Two independent movie theaters in Albany have announced their closing. Landmark Spectrum 8 Theaters on Delaware Ave., and Madison Theatre on Madison Ave. announced the news last week on back to back days.
Spectrum Theatres will hold its final screening on February 22, while Madison Theatre will close its doors on February 25.
Madison Theater owner Kevin Parisi said to the Times Union, “It’s just good timing for us, for our other businesses and where we’re heading. We think it’s ready for someone to take over and take it to the next level, and the busy season is coming in, so it’s the right time for a transition.”
The June 2024 closing of The College of Saint Rose will not help the new owners of Madison Theatre, whoever they may be. The college is within walking distance of Madison Theatre and ‘The Point’ with many bars and restaurants, all which will be taking a financial loss due to lack of college students’ patronage.
“We love Albany and all of its untapped potential. We are so thankful for all of our customers and supporters. You made us what we are. Thank you to our Pine Hills neighborhood for caring and loving our beautiful theatre.”
from a statement posted on Madison Theatre’s Facebook page
The closings come just two months after Pauly’s Hotel, Albany’s oldest bar and a rite of passage for bands of all genres, was closed and put up for sale by the owner. Common among all three, Covid-19 took a toll on customer bases, with fewer people packing into venues of all sizes since March 2020, opting for streaming entertainment at home.
In the same Facebook post, Madison Theatre mentioned Spectrum Theaters closure, saying in solidarity, “The Madison Theatre wants to express our sympathy for the recent news of the Spectrum Theatre closing. Small business owners everywhere can truly understand how hard of a decision it was to make. We know just how much The Spectrum means to the Delaware Avenue neighborhood, and Albany in general. We are extremely confident that they will be back up and running in no time at all. We want to wish all involved an easy transition and look forward to the reopening in what will hopefully be the near future.”
Spectrum 8 has been in operation for more than 30 years, beginning as a single screen theater before expanding to eight screens, offering a wide number of independent movies, Oscar nominated films that are hard to find in theaters, including foreign language films and live and animated short films, in addition to Hollywood blockbusters.
Landmark Theaters took over Spectrum 8 in 2015, and in announcing the closure, said in a statement, “Landmark Theatres is constantly evaluating its business strategy and has decided to close the Landmark Spectrum Theatre. We are proud to have served the community over its many years of operation. We look forward to adding new Landmark Theatres soon.”
While Landmark stepped in nine years ago to take over Spectrum and keep the Delaware Avenue staple running at full speed, attendance has dwindled since the pandemic, and the decision to close its doors was rapid, leaving employees blindsided, with seven or eight current workers having to look for new employment with less than two weeks notice. With ownership and management changing in the course of those nine years, the focus drifted away from cinema, and thus towards closure.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in a statement regarding the sudden closing of Spectrum: “I am confident the closure of the Spectrum Theatre will be temporary. I have been in contact with representatives from one of the prospective parties interested in operating the Theatre and look forward to there being a new operator so the shows on Delaware Avenue can go on.”
While these two closures are back to back punches in the gut for Albany, there are still a great deal of movie theaters in the area, including Bowtie Cinemas and Rotterdam Square Mall, as well as Regal Cinemas at Colonie Center, Crossgates Mall and Clifton Park. Still, independent films are hard to come by at these national chain theaters.
Despite the closures, recent openings of venues in the Capital District should be noted. Electric Grinch has opened in Schenectady, and Ophelia’s on Broadway will open its doors soon in the former Parish Public House (née Red Square). Add to this a revitalized downtowns in Albany, Schenectady and Troy, and these theater closures should be seen as exceptions, not the rule, when it comes to entertainment in Albany.
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