Copley Place Cinemas

And I was slightly wrong about the location of the never-built Loews Kenmore Square multiplex — which was also supposed to have 11 screens. It would have replaced the former Howard Johnson’s hotel on Commonwealth Avenue. After the cinema plans died, Boston University turned this hotel into a dormitory.

Someone I know from another (unrelated) bulletin board saw my comments here, and sent me this:

“I was one of the former managers of the Copley Loews Cinema! Just found it interesting that you were commenting on its closure. Unfortunate for Boston, the site will be the last stand for art-house movies. The war between Loews and Simon Malls [owner of the Copley Place mall] is finally over. The design was never changed or updated, because Simon has wanted that property back for over 5 to 6 years! They wanted Loews to discontinue showing regular-mainstream movies due to issues with the nearby Roxbury neighborhood. Too many fights, too many police calls. They had Loews sign an agreement that only family or art-sy movies would be shown and that no ‘urban’ movies woudl ever play again.

“Loews responded by building the Commons complex, which ranks as one of the biggest complexes in the US. (That’s another nightmare, in itself, as one of their biggest money losers on the East Coast due to property issues with evacuations on all too regular basis caused by the gym and the residences smoke detectors setting off building fire alarms for the entire Millenium Tower) Loews knew the end was near with lease with Simons. Most of the [Copley] cinemas were mice infested due to Chili’s and the food court above it.

“There are many other stories that I could tell you, but basically, it was a fun job, I got to deal with the Boston theater critics on a regular basis, including David Brudnoy! And because the location and the art-house films, when local celebrities were staying in the hotels that surround the two malls, we had a bevy of stars checking out the films, on a regular basis. …if you have any questions about it…feel free to ask.”

I believe Robert Redford wanted to build his multiplex on Landsdowne Street, and Loews was going to build theirs on a vacant lot owned by BU, across from the post office. But I’m not sure.
(That vacant lot would still be a great place for a cinema.)

Loews filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 15, 2001, so the early 90s closings were unrelated. But the Nickelodeon closing was a direct and immediate result of the bankruptcy.

Loews was going to build a multiplex in Kenmore Square, and another at the ‘Crosstown Center’ on Mass. Ave. in the South End, near Boston City Hospital. When Loews went into bankruptcy, these plans died.

Robert Redford wanted to build a Sundance Cinema multiplex near Kenmore Square, and that didn’t happen either.

The Kendall is a fine theater. Alas, it’s a long, dreary walk from the Red Line through a barren wasteland made worse in extreme weather; and driving in there, at least from the South Shore, can be a real chore, even outside of the rush hour. The Kendall doesn’t have stadium seating; but the screens are nicely proportioned and the rake of the auditoriums is better than most standard theaters. Regarding the departed Copley, I must confess, I won’t miss those auditoriums that sloped downward from the screen. Gack.

From today’s Daily Variety:

BOSTON — Indie and art film distribs who want a Boston playdate will find that it just became harder.
The Loews Copley Place 11-plex, which opened in 1984 and was the last downtown venue devoting any screens to off-Hollywood product, shuttered Sunday.

According to theater management, the decision was made by the landlord, who reportedly is eager to convert the space into a Barney’s clothing store.

This leaves Boston with but two downtown theaters, the 19-screen Loews Boston Common and the 13-screen AMC Fenway, both of which showcase mainstream Hollywood titles.

Far afield

Beantown moviegoers hungering for movies like “Finding Neverland,” “A Very Long Engagement” and the like will have to go to neighboring communities to see them, as neither downtown theater plans to change its booking policies.

Landmark’s nine-screen Kendall Square in Cambridge has become a major artpic venue since it opened in 1995, but it’s several blocks away from major retail or transit hubs.

Two other theaters have better locations but fewer booking opportunities: the one-screen Brattle in Cambridge and the three-screen Coolidge Corner in Brookline. The six-screen West Newton Theater is not accessible by the subway/trolley system but has developed a loyal arthouse audience among those who can drive there.

Boston has historically been considered underscreened, and it may get worse. National Amusements has the only other Boston theater, the six-screen Cleveland Circle that literally straddles the Boston/Brookline border. Unlike Fenway and Boston Common, it is an older theater without stadium-style seating. The company reportedly is considering selling the land to a developer for condominiums.

