The town I grew up in was a small town sandwiched between larger towns and the country. In the 1970s, when I was very young, there were still larger old styled movie houses around; those with auditoriums seating 800 patrons, or more. Those theaters had large marquees, bright signs, large lobbies, and high ceilings. There were also many plain box styled General Cinema movie houses around with mod interiors and large auditoriums. However, my town had a hidden gem.
A few miles from where I lived, tucked into a quiet strip mall, was a small, well run, single screen, art house theatre called Church Lane Cinema. People generally refered to it as just Church Lane. From the front, it was nothing special. It had a small, flat, unmemorable marquee above the door. I don't remember any sort of exterior box office window. If memory serves me right, tickets were purchased inside. What I remember clearly was the single poster case which advertised a single movie poster showcasing the current feature.
Unlike the larger theaters, this little theater had a small, simple lobby divided in half by red velvet ropes to control patron traffic; one side was for people coming in and the other side was for people leaving. There was a simple concession stand that always had a wide array of candy for all tastes, as well as popcorn and drinks. For me, though, this little cinema was better than any other local movie house because it was the only movie house near my home that showed all of the Disney movies.
Church Lane's connection with Disney movies lead to an event that changed me forever. One night of movie going started what has become my long love affair with movies, the art of movie making, movie houses, the whole event of going to movies, and so on. It was the night my parents took me to see the re-release of "The Aristocats" when I was in second grade.
That night, when we were in the lobby, I noticed that the projection booth door was open. When I looked into the booth, I saw movie projectors and the projectionist for the first time. I had never seen anything like it. My father explained to me, in basic terms, what I was seeing; the pictures on the screen came from the projectors and the man up in the booth kept the picture on the screen. I stared, in awe, at the projectors in motion. Never one to discourage my nerdly tendancies, my father let me stand there and watch until it was our turn to go into the auditorium.
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| Photo Credit: http://bay-journal.com/bay/1pi/theater/colonial-projection-room.jpg |
From that point on, movie going was never the same for me. The technical side of the movie and the art of the movie, more than the movie itself, started to take over my interests. Even the print of the movie, and the condition of the print, became interesting to me when on the summer re-re-release of "The Aristocats" I noticed that the print was a little scratchier than the original one I had seen.
I went on to see many more films at Church Lane. There was an art to the projection at that cinema. When Disney films were shown, there was always a short animated Disney film shown prior to the main attraction. One short, Disney's "The Old Mill" from 1937, was particularly scary to me as a child, but I realize now how lucky I was to see it on the big screen.
Since I grew up watching the animated shorts before main features, I assumed that other theaters ran their films the same way. Only when I was older did I realize that others didn't get to see the short films. Church Lane was special. Church Lane cared about their programming and the movie going experience, as a whole.
There's very little written material on Church Lane Cinema, which closed in 1986. Church Lane simply faded into the night and into my memories. There is a small passage about it in the book Motion Picture Exhibition in Baltimore, by Robert K. Headley. It's a shame there isn't more information available. It's a cinema I still miss to this day, more than any other movie house.
For those wondering, there is now a discount party store in the location of the former Church Lane Cinema. I rarely go into it, not because I blame it for taking over the location of my favorite childhood cinema, but because I have a hard time standing in the graveyard of so many childhood memories. I can still feel the cinema calling to me while I stare at the party favors and disposable party tat.
For those interested in Church Lane Cinema or other Baltimore Cinemas, I highly recommend the following book:
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| Available for purchase through: http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Picture-Exhibition-Baltimore-Illustrated/dp/0786422904/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362674344&sr=8-3&keywords=baltimore+movie+theaters |
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