The big sign next to Route 16 still has the old Loews Cineplex “spotlights” logo, but the word LOEWS has been painted over, so it now just says THEATRES on top.
The sign looks pretty ratty, as does the exterior of the building itself, which also now just says THEATRES on it.
Bill Hanney’s promised improvements can’t come too soon.
In the Boston Globe movie calendar ads, all five of the Loews theatres that became part of the merger now have AMC logos on them. However, the names of the theatres have had Loews added to them too. So the ads now look like:
[AMC logo]
LOEWS BOSTON COMMON 19
In the display ads for individual movies, these theatres are listed as
[small type]AMC LOEWS
[large type]BOSTON COMMON 19
Today’s Cambridge Chronicle says that the theatre will reopen tomorrow as an Entertainment Cinema.
[quote]The lineup will remain first-run movies, but the new operator vows patrons a better experience than under Loews.
“It’s just in rough shape,” said Bill Hanney, owner of Entertainment Cinemas. “It just needs an updating.”
Hanney plans to refurbish the lobbies, install all-digital sound and restore the defunct two-story indoor waterfall.
“It’s been drab. The outside needs a facelift,” said Hanney, who did the original overhaul of the 1950 building back in 1989.
…
Having an operator with headquarters in Massachusetts will mean better customer service, Hanney said.
“We’re a local company and we’re more hands-on,” he said.
The Fresh Pond cinema is slated to reopen tomorrow. The renovations will be done while keeping most of the screens open, Hanney said. He said the resulting look will be similar to his company’s recently renovated South Dennis theater. [/quote]
AMC’s web site lists the 72nd Street and links to Fandango.com which has movie times listed for the next nine days. That’s surely more reliable information than the NY Post’s website.
True, this is the newspaper that printed an exclusive front-page scoop about John Kerry picking Dick Gephardt as his running mate. There’s a good reason some stories are “exclusive” …
[Melanie Bell, a spokeswoman for AMC] said the venerable Loews name would gradually be phased out in favor of AMC, “though in some cases there may be an opportunity for the Loews brand to remain. It’s an evolving process that takes place over time.”
If you phone the theatre today at (617) 661-2900 , you will hear a recording announcing that the theatre is “temporarily closed due to a change of ownership.” The recording says it will soon reopen as the “all new Entertainment Cinemas Fresh Pond, with new lobbies, all digital sound, a cafe seating area, and the return of our two-story waterfall.” It does not give a date for the reopening.
This isn’t directly responsive to your request, but you may want to get in touch with David Guss who put together the Lost Theatres of Somerville museum exhibit and website. Different city, different media, but same idea as yours.
These eight theatres, formerly on Loews' EnjoyTheShow.com website, are not on AMC’s.
North Riverside, IL — never closed; now operated by Village Theatres Fresh Pond, Cambridge MA — closed, but may soon reopen as an Entertainment Cinema Beverly Center Cineplex, Los Angeles — closed, allegedly to later reopen as a Mann theatre Loews State 4, NYC River Oaks 1-6, Calumet City, IL River Oaks 9-10, Calumet City, IL — demolition may have already started? Rockville Centre, NY — appears to have closed a week or more before the merger Route 17 Triplex, Paramus, — appears to have closed two weeks before the merger
Two of these eight (Beverly Center and Loews State 4) are in the Cinema Treasures bok.
When I lived in that area many years ago, you could park for free at the Federal Building and then take either a 5-minute walk or a shuttle bus ride to the village. Not true anymore?
“There are 14 movie screens tucked away on the eighth floor of the Beverly Center mall in West Hollywood, not by any means a world record. Cineplex, proprietor of the 14 theaters, holds the Guinness record for its 21-screen complex in Toronto.
“The 14 theaters in the Beverly Center have about 1650 seats. The largest theater has about 200, the smallest 75. Films can be mixed and matched like clothing separates because automated equipment allows one print of a movie to be shown in as many as six theaters at a time….
“Three projectionists are needed to run the 14 projectors. Fourteen projectors are needed, rather than the usual two per theater, because the film is spliced into one continuous loop. It spools onto immense silver platters and never has to be rewound. In the immense rectangular projection booth, black ribbons of film are looped along the walls like live party decorations.
“A computerized system that allows tickets to be bought hours in advance for any performance the same day eliminates waiting in line; the Art Deco concession stand has added cappucino, Perrier, and Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Bar to the usual popcorn, hot dogs, and M&M’s.”
