It appears to still be open. They have a web site at http://www.zeotrope.com/ but there’s not much to see. For show times, it links to boston.citysearch.com .
The marquee structure is still there though it isn’t readily recognizable as one, since it no longer has movable letters. Here’s a good photo of it as it looks today:
I found a history of the Charles in an archived Boston Globe article from October 6, 1994. It says that Walter Reade Jr. personally opened the Charles on April 6, 1967. It closed as a Reade theater in December 1976 and re-opened as a Sack theater the following March. It closed for good on October 7, 1994.
This venue has been closed for 17 years, yet the alley is still lined with glass cases for movie posters. The ones closest to Washington Street are empty; the ones further down the alley contain announcements from the nearby Old South Meeting House, which would be fine except that they’re a year out of date.
This theater opened in 1917 and has been in the same family since 1922, when Thomas McNulty’s grandfather bought it. Its final second-run show open to the general public was on Thursday, October 28, 1999. However, it reopened briefly the following month to fulfill an obligation to the Boston Jewish Film Festival. Its last show was on Thursday, November 11, 1999.
Although this was called the Town & Country Cinema, it was located on the south side of East Broad Street while the Town & Country shopping center itself was on the north side. Both the cinema and the shopping center were within the suburb of Whitehall (not Bexley).
The shopping center still exists, but it’s a shadow of its former self. It’s a very long strip center which predated enclosed malls.
Academy turned this into the ‘Carousel East’ around the same time as they remodeled the Beechwold into the ‘Camelot North’ (which later became Drexel North).
This was the closest theater to my house when I lived in Columbus as a teenager. I remember watching ‘Airport’ here, among many other films.
One correction to the description: Eastmoor is a neighborhood within the city limits of Columbus. It is not a ‘suburb’.
The Los Angeles film festival “Filmex” used this theater in the early 1980s. It was a classy venue, and I’m very sad to read of its demolition. What is going to be built on its site?
I should add that Bombay Cinema showed movies at the Regent Theatre in Arlington for a few years before they moved into the Allston.
Bombay Cinema today runs movies at least some days of the week on one screen of the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square and the Capitol Theatre in Arlington.
The (second) Nickelodeon Cinemas building was demolished in April 2003. Boston University is building a new Life Sciences and Engineering building on its site.
Bruce Springsteen’s 1974 concert here led rock critic Jon Landau to pen this memorable line: “"I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen”.
This theatre is actually located not within the City of Columbus, but rather in the adjoining suburb of Grandview Heights.
And here’s a link to a 360-degree view of the indoor golf school that the other cinema turned into:
View link
The hotel that contains this theatre was built as a Howard Johnson’s, but it’s now a Radisson.
It appears to still be open. They have a web site at http://www.zeotrope.com/ but there’s not much to see. For show times, it links to boston.citysearch.com .
The official web site of Kings bowling alley and nightclub (which the Cheri has turned into) is:
http://www.backbaykings.com/
The official web site of the Stuart Street Playhouse (which this cinema has become) is: http://www.stuartstreetplayhouse.com/
The marquee structure is still there though it isn’t readily recognizable as one, since it no longer has movable letters. Here’s a good photo of it as it looks today:
http://www.thealleybar.com/directions3.html
I found a history of the Charles in an archived Boston Globe article from October 6, 1994. It says that Walter Reade Jr. personally opened the Charles on April 6, 1967. It closed as a Reade theater in December 1976 and re-opened as a Sack theater the following March. It closed for good on October 7, 1994.
This venue has been closed for 17 years, yet the alley is still lined with glass cases for movie posters. The ones closest to Washington Street are empty; the ones further down the alley contain announcements from the nearby Old South Meeting House, which would be fine except that they’re a year out of date.
I recall this being a 99-cent theater (along with the Criterion in Santa Monica, and the Meralta in Culver City) during the early 1980s.
Was this theater part of the Landmark chain, which ran the Fox Venice and Nuart?
This theater opened in 1917 and has been in the same family since 1922, when Thomas McNulty’s grandfather bought it. Its final second-run show open to the general public was on Thursday, October 28, 1999. However, it reopened briefly the following month to fulfill an obligation to the Boston Jewish Film Festival. Its last show was on Thursday, November 11, 1999.
Although this was called the Town & Country Cinema, it was located on the south side of East Broad Street while the Town & Country shopping center itself was on the north side. Both the cinema and the shopping center were within the suburb of Whitehall (not Bexley).
The shopping center still exists, but it’s a shadow of its former self. It’s a very long strip center which predated enclosed malls.
Their single screen cinema in the Eastland Mall is also long gone, although at least that mall remains open.
Academy turned this into the ‘Carousel East’ around the same time as they remodeled the Beechwold into the ‘Camelot North’ (which later became Drexel North).
This was the closest theater to my house when I lived in Columbus as a teenager. I remember watching ‘Airport’ here, among many other films.
One correction to the description: Eastmoor is a neighborhood within the city limits of Columbus. It is not a ‘suburb’.
When it was still the Beechwold and the Camelot North, it belonged to a small local second-run chain called ‘Academy Theatres’.
They turned this into the Camelot North around the same time as they remodeled the Esquire into the Carousel East.
The Los Angeles film festival “Filmex” used this theater in the early 1980s. It was a classy venue, and I’m very sad to read of its demolition. What is going to be built on its site?
I should add that Bombay Cinema showed movies at the Regent Theatre in Arlington for a few years before they moved into the Allston.
Bombay Cinema today runs movies at least some days of the week on one screen of the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square and the Capitol Theatre in Arlington.
Not only that, but I heard that the Majestic was renamed to the Saxon (“Sack’s son”) for the same reason.
If anyone knows when this theatre opened, who initially owned it, or what its original booking policy was, I’d like to hear from you.
When it was still called the Plaza, it was a Walter Reade theatre.
The Circle is sometimes listed as Brookline and sometimes as Brighton (a section of Boston). I believe the town line runs through the property.
The (second) Nickelodeon Cinemas building was demolished in April 2003. Boston University is building a new Life Sciences and Engineering building on its site.
Bruce Springsteen’s 1974 concert here led rock critic Jon Landau to pen this memorable line: “"I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen”.
Does anyone know why this theater (and, for a while, the hotel it’s contained in) was called the 57? That is not its street address.