Coolidge Corner Theatre

Coolidge Corner Theatre, a cinema in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline, Massachusetts, specializing in international, documentary, animated, and independent film selections and series.

History

Coolidge Corner Theatre was originally built as a Universalist church in 1906 and was redesigned as an Art Deco movie palace in 1933 as the communities first movie theatre. The theatre opened on December 30, 1933 with its first film being a Disney short film. Originally the theatre only had one screen but was later divided into two and then four.

In the 1980s, owner and operator Justin Freed thought that he could no longer compete with rising video sales and competition from other art houses. In 1986, the theatre was sold to a developer due to financial trouble and planned to be torn down or converted to commercial business. Harold Brown, a Boston real estate magnate living in Brookline, bought the whole building and leased the theatre to the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation in November 1989 for 99 years.

Coolidge Corner

Coordinates: 42°20′31″N 71°07′17″W / 42.342075°N 71.121261°W / 42.342075; -71.121261

Coolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered on the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge brothers' general store that opened in 1857 at that intersection at the site of today's S.S. Pierce building, which was for many years the only commercial business in north Brookline.

Culture

Coolidge Corner developed as a transit-oriented streetcar suburb, and retains a pedestrian-friendly, walking around feel. Many popular coffee shops, pharmacies, small independent boutiques, an independent bookstore, and ethnic restaurants are located there, as well as a few retail chain stores. In recent years, an influx of national bank chains has taken over several prime storefronts, detracting from the traditional neighborhood retail mix. There is a growing community backlash against this trend.

The neighborhood has a significant Jewish population, and there are large synagogues located on both Beacon and Harvard streets. The northern portion of Harvard Street, near the border with the Boston neighborhood of Allston, is characterized by a cluster of Jewish-oriented shops, including a bookstore, giftshop, kosher butcher, and various other stores and eateries.

Corner Theatre ETC

Corner Theatre E.T.C. (Corner Theatre) was an American experimental theater in operation from 1968–1987, a not-for-profit cultural organization located in Baltimore, Maryland, which provided resources for new playwrights, designers, directors, actors, dancers, and other artists seeking alternative means and avenues for self-expression, and social and political commentary. Throughout most of its nineteen-year existence, Corner Theatre ETC remained dedicated to the presentation of original plays, while encouraging a confrontational approach to production.

The First Year

The Corner Theatre Experimental Theatre Club (Corner Theatre E.T.C.) was created in the immediate aftermath of a Monday night lecture given by New York's La MaMa founder/artistic director Ellen Stewart at Center Stage, Baltimore's resident Equity theatre.

Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline /ˈbrʊkˌlaɪn/ is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and is a part of Greater Boston. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury. The city of Newton lies to the west of Brookline. At the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732. Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a hamlet in Boston, but was incorporated as a separate town in 1705.

Etymology

Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered a part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. (The Muddy River was used as the Brookline-Boston border at incorporation.) It is said that the name derives from a farm therein once owned by Judge Samuel Sewall.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Brookline has a total area of 6.8 sq mi (17.7 km²), all but 0.039 sq mi (0.1 km²) (0.44%) of which is land.

Coolidge

Coolidge may refer to:

People with the surname Coolidge