 at 2:38 pm

OK so w1hen do cinemas 5 and 6 open?

videonitekatt
videonitekatt on October 21, 2022 at 3:25 am

For years, the home of the Boston Scifi Marathon - till they were thrown out!

Oh, and last time I looked, The Somerville Theater’s main house was STILL art-deco, and had it’s balcony still part of the main house - 900+ seats!

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 1, 2019 at 5:20 am

Brookline Historical Society link with a photo of the Coolidge Corner Universalist Church circa 1906.

http://www.brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/archives/slideShowStreets.asp?move=next&ID=HarvardSt-063&fbclid=IwAR3M2dNcto_fpMTVcrt45HP_QBDJvXXpDTX-cpeBVl7OKYUwiG3R5fl9mXs

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 1, 2019 at 5:16 am

1936 photo added courtesy Anne Continelli, via the Dirty Old Boston facebook page.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on April 25, 2019 at 2:02 am

Link to obit of film professor who saved this theater! https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/04/23/david-kleiler-independent-film-impresario-who-saved-coolidge-corner-theatre-dies/zYx9xUw7GcO7NfQn0TsfVN/story.html

MaxAndDave
MaxAndDave on April 25, 2019 at 1:37 am

So very sorry to hear of David Kleiler’s passing. Boston’s reputation as a haven for movie fans owes much to his efforts with the Coolidge.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on July 25, 2018 at 10:14 pm

Along with the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, the Somerville Theatre, the Lexington Venue, and the IMAX screens at the Aquarium and Jordan’s Furniture, this is one of the very few theatres that continue to advertise in the Boston Globe Movie Directory.

morganfitzp
morganfitzp on March 26, 2016 at 4:02 pm

I grew up going to see double features at the Coolidge and then landed my first job there in high school under the ownership of Justin Freed. He had hated to twin the place, but did a great job preserving the original screen and converting the balcony into a nice 290 seat theater. After the Foundation took over, they sold the original street front lobby space to retail and moved the theatre entrance to the side. I have many good stories about the Coolidge.

Movieholic
Movieholic on February 12, 2016 at 12:42 am

I recently renewed my membership. Seeing The Hateful Eight in its brief Ultra Panavision 70MM RSE New Year’s Day was a wonderfully old fashioned, I mean that as a compliment, experience, especially with a packed house. At the risk of sounding corny, it felt special. From what I heard, the “experiment” wasn’t a success so it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing more of them in the future. Joyously telling the audience what to expect prior to show time with infectious enthusiasm, the projectionist did a fantastic job framing and masking the picture on the screen. He also stated we were in for a treat and I don’t think anyone was disappointed.

Movieholic
Movieholic on October 8, 2015 at 11:01 pm

Watching Sicario, which was a terrific, tense, and gripping thriller, yesterday in the main theater downstairs, I was pleasantly reminded of how much I love this landmark independent art house gem. I’ve seen many films, most of them good, the past fifteen or sixteen years I’ve been coming here and will without a doubt keep coming back. For fun, the first movie I saw was either “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” or “Taxi Driver” in 1999.

chitchatjf
chitchatjf on January 19, 2014 at 3:11 am

A membership for me would not be practical due to the fact I would have to travel 2 hours each way to get to the cinema. I was able to go there for the American Hustle preview screening last month. I was sort of disappointed that not only the director appearance was in the screen as opposed to in person, the performance was recorded the preceding evening a far cry from my dream of the event the prior evening which featured an in person appearance by Jennifer Lawrence. The evening was still enjoyable and worth the trip. I was quite impressed in how the curtain opened just at the start.

I was also disappointed that the Sundance screening would be of a documentary as opposed to a Comedy or drama film. Had it not been the Bulger film I would have gotten tickets.

SteveBurstein
SteveBurstein on June 12, 2013 at 10:34 pm

I went there as a really little kid in the late 60s-early 70s. Who Remembers:The Weechi-Wachi springs ad(“Get your souvenir orange today”), those weird Eastern European and Mexican children’s films, “The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters”, “Eyes of Hell”(“The Mask”)with scenes in 3-D, that Herb Alpert style music they always played before the movie…………

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on October 13, 2012 at 10:17 am

An article about the theater’s reluctant and expensive conversion to digital can be read here.

thejaytrixorlikeyouknow
thejaytrixorlikeyouknow on August 15, 2012 at 6:08 pm

Can’t wait to see “The Master” here in 70mm.

CinemarkFan
CinemarkFan on August 15, 2012 at 7:58 am

Exclusive 70mm engagement of “The Master” confirmed: Link

Hammerklavier
Hammerklavier on January 4, 2012 at 8:54 pm

Came here right when they were doing extensive renovations around 2001. Repair-work and scaffoldings were everywhere, but the theater was still gorgeous.

I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and during the follow-the-boucing-ball scene, EVERYONE in the audience sang along to the lyrics at full pitch. Coolest cinematic/theatrical experience to date.

thejaytrixorlikeyouknow
thejaytrixorlikeyouknow on December 5, 2011 at 12:17 am

I absolutely love this theatre. It’s one of those main auditoriums that gives you shivers.

MPol
MPol on August 30, 2011 at 11:39 pm

I love the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and I always will. Holding an annual membership there really helps.

ffoulkrodrogers
ffoulkrodrogers on August 29, 2011 at 7:58 pm

Saw Midnight in Paris there recently which was showing in the lovely Art Deco main theatre. Went to school in Boston in the 60’s, but don’t remember going here then.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on January 16, 2011 at 6:55 pm

Yankee Magazine has named the Coolidge Corner as one of the five top movie theaters in New England. The other four are in Dennis MA, Newport RI, Concord NH and Waterville ME. The judge was veteran local movie man Garen Daly. The listing in Yankee was reported in a small item in today’s Boston Sunday Herald. It says that these five cinemas “have found a unique voice, one that represents the communities in which they dwell.”

spectrum
spectrum on November 15, 2010 at 3:16 am

Their website now has panoramic views of the auditorium and lobby; they also completed a renovation in 2006.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on September 20, 2010 at 9:52 pm

My recollection is that the original front entrance was converted to fast-order restaurant use when the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation took control, around 1989. Originally there was still a door leading from the restaurant into the theatre lobby, but I think that’s gone (or permanently locked) now.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on June 16, 2010 at 3:31 pm

Item in Boxoffice magazine, January 18, 1960 about the Coolidge Corner adopting a first-run policy with French film The Lovers.
View link

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on May 7, 2010 at 6:26 pm

The original entrance was in front; it was converted a long time ago into retail space. The exit doors off of the inner foyer were then converted into an entrance. So, you go down the alley along the right side of the building to enter.