The marquee outside the now closed Atco Multiplex Cinemas
The Boston Globe is reporting that National Amusements is closing two of its theatres in Massachusetts. The Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 which opened in 1965 and employed 30 people, was shut down on Monday. The Circle Cinemas in Brookline, which employed a staff of 21, will hold it’s final screenings on September 7th.
Of the two theatres the Circle Cinemas was by far the more historic venue. It originally opened in 1946 as a single screen theatre called the Circle Theater, though was also known as the Cleveland Circle. In 1976, the Cinema was divided in half and given the name Circle Cinemas. The theatre developed into one of the best in Boston and in its heyday played most of the major releases. The theatre booked mostly Paramount films, which is no surprise since National Amusements is owned by Sumner Redstone, the owner of Viacom, the parent organization of both Paramount Pictures and CBS. (Editorial Addendum: Redstone did not purchase Paramount Pictures until 1993). One such film was “Love Story” which played at the Circle Theatre for over a year six months starting in 1970.
Toward the end of its run the two theatres inside Circle Cinemas had been divided into seven awkward spaces. Patrons often faulted the venue for having small theatres with tiny screens. Read More
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