Once upon a time, movie theaters were an important part of life in a Baltimore neighborhood. Folks would go to the movies on a Saturday night and enjoy the luxury of air conditioning as well as the film. Back in the early days of movies, Baltimore movie theaters had just one-screen but were often steeped with Art Deco grandeur.
That was a long time ago. Movie theaters, like much of Baltimore's population in the last three decades or so, migrated to the suburbs, popping up in Baltimore's suburban malls as multiple-screen cineplexes.
Today's Baltimore Movie Theaters
Baltimore City currently only has four movie theaters, though most have multiple screens. When the Landmark Theatre opened in 2007 that brought the city's total number of screens to of 15. All of Baltimore City's movie theaters in specialize art house or independent films, though a few like Landmark in Harbor East and The Senator in Govans do get the occasional Hollywood blockbuster.
Harbor East
When this seven-screen cinema opened late in 2007, it doubled the number of movie screens inside the city limits. From the sound system to the snacks, this Los Angeles-based movie theater chain offers patrons a high-end cinematic experience. In the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Harbor East, the theater makes use of below street-level space.
Govans
Built in 1939, this Art Deco theater is the last of its kind in Baltimore. It is the only single-screen movie palace that actually shows first-run films. Directors John Waters and Barry Levinson often premiere their Baltimore-themed films there. Over the years The Senator has hit hard financial times but to date has managed to weather them. The plush interior of the theater has been preserved, while the technology has been updated. Groups can even rent balcony boxes.
South Charles Village
Though it began screening films in 1939 during Hollywood's golden age, The Charles Theatre was not built as a movie palace. It was actually built in 1892 as a cable-car barn and power station and later retrofitted as a one-screen movie house. In 1999, more renovations brought its total up to five screens that show edgy indie flicks, foreign films, classics and occasionally the big Hollywood film. The adjacent Tapas Teatro is a great spot to stop for dinner before the show.
Hampden
The Rotunda in Hampden, a two-screen cinema owned by The Senator, runs a wide range of offbeat films from smaller Hollywood releases to documentaries. Often when a popular movie finishes its run at The Senator, it will continue here. Built in 1921 and renovated in 2002, this movie theater is part of the Rotunda mall, a scruffy little shopping center, which is slated for a complete makeover, with a grocery and a drug store and several small retailers.
New Uses for Old Theaters
Most of the city's grand movie palaces of yore stand shuttered or have met with wrecking ball or are in danger of it. But a few have been rescued and put to other uses.
West Side
The Hippodrome now hosts big Broadway musicals visiting Charm City.
Built in 1914, the ornate movie palace was renovated in 2004 and is now officially called the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center.
Highlandtown
In 2003 arts group Creative Alliance renovated the Patterson Theater, which operated as a movie house until 1995, as performance and gallery space. It now hosts all sorts of performances as well as art classes.
Fells Point
Now showing adult films, this is the last remaining theater open along Fells Foint's Broadway, which once was home to several movie theaters.
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