Rotunda Cinemas
711 West 40th Street,
Baltimore,
MD
21211
711 West 40th Street,
Baltimore,
MD
21211
4 people
favorited this theater
Previously owned by Loews Cineplex and Sony, this theater was abandoned for two years and recently opened in December 2002 as a first-run movie house specializing in mainstream and arthouse films.
Built in 1921, this twin was completely renovated in 2002 by the owners of the Senator Theatre in Baltimore – Maryland’s premiere theater – and reopened as an independent alternative to the multiplex giants that rule the industry today.
The owner of the Sentor Theatre closed the Rotunda Theatre on March 23, 2009. New operators reopened it on May 19, 2009, and a third screen was added in 2010.
Contributed by
Shaun E. Adamec
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Here is an item on the closing:
http://tinyurl.com/c6a486
This venue has resumed operations as of 5/15/09. The status should be changed to open. Showtimes and info are at www.thesenator.com
jodar check your links the Senator you hyper link to is a restaurant in Toranto
Oops. It should be senator.com. Sorry.
When was this ever a Cinerama theater?
If it was, its hard to tell. When I saw a movie there it was just an ordinary theater, albeit small with a decent sized screen, say 30 feet maybe?
The Rotunda Twin, originally opened in the 1970s by J-F Theatres, has always been a small twin house (it’s on the ground floor of a tiny mall). It would’ve been impossible to install Cinerama there.
The Rotunda did open in the 1970s, but it was not always a twin house. I remember seeing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back there in 1980, and I’m pretty sure it was a full screen. Not sure if it was “Cinerama” but it was a full screen.
BD, you most definitely did NOT see “Empire” at the Rotunda, and it was DEFINITELY a twin. I saw “Apocalypse Now” there in December 1979, and “Mary Poppins” in summer 1980.
You might be thinking of the Hillendale on Taylor Ave., where “Empire” played in imperfectly-framed 70MM.
AS for the Rotunda, during “Poppins” there was a loud buzz in the speaker every time an idle projector was started for a reel change! (Yes, there were still twin reel-to-reel machines there.)
The current operator of the Rotunda (whose name I can’t remember) was a booker for J-F Theatres in the 1970s. He plans to add a third screen.
This is a great neighborhood theater that was re-opened a couple years back by my good friend Ira Miller and his partners. The three theaters are small when compared to the giant mega-complexes seen today. Very reminiscent of how going to the movies used to be. Clean, friendly, comfortable with great prices. Plans are in the works to possibly expand further. Try this place and enjoy the show. I am sure you will like it and return again and again. The lady in the photo is Patty Duke. A big movie and TV star of the 50’s and 60’s. Remember her with Anne Bancroft in “The Miracle Worker” where she portrayed Helen Keller. That was some brilliant acting in that script