Coolidge Corner Theatre To Get A $12.5 Million Makeover

BROOKLINE, MA — Lights, camera, action: Construction on the Coolidge Corner Theatre $12.5 million makeover is set to start next month.

The Coolidge has raised 85 percent of that already, including a $1 million gift from The Trust Family Foundation to establish an endowment. The project has been years in the making.

The expansion project will add 14,000 square feet to the existing building, including two new, "state-of-the-art" screens and a new Community Education and Engagement Center.

"This past pandemic year has been challenging, but we are incredibly moved by the outpouring of support we’ve received from the community, and are thrilled to share the news about this exciting new chapter in Coolidge history,” said Coolidge Board Chairman Michael Maynard in a statement. "This expansion will allow us to do more of what we do best in a gorgeous new space that fits perfectly with our historic theatre. It will be the Coolidge that we all know and love, only bigger and better."

Originally a Universalist church in 1906, it was redesigned in 1933 as an Art Deco movie palace, Brookline's first movie theatre, according to town documents. At first the movie palace had one screen. Later it was divided into two and additional theaters were added.

Since then, the Coolidge Corner Theatre has showcased works of cinema and offered programming to audiences of all ages, collecting accolades from near and far along the way.

Not to mention quite a few stars: Johnny Depp, Jane Fonda and Werner Herzog have all walked through the Coolidge Corner Theatre lobby, along the worn carpet into the main theatre, where the echos of cinematic history have gone before them.

Previously: Coolidge Corner Theatre Edges Closer To Expansion

The award-winning architecture firm Höweler + Yoon is responsible for designing the new expansion, which is set to integrate with the existing historic, Art Deco building, according to Coolidge officials.

"An articulated brick 'curtain' facade plays on the art deco motifs from the original 1933 building," according to a release.

The new space will accommodate two new theaters (with 149 seats and 57 seats); a 688 square foot Community Education and Engagement Center that will accommodate a 60-seat classroom space for our educational offerings, event space for theater and community gatherings and post-screening discussions, a catering kitchen and outdoor roof deck, a media library; a new entrance, lobby, and concessions area with improved accessibility.

The box office and main theatre entrance will be relocated to Centre Street and common areas will be upgraded with a goal to update accessibility. The addition will turn the back of the theater into the new front.

Pending final permitting, construction is scheduled to get underway next month and finish next summer.

The Coolidge officials said they anticipate minimal disruption to regular business as construction will take place during the morning and early afternoon, and the bulk of the work will be adding on to the existing building. The theatre, which was recently named one of the world’s 50 most beautiful cinemas by Time Out, reopened on May 13 following 14 months of pandemic-related closure.

Read these, too:

• Coolidge Corner Theatre Gets Green Light for Expansion (2013)
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• Michael Douglas Comes to Brookline To Receive ...

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