The article lists some of the films showing on opening weekend:
The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball (on three screens with 350 seats)
Don’s Party (on two screens with 200 seats)
Garde a Vue
A Week’s Vacation
Quest for Fire
Chariots of Fire
Author! Author!
Firefox
From the MetroWest Daily News, Friday, January 20, 2006:
The 1-2-3 Cinema is committed to celluloid
By Michelle Muellenberg/ Daily News Staff
Friday, January 20, 2006
MARLBOROUGH — It was the place of many first dates, first kisses and first flicks.
Once a popular spot to catch a $1 movie on a Monday or Tuesday night, Marlborough’s 1-2-3 Cinema, one of the area’s last independent movie houses, is being renovated into retail space.
The closing credits rolled a year ago, but the lobby, including the final marquee, recently was torn down, providing a final curtain call to three decades of cinematic viewing.
“We closed officially exactly a year ago,” said Grace Battaglino, who ran the three-screen cinema with her husband, John. “It was time after 32 years.”
The Battaglinos sold the property to Phil Gergos, who built a Honey Dew Donuts to the east of the theater and plans to turn the former cinema into retail space.
Gergos, who owns Honey Dew doughnut shops in Milford and Hudson, hopes to have the coffee shop open in a month. He does not have a time line for when the retail space will be completed or what will be located there.
Grace and John Battaglino opened up the theater in 1973 in what now is a busy Rte. 20 corridor. “When we came up here it was nothing like it is now,” Grace said.
The couple did not have a theater in mind when they purchased the property. Two people came to the Battaglinos and asked if they would be interested in building a theater and then leasing it to them. The deal eventually fell through, but the couple proceeded to run with the movie business idea, Grace said.
“I enjoyed going to movies when I was younger and it was something for the children to do,” she said.
The couple has six children, all of whom worked in the theater. The four boys ran the projector while their two daughters sold tickets and refreshments.
The theater opened with twin screens, with the third screen added years later, Grace said.
“We took the last screen and made two out of it,” she said.
The first film shown in the cinema was “Heartbreak Kid,” starring Cybill Shepherd.
The theater used to have lines of people waiting to catch a movie, especially on the Monday and Tuesday nights where flicks were only a $1.
“It is really funny…some people come up to me and say ’I had my first kiss in your theater,’” she said.
While the prices went up as years went on, the Battaglinos always tried to keep prices lower than the competition.
“It didn’t go up that far in 32 years,” she said. “The last price went up to $6 and $4. And all these were first-run movies.”
The couple had mixed emotions about closing but felt it was time, Grace said.
“We were tired. It was time…with all the competition, it was time for us.”
She said the family is happy they could provide a place of entertainment to locals for so many years.
“I think it was great we were able to do that for them.”
Only a few independent cinemas remain in the area as many of them are falling to the large multiplexes.
Last year, the century-old Franklin Zeotrope Theatre closed its doors on Sept. 11. In a previous interview, theater owner Robert Aarons said there aren’t enough moviegoers to stay in business.
Allston is not a “western suburb of Boston”. It is a very urban neighborhood that is part of the city of Boston. 1266 Commonwealth Ave. is now the address of a CVS drug store.
Yep — if you try go to Loew’s web site ([url]www.enjoytheshow.com[/url]), that’s where you end up. Both sites have the same IP address, 66.111.104.27 .
They are allowed several months to complete the required divestitures. At least one of the agreements says that the government can step in with a receiver to accomplish the sale if AMC fails to do so.
The big sign next to Route 16 still has the old Loews Cineplex “spotlights” logo, but the word LOEWS has been painted over, so it now just says THEATRES on top.
The sign looks pretty ratty, as does the exterior of the building itself, which also now just says THEATRES on it.
Bill Hanney’s promised improvements can’t come too soon.
In fact, they are required to sell off 10 theatres, including E-Walk.
In the Boston Globe movie calendar ads, all five of the Loews theatres that became part of the merger now have AMC logos on them. However, the names of the theatres have had Loews added to them too. So the ads now look like:
[AMC logo]
LOEWS BOSTON COMMON 19
In the display ads for individual movies, these theatres are listed as
[small type]AMC LOEWS
[large type]BOSTON COMMON 19
Today’s Cambridge Chronicle says that the theatre will reopen tomorrow as an Entertainment Cinema.
[quote]The lineup will remain first-run movies, but the new operator vows patrons a better experience than under Loews.
“It’s just in rough shape,” said Bill Hanney, owner of Entertainment Cinemas. “It just needs an updating.”
Hanney plans to refurbish the lobbies, install all-digital sound and restore the defunct two-story indoor waterfall.
“It’s been drab. The outside needs a facelift,” said Hanney, who did the original overhaul of the 1950 building back in 1989.
…
Having an operator with headquarters in Massachusetts will mean better customer service, Hanney said.
“We’re a local company and we’re more hands-on,” he said.
The Fresh Pond cinema is slated to reopen tomorrow. The renovations will be done while keeping most of the screens open, Hanney said. He said the resulting look will be similar to his company’s recently renovated South Dennis theater. [/quote]
According to today’s Boston Globe, Barneys New York will open on March 12 in the former location of the Copley Place cinemas.
AMC’s web site lists the 72nd Street and links to Fandango.com which has movie times listed for the next nine days. That’s surely more reliable information than the NY Post’s website.
True, this is the newspaper that printed an exclusive front-page scoop about John Kerry picking Dick Gephardt as his running mate. There’s a good reason some stories are “exclusive” …
From The Daily Southtown:
My movie, my theatre
Final credits roll at River Oaks Theatre
From the Northwest Indiana Times:
River Oaks theaters to close
A soggy view of the past
Unfortunately it appears that water leaked into the time capsule, ruining its contents.
Today’s New York Post has an article about the closing of Loews State, quoting Ross Melnick of … “movietreasures.com”. Oops.
From the article:
[Melanie Bell, a spokeswoman for AMC] said the venerable Loews name would gradually be phased out in favor of AMC, “though in some cases there may be an opportunity for the Loews brand to remain. It’s an evolving process that takes place over time.”
Today’s NY Post has an article about the closing of Loews State. The article goes into some history of Times Square movie theatres.
It quotes Ross Melnick but says that he “runs the Web site movietreasures.com”. Oops.
If you phone the theatre today at (617) 661-2900 , you will hear a recording announcing that the theatre is “temporarily closed due to a change of ownership.” The recording says it will soon reopen as the “all new Entertainment Cinemas Fresh Pond, with new lobbies, all digital sound, a cafe seating area, and the return of our two-story waterfall.” It does not give a date for the reopening.
Is this open year-round, or only seasonally?
This isn’t directly responsive to your request, but you may want to get in touch with David Guss who put together the Lost Theatres of Somerville museum exhibit and website. Different city, different media, but same idea as yours.
‘National Amusements’ is not really part of this theatre’s name. In newspaper ads, it is ‘Showcase Cinemas Revere’.
These eight theatres, formerly on Loews' EnjoyTheShow.com website, are not on AMC’s.
North Riverside, IL — never closed; now operated by Village Theatres
Fresh Pond, Cambridge MA — closed, but may soon reopen as an Entertainment Cinema
Beverly Center Cineplex, Los Angeles — closed, allegedly to later reopen as a Mann theatre
Loews State 4, NYC
River Oaks 1-6, Calumet City, IL
River Oaks 9-10, Calumet City, IL — demolition may have already started?
Rockville Centre, NY — appears to have closed a week or more before the merger
Route 17 Triplex, Paramus, — appears to have closed two weeks before the merger
Two of these eight (Beverly Center and Loews State 4) are in the Cinema Treasures bok.
When I lived in that area many years ago, you could park for free at the Federal Building and then take either a 5-minute walk or a shuttle bus ride to the village. Not true anymore?
In the Boston Globe, the five Loews Cineplex theatres are still advertised as Loews Cineplex theatres. How about in other cities?
More from that July 21, 1982 NYTimes article:
“There are 14 movie screens tucked away on the eighth floor of the Beverly Center mall in West Hollywood, not by any means a world record. Cineplex, proprietor of the 14 theaters, holds the Guinness record for its 21-screen complex in Toronto.
“The 14 theaters in the Beverly Center have about 1650 seats. The largest theater has about 200, the smallest 75. Films can be mixed and matched like clothing separates because automated equipment allows one print of a movie to be shown in as many as six theaters at a time….
“Three projectionists are needed to run the 14 projectors. Fourteen projectors are needed, rather than the usual two per theater, because the film is spliced into one continuous loop. It spools onto immense silver platters and never has to be rewound. In the immense rectangular projection booth, black ribbons of film are looped along the walls like live party decorations.
