Back in the 1970s there was a Natick community program called Vision in Action. One of the services offered there were volunteer musical instrument instruction where my older sister tried her hand at guitar and I once or twice tagged along. The location of this program was in the back of the building that the Colonial occupied and they were connected somehow. I remember roaming the corridors and sneaking into the old Colonial. It was dark and dank, but it seemed to even my very young eyes at the time that just a little effort could have transformed this back into the viable little theater that it once was.
I’d love to see some exterior pictures of this place from the 70s and the Rte 9 area in general. I remember even back in the 70s the exterior had a very retro feel with dark red paint and (I think) those cylindrical stainless accent lights. I remember it being EM Loews and then at some point becoming a ‘Sack Cinema’. I didn’t see too many movies at this theatre, as it seemed the GCC complex across the street in the Shopper’s World (outdoor mall version) had more offerings. I only recall seeing Monty Python’s Meaning of life here around 1983 and the last movie I ever saw here was Braveheart in 1995. The parking lot always annoyed me because so many people could not get the feel for the traffic pattern and the Rte9 light time was not good especially when multiple films ended simultaneously; I ususally snuck out the back way (Mercer Rd?). For some reason, I better remember the Jack-in-the-box fast food joint (which later became ‘The Taco Maker’) that was a standalone toward the front of the parking area. That’s probably more due to shameful counts of hours and quarters squandered at nearby Fun-N-Games; the Jack was better eating than the overpriced snack bars at FnG or Loews/Sack.
Back in the 1970s there was a Natick community program called Vision in Action. One of the services offered there were volunteer musical instrument instruction where my older sister tried her hand at guitar and I once or twice tagged along. The location of this program was in the back of the building that the Colonial occupied and they were connected somehow. I remember roaming the corridors and sneaking into the old Colonial. It was dark and dank, but it seemed to even my very young eyes at the time that just a little effort could have transformed this back into the viable little theater that it once was.
I’d love to see some exterior pictures of this place from the 70s and the Rte 9 area in general. I remember even back in the 70s the exterior had a very retro feel with dark red paint and (I think) those cylindrical stainless accent lights. I remember it being EM Loews and then at some point becoming a ‘Sack Cinema’. I didn’t see too many movies at this theatre, as it seemed the GCC complex across the street in the Shopper’s World (outdoor mall version) had more offerings. I only recall seeing Monty Python’s Meaning of life here around 1983 and the last movie I ever saw here was Braveheart in 1995. The parking lot always annoyed me because so many people could not get the feel for the traffic pattern and the Rte9 light time was not good especially when multiple films ended simultaneously; I ususally snuck out the back way (Mercer Rd?). For some reason, I better remember the Jack-in-the-box fast food joint (which later became ‘The Taco Maker’) that was a standalone toward the front of the parking area. That’s probably more due to shameful counts of hours and quarters squandered at nearby Fun-N-Games; the Jack was better eating than the overpriced snack bars at FnG or Loews/Sack.