After noting the demise of the Copley Place theater here, I went to look for the entry for the AMC Fenway on this site and found none; please correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve never been to that theater. How does it rate as a venue? Does it have stadium seating (does the new Lowes?) Perhaps someone who is familiar with it can create a listing. All I know is that it once was a Sears regional warehouse and that General Cinema did the original conversion within the last ten years, or so. Speaking of the late General Cinema, does AMC use any of their former corporate offices? Does anyone know if their former VP in charge of technical operations, John Norton, is still in the area. He was very, very knowledgable and a strong advocate of good sound and projection. The General Cinema group in its day took real pride in that. John encouraged GC to install some HPS-4000 sounds systems which, IMHO, are among the very best in the industry. Excellent clarity and definition in mid-range frequencies, particularly.

…and another Boston Herald article about the closing of the Copley, from the day before (with a brief 4-1-1 to the journalist who wrote the article and her editor – it was Sacks Theatres, not ‘Saks’ and ‘Loews Copley’, not ‘Copley Loews’)…

Curtains: Art era’s over: Barneys makes cinemas rubble
By Mary Jo Palumbo
Friday, January 28, 2005

The local art film scene will look a lot bleaker Sunday when Loews Copley Place shuts its doors after 21 years screening films.

The 11-screen theater is expected to be replaced by the upscale Manhattan retailer Barneys New York.

“The last show on Sunday night will be the last picture show at Copley,” Loews spokeswoman Jane Lanouette said.

The move is a blow to foreign and independent movie buffs and to kids who flocked to the movie house to see family films.

“A cinema is always a vital thing to have in a neighborhood,” said longtime Boston film booker George Mansour. “This is the loss of a dedicated arthouse within the boundaries of Boston.”

The cinema opened in 1984 as a Saks theater with a brief run as an arthouse.

Bought by Loews in the early 1990s, the theater showed first-run commercial films with an emphasis on family fare for most of its 21-year existence.

When Loews Boston Common opened in 2001, the company decided to program alternative, independent films at the Copley so the two theaters wouldn’t compete.

“It became an independent film house by default,” Mansour said. “The Copley began and ended with art films. It came full circle.”

The Loews Copley Place was one of the last small-screen multiplex theaters built before the revival of stadium theater seating, in which cinema complexes equipped theaters with improved sound and projection technology.

But that didn’t stop people from attending the Copley Loews, which often had long lines and sold-out shows.

The theater was the last venue for nonmainstream fare in a city that once boasted a vibrant art film scene.

The Exeter Street Theater, once a popular venue for independent films, shut its doors in 1984. The Nickelodeon Cinema at Boston University, another favorite art film spot, closed in 2001.

Now Boston film buffs will have to cross the river to the Brattle or the Landmark Kendall Square cinemas in Cambridge or visit the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline.

“(Loews Copley) was a convenient place for people to go,” Mansour said. “As always, the movies make the house, and they had some wonderful movies there. It’s too bad the theater is closing.”

I can only second these sentiments. This is, after all, Boston, one of the country’s major cities. What factors brought this about. The high cost of real estate. It makes me think of the Publix theater. When the auditorium was free from live performances, they could have run off-mainstream films.

And, I should add:

For the first time in many decades, Boston will have no commercial movie screens dedicated to the offbeat, the independent, or the foreign film. At various times, the Beacon Hill, the Kenmore Square, the Park Square, the Exeter Street, the Nickelodeon, and the Copley Place have given these films a home.

Now they have nowhere to go, except out of the city — to the Brattle or Landmark’s Kendall Square in Cambridge, the Coolidge Corner in Brookline, or the West Newton Cinema.

Copley Place Cinema history footnote, a spokesman for Sack was interviewed about the rash of theatre twinning going on that were making theatres smaller & smaller. He made the statement that Sack was dedicted to not creating small cramped theatres, then the reporter brought up Copley Place which had been announced with its miniscule houses. The spokesman said something to the effect if properly designed there was no problem with small houses.
Sorry my memory fades a bit.

Regarding the Beacon Hill as an art house, I believe this policy ran from 1982 until the Copley Place opened in 1984. I posted a comment about it on the Beacon Hill page.

Yes, I remember the Art Cinema, though I certainly never went inside. It was across Tremont Street from the Saxon/Majestic. It had a marquee that was always blank! After it closed, a group wanted to turn it into an independent twin theatre called the Mercator Cinema, but they abandoned their plans for reasons I don’t know. I believe the Limelight Stage and Studios now occupy that space.

Yes, I remember it, though I never went there. It lasted only a year or so in the late 1970s. It was on the north side of Boylston Street, across from the Prudential Center.

Before that, when it was a porn house showing Deep Throat, it was called the Pru Cinema. I don’t know what (if any) history it had before Deep Throat.