“A computerized system that allows tickets to be bought hours in advance for any performance the same day eliminates waiting in line; the Art Deco concession stand has added cappucino, Perrier, and Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Bar to the usual popcorn, hot dogs, and M&M’s.”
The article lists some of the films showing on opening weekend:
The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball (on three screens with 350 seats)
Don’s Party (on two screens with 200 seats)
Garde a Vue
A Week’s Vacation
Quest for Fire
Chariots of Fire
Author! Author!
Firefox
From the MetroWest Daily News, Friday, January 20, 2006:
The 1-2-3 Cinema is committed to celluloid
By Michelle Muellenberg/ Daily News Staff
Friday, January 20, 2006
MARLBOROUGH — It was the place of many first dates, first kisses and first flicks.
Once a popular spot to catch a $1 movie on a Monday or Tuesday night, Marlborough’s 1-2-3 Cinema, one of the area’s last independent movie houses, is being renovated into retail space.
The closing credits rolled a year ago, but the lobby, including the final marquee, recently was torn down, providing a final curtain call to three decades of cinematic viewing.
“We closed officially exactly a year ago,” said Grace Battaglino, who ran the three-screen cinema with her husband, John. “It was time after 32 years.”
The Battaglinos sold the property to Phil Gergos, who built a Honey Dew Donuts to the east of the theater and plans to turn the former cinema into retail space.
Gergos, who owns Honey Dew doughnut shops in Milford and Hudson, hopes to have the coffee shop open in a month. He does not have a time line for when the retail space will be completed or what will be located there.
Grace and John Battaglino opened up the theater in 1973 in what now is a busy Rte. 20 corridor. “When we came up here it was nothing like it is now,” Grace said.
The couple did not have a theater in mind when they purchased the property. Two people came to the Battaglinos and asked if they would be interested in building a theater and then leasing it to them. The deal eventually fell through, but the couple proceeded to run with the movie business idea, Grace said.
“I enjoyed going to movies when I was younger and it was something for the children to do,” she said.
The couple has six children, all of whom worked in the theater. The four boys ran the projector while their two daughters sold tickets and refreshments.
The theater opened with twin screens, with the third screen added years later, Grace said.
“We took the last screen and made two out of it,” she said.
The first film shown in the cinema was “Heartbreak Kid,” starring Cybill Shepherd.
The theater used to have lines of people waiting to catch a movie, especially on the Monday and Tuesday nights where flicks were only a $1.
“It is really funny…some people come up to me and say ’I had my first kiss in your theater,’” she said.
While the prices went up as years went on, the Battaglinos always tried to keep prices lower than the competition.
“It didn’t go up that far in 32 years,” she said. “The last price went up to $6 and $4. And all these were first-run movies.”
The couple had mixed emotions about closing but felt it was time, Grace said.
“We were tired. It was time…with all the competition, it was time for us.”
She said the family is happy they could provide a place of entertainment to locals for so many years.
“I think it was great we were able to do that for them.”
Only a few independent cinemas remain in the area as many of them are falling to the large multiplexes.
Last year, the century-old Franklin Zeotrope Theatre closed its doors on Sept. 11. In a previous interview, theater owner Robert Aarons said there aren’t enough moviegoers to stay in business.
The status should be changed to “Closed/Demolished”, because I find this in a Google News search:
It’s curtains for the Zeotrope
MetroWest Daily News, MA – Jan 10, 2006
FRANKLIN — Small excavators yesterday whirred through what used to be a cinema, as demolition crews tore down the closed Zeotrope Theatre. …
A small photo of the demolition is on this page. You have to pay to read the full article.
Allston is not a “western suburb of Boston”. It is a very urban neighborhood that is part of the city of Boston. 1266 Commonwealth Ave. is now the address of a CVS drug store.
Now listed at [url]http://www.villagetheatres.com/north%20riverside.htm[/url] .
Let’s not rename theatres on this site here at CinemaTreasures until they are renamed either in newspaper ads or on actual theatre signage.
Yep — if you try go to Loew’s web site ([url]www.enjoytheshow.com[/url]), that’s where you end up. Both sites have the same IP address, 66.111.104.27 .
They are allowed several months to complete the required divestitures. At least one of the agreements says that the government can step in with a receiver to accomplish the sale if AMC fails to do so.