luftweg The Boston Cinerama did have the large curved screen and was where I saw 2001 and several other movies. The theater was twinned but is still intact, except for the Washington St. hallway to the lobby and the fire escapes on Harrison Ave. Ext. and Haywood Place. It is the last major theater left in the district to not have been
remodeled.
The interior was not restorable because the roof was almost non existent and most of the ceiling had fallen onto the floor. There was 3-4 feet of water in the basement and the asbestos removal was an excuse to demolish the rest of the interior that was still intact after years of vandalism and neglect. We were lucky the building was saved at all.
The theater is still intact with it’s twinned orchestra and only part of the main entrance hallway to the theater’s lobby has been lost when it was converted into a subway station entrance. The state owns the building, which is filled with state offices, so it is safe from development and makes it the last major unused downtown theater available for restoration.
This theater still exists with the twinned orchestra, untouched stage and balcony. The Washington St. entrance to the main lobby was converted to a MBTA entrance for the Chinatown (formerly Essex) Station, however most of the lobby is untouched and accessible through two sets of doors on Essex Street. The MBTA owns the building, so it has not been redeveloped and most of the building’s tenants are state agencies.
The theater is essentially intact and could easily be restored because it has not suffered the water damage and vandalism other area theaters did before they were restored.
I had a business on the second floor above the stores in this building in the 90’s. The landlord used the theater as a furniture warehouse for his store in Chelsea and gave me a tour. The inside was demolished down to the outer walls leaving no trace of the theater. The only things remaining were the concession stand and the manager’s office in the lobby. The picture previously posted shows a restaurant occupying the lobby. The door at the top of the fire escape was the rear fire exit from the auditorium and the projection room had a small door with a ladder down to the fire escape but not the ladder shown in the picture. The building has been completely remodeled with a Rite Aid now occupying the theater auditorium and most of the old storefronts. The restaurant and a couple of businesses occupy the rest of the stores. The basement was a bowling alley and was converted to a billiard hall. My father went to several movies here and said the vibration and noise from the adjacent train tracks was annoying and contributed to the theater’s demise. He said it was fairly plain compared to the Seville in Central Square.
luftweg The Boston Cinerama did have the large curved screen and was where I saw 2001 and several other movies. The theater was twinned but is still intact, except for the Washington St. hallway to the lobby and the fire escapes on Harrison Ave. Ext. and Haywood Place. It is the last major theater left in the district to not have been remodeled.
The interior was not restorable because the roof was almost non existent and most of the ceiling had fallen onto the floor. There was 3-4 feet of water in the basement and the asbestos removal was an excuse to demolish the rest of the interior that was still intact after years of vandalism and neglect. We were lucky the building was saved at all.
I found this video of the theater’s interior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRMQoFRZdbY
City of Boston records show the building has been owned by the MBTA since at least 1996 and is tax exempt property.
The theater is still intact with it’s twinned orchestra and only part of the main entrance hallway to the theater’s lobby has been lost when it was converted into a subway station entrance. The state owns the building, which is filled with state offices, so it is safe from development and makes it the last major unused downtown theater available for restoration.
This theater still exists with the twinned orchestra, untouched stage and balcony. The Washington St. entrance to the main lobby was converted to a MBTA entrance for the Chinatown (formerly Essex) Station, however most of the lobby is untouched and accessible through two sets of doors on Essex Street. The MBTA owns the building, so it has not been redeveloped and most of the building’s tenants are state agencies.
The theater is essentially intact and could easily be restored because it has not suffered the water damage and vandalism other area theaters did before they were restored.
I had a business on the second floor above the stores in this building in the 90’s. The landlord used the theater as a furniture warehouse for his store in Chelsea and gave me a tour. The inside was demolished down to the outer walls leaving no trace of the theater. The only things remaining were the concession stand and the manager’s office in the lobby. The picture previously posted shows a restaurant occupying the lobby. The door at the top of the fire escape was the rear fire exit from the auditorium and the projection room had a small door with a ladder down to the fire escape but not the ladder shown in the picture. The building has been completely remodeled with a Rite Aid now occupying the theater auditorium and most of the old storefronts. The restaurant and a couple of businesses occupy the rest of the stores. The basement was a bowling alley and was converted to a billiard hall. My father went to several movies here and said the vibration and noise from the adjacent train tracks was annoying and contributed to the theater’s demise. He said it was fairly plain compared to the Seville in Central Square.