SoNo Cinema
15 Washington Street,
South Norwalk,
CT
06851
15 Washington Street,
South Norwalk,
CT
06851
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Functions: Restaurant, Retail
Previous Names: Horace McMahon Theatre, Penthouse Cinema
Nearby Theaters
First listed in the City Directory in 1972 as Horace McMahon Theatre, which had opened on July 20, 1972. It could have been live theatre with this name. Most names like this occurred in the beginning of talkies. On October 5, 1972 it became an adult movie theatre renamed Penthouse Cinema. It was closed on February 14, 1979. Name changes to SoNo Cinema on March 9, 1979 and in 1990 changes to SoNo Cinema and Video. It was closed in March 2000.
It’s now Nagoya Japanese Restaurant and the triangular marquee on one side says the establishment’s name, the other has a New York phone number and says "For Sale Large Night Club or Bar" and the flat front of the triangle still says "SoNo Cinema in rear". In the back there’s a large vacant store with drop ceiling and you can make out the cinema. The club was Gasoline which still has awnings and posters in the windows. It could have been two or three screens.
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
This theater had 350 seats.
The SoNo Cinema received some coverage in a June 1987 Newsweek article, discussing the struggles of revival cinemas across the U.S. in the face of the then-VCR boom.
Here is the link to a pay NY Times article about the SoNo in 1980 trying to stay in business while showing various films.
View link
Great theatre. The Sono would have great double bills, like the one I saw in late 1982, “Cutter and Bone” and “Winter Kills”, foreign films like “Hail Mary” which played for weeks despite the protests, smoke and stink bombs, bomb threats, etc. I spent an even with Kevin, one of the employees, drinking beers and listening to threat after threat as they were left on the answering machine, hours after hours.
And of course midnight movies like “Rocky Horror,” “Liquid Sky” (particularly popular in Connecticut), “The Forbidden Zone” and many, many others I am so lucky to have seen.
Kudos to the owner/programmer Brian Fox, and his great staff starting with Kevin!
Ken Jacowitz
Brian was cool…really hands-on owner. I believe he relocated to North Carolina. They rented videos in their lobby, and this was the only video outlet I was ever able to find a copy of “Antonio das Mortes” in.
The Horace McMahon theatre opened on July 30th, 1972 and taken over by new management and renamed Penthouse Cinema showing adult movies on October 5th. It closed on February 14th, 1979 and reopened as the Sono Cinema on March 9th, 1979. Grand opening ads posted.
Last showtimes appeared on December 9th, 1999, and announced closed in March 2000. Article posted.