- Auditorium 1 is the original "orchestra" section of the theater. The screen is big and the seating average.
- Screens 2 and 3 is the steeply raked "balcony" of the original theater, split into two adequate screens. The seating is completely unsatisfactory for a 6'2" gentleman theatergoer such as myself, especially at a sold-out screening, like the Hugo debacle in January 2012.
- Screens 4 and 5 are the stage and flyloft of the original theater. These "theaters" are shaped like saltines boxes. They're only suitable for children, sadists, and the criminally insane.
There's the gamble: Harvard Square was very convenient, and the clientele was much more reliable than West Newton, for example. But there was a 40% chance of a completely unacceptable moviegoing experience, and only a 20% chance of satisfaction...and that's not even factoring the quality of the movie into the equation.AMC Theaters closed the Church Street Theater in the summer of 2012, and I believe the space is still vacant in 2015?
Starting in the late 80s/early 90s, I saw dozens of movies at this theater, which operated under several names, including Sony, Loews, and AMC.
Church Street Trivia:
- At least 33 movies total
- First Movie: A midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, circa 1990
- Last Movie: The Hunger Games, March 2012
- Best Movie: Master & Commander, but Braveheart and The Usual Suspects are tied for second.
- Worst Movie: The Producers (musical remake, 2005) was bad; Full Frontal was just forgettable
- Oscars: Around 8 or 9 Best Picture nominees
- Musicals: Surprisingly a lot of musicals and nearly-musicals: Two very different musical biopics- Backbeat and Immortal Beloved, also The Producers, Team America: World Police, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Down With Love, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (vampire puppets only). My wife saw Dreamgirls here while I saw The Good German in another theater- after my movie was over, I snuck into her screening just in time to watch the Dreamgirls closing credits.
- No Spoilers: I memorably saw The Crying Game and The Usual Suspects here without knowing the twist surprises in advance.
- A Martin Scorsese Movie: The Aviator and Hugo
- Directed by Steven Soderbergh: The Good German and Full Frontal
- Starring Harvard Square As Itself: I saw The Social Network here; uncanny to watch this movie with Mark Zuckerberg's character practically walking past the very theater we were sitting in.
Mostly Complete List
| Balcony | Orchestra | Stage or Fly Loft | I've Forgotten Which |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backbeat, Gosford Park, Love Actually, The Crying Game, The Producers (2005), The Usual Suspects, Hugo, Team America: World Police | Braveheart, Good Night and Good Luck, Master & Commander, Natural Born Killers, Sleepless In Seattle, The Aviator, It's Complicated, The Rum Diary, No Strings Attached, The Hunger Games, The Social Network, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Down With Love, The Good German, Lost In Translation, and The Wild Bunch | A History Of Violence, Full Frontal, Immortal Beloved, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sexy Beast, Sex Drugs Rock & Roll, The Golden Bowl, The Thin Red Line, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall |