The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

Suffolk 83 said:
I hope they dont build a movie theater here. Id rather see one in the seaport it seems to make more sense and I really doubt our market can handle 2 more movie theaters just based on how dead the big ones are even before they add capacity
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This is purely anecdotal, but, I've been to the AMC cinema on Boston Common many times and the last thing I'd ever characterize it as is "dead." It's always packed, at least when I've been in there.

Other than that one, there are, what, two other serious multiplexes in the urban core? Fenway and Assembly Row, right? Does that seem like verging on saturation already? I don't know...
 
Its purely anecdotal on my side too, but weekdays/weeknights the theaters are really dead to me. Sure Friday and Saturday are busy but the rest of the week those places are dead as can be. Fenway and Assembly especially but even Boston Common
 
Suffolk 83 said:
Its purely anecdotal on my side too, but weekdays/weeknights the theaters are really dead to me. Sure Friday and Saturday are busy but the rest of the week those places are dead as can be. Fenway and Assembly especially but even Boston Common
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Isn't that true of any theater? It's a peaked business model. Having seen a bunch of Saturday night movies at Boston Common recently, I'm really looking forward to the new theaters taking some of the load. It's a madhouse.
 
tobyjug said:
^^^
You see all that. Cool! :)

When I look at it I see Bill Russell and Wilt C, Bobby Orr, Pie and Espo, the Stones, the Dead, George Harrison and the Who. :(
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Nice man.
 
Suffolk 83 said:
I hope they dont build a movie theater here. Id rather see one in the seaport it seems to make more sense and I really doubt our market can handle 2 more movie theaters just based on how dead the big ones are even before they add capacity
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Both are getting movie theaters: Hub on Causeway is getting an ArcLight Cinemas, and One Seaport Square is getting a Showplace ICON Theatre. The demand exists for both.

I've written about this in the past on one of these forums, but will chime in again.

The movie theater model is changing from how things use to be.
  • Reclining Seats: a screen with 250 traditional seats now seats 125 in La-Z-Boy Style recliners
  • Premium Concession Offerings: there's been a rise in luxury theater chains nationwide like iPic and ArcLight that offer more premium concessions, full meals, and full liquor menus.
  • Advanced Seat Selection: probably the biggest innovation in movie-going is the ability to not only buy your tickets online in advance, but also to reserve your seat(s) in the theater. This convenience means moviegoers don't need to show up 30 minutes before showtime to sit where they'd like--the seat(s) will be waiting for them.
  • Large Format/Premium Experience Screens: IMAX, 3D, RPX, 4D, D-Box... these are becoming more mainstream nationwide.

Despite the number of seats being slashed in half at existing theaters in most cases, all of these factors listed have lured more people to theaters. They're spending more money and visiting more frequently. With the supply of seats halved and the demand climbing, there is a legitimate need for more movie screens in a city like Boston.

Our market is about to see at least 4 new theaters following this model (Arclight, Showplace ICON, South Bay AMC, and Tremont Crossing Regal). The demand is there in the urban places... it's the suburban stand-alone theaters that fail to adapt their business model(s) at the most risk of closure.

From an economic generation standpoint, movie theaters are one of the most sure-fire ways to create demand for other businesses in a town center and activate a community. They provide employment opportunities for low-skill employees and a sanctuary for all members of a community unknowingly in need of a positive, shared experience.

I'm happy to chat more about movies and theaters with anyone that's interested. :)
 
tobyjug said:
^^^
You see all that. Cool! :)

When I look at it I see Bill Russell and Wilt C, Bobby Orr, Pie and Espo, the Stones, the Dead, George Harrison and the Who. :(
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Don't forget Gerry Cheevers.........

The punchline of the joke Gerry Cheevers [known to do a bit of imbibing -- heh heh] was leaving the "Penalty Box Lounge" one evening and when crossing the tracks he tripped and fell while a Green Line train was approaching

Terrible News .... you say oh the Poor Man


NAh --- he wasn't hurt at all -- :eek: it just went between his pads ..... Yuk Yuk :D :D

Ah yes the Ole Gahdn -- Stick Fighting Nightly in the Penalty Box Lounge.... -- that's when the "Adams Family" actually owned the Bruins
 
tobyjug said:
When I look at it I see Bill Russell and Wilt C, Bobby Orr, Pie and Espo, the Stones, the Dead, George Harrison and the Who. :(
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My best nights at the Garden:
  • Kevin McHale scores 56 against the Pistons;
  • Jay Miller's four fight game against the Whalers;
  • NineInchNails, with Marilyn Manson and the Jim Rose Circus.
 
Beton Brut said:
My best nights at the Garden:
  • Kevin McHale scores 56 against the Pistons;
  • Jay Miller's four fight game against the Whalers;
  • NineInchNails, with Marilyn Manson and the Jim Rose Circus.
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Breton Brut -- your missing a complete layer of Gahdn Cultcha --- Heavy Weight Wrestling

With the likes of Pedro Morales [with the entire building in a Blue Haze from the Puerto Ricans with their Habana Stogies], Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, Bruno Sammartino, the 'Flyin Frenchy" Edouard Carpentier, Ivan Putski ["aka the Polish Hammer"], Spiros Arion [of the Greek Backbreaker ] -- there was someone for everyone with an ethnic background to relate to and and opposite for them to "hate"

And then there were transcendent chararacters and athletes:
in my era -- the late great Walter "Killer" Kowalski --- and a bit before my time [well my father and his brother's time] the even greater Stan Zbyszko [real name Stanislaw Cyganiewic aka the 8th Wonder of the World]
 
Beton Brut said:
My best nights at the Garden:
  • Kevin McHale scores 56 against the Pistons;
  • Jay Miller's four fight game against the Whalers;
  • NineInchNails, with Marilyn Manson and the Jim Rose Circus.
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I'll play:

(1) Bruins/Edmonton triple overtime Stanley Cup Final game (even with the loss)
(2) Bruins/Habs bench clearing brawl with multiple Jay Miller/Chris Nilan bouts (this was the game that resulted in the Bruins installing that curtain/barrier to block fans from the players going into or coming out of the tunnel)
(3) Retirement of Esposito's # 7 jersey when Bourque took his off and donned # 77 for the first time
 
dshoost88 said:
I'm happy to chat more about movies and theaters with anyone that's interested. :)
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dshoost, thanks for this post and I agree. The format of the offering has changed a bit in today's world in order to differentiate the theater viewing experience from other options, but the fundamental concept is the same. And the differentiation works - you can still undoubtedly get a different experience in a modern theater than you could by any other means, regardless of how good your home setup is. So the value prop is absolutely still there. I echo others' sentiments that I've almost always found the Lowes downtown to be rather packed (I don't think demand is soft at all)...and as dshoost says, new theater(s) can induce additional demand.

I look forward to these two theaters opening, and also to observing the impact they have on their surrounding neighborhoods.
 
I went to a WWF event there in 1990-ish. One of my favorite Garden experiences.

Is the parquet floor in the new Garden the same floor from the old Garden?

Honestly, I am impressed how ol' beantown keeps reinventing its limited real estate. Once a famous sports venue, then a parking lot of sorts, soon to be a neighborhood transforming mixed use space. Really cool, IMO.
 
Czervik.Construction said:
Is the parquet floor in the new Garden the same floor from the old Garden?
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No; we are at least on parquet floor #3 at this point. The original parquet was made from oak surplus from WWII (intended for transit containers, if I'm not mistaken). Then floor#2 was mid-1990's, and floor #3 was just introduced at the 2015 offseason. They gave Kobe Bryant a piece of floor #2 as a retirement gift at his last garden visit...it has become tradition to give ex-rivals pieces of previous floors upon their last trip into town.

EDIT: an interesting factoid is that the Celtics' floor is the only one in the NBA made of oak; the others are all maple. They had a reason to do this for the first floor, but have kept up the tradition since then to preserve the legacy.

EDIT: here's a partial reference from the Globe:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/...rquet-floor/QnjmM2I4Z2nSAQvqhc4EfK/story.html
 
From what I remember a lot of the pieces from the old floor were incorporated into the new floor.
 
BosDevelop said:
I'll play:

(1) Bruins/Edmonton triple overtime Stanley Cup Final game (even with the loss)
(2) Bruins/Habs bench clearing brawl with multiple Jay Miller/Chris Nilan bouts (this was the game that resulted in the Bruins installing that curtain/barrier to block fans from the players going into or coming out of the tunnel)
(3) Retirement of Esposito's # 7 jersey when Bourque took his off and donned # 77 for the first time
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Me, too. [Sorry for ongoing derailment but this is irresistible...]

1) Phish at "new" Boston Garden (aka Fleet Center then), 12.30.96 (not quite New Years but close enough). "Good Times Bad Times" cover; plus the sound cut-out at one point for a few minutes but they engaged in ridiculous antics during the interruption:

http://phish.net/setlists/phish-december-30-1996-fleetcenter-boston-ma-usa.html

2.) Cam Neely's first regular game vs. Pittsburgh Penguins and their legendary goon/hitman Ulf Samuelsson following Ulf having injured him in the 1991 conference finals. Presumably fall of 1992; just can't track down exact game.

3.) Bruins vs. Senators, 5.1.95, last regular-season game at old Garden. Seats behind the net with my Dad...
 
i was at the last game beffore Ulf Samuelson put the dirty hit on Cam Neely,

and blew out his knee/thigh, basically ending his career. The B's beat a dirty Penguins team 6-3.

Despite losing Neely in the next game, they won in overtime.... unfortunately, they would seemingly never win another playoff game again ...and entered into a 20 year binge to institutionalize trading away anything and everything resembling a hockey star.... eventually going on to be bailed out by the salary cap era, where they might appear to actually be attempting to field a competitive team for pennies on the dollar.
 
My three best Garden experiences:

3) Last B's v. Canadiens regular season game in the Garden. Bruins win in a blowout - Habs had to pull Roy - loudest place I've ever been. Ru -ahh, Ru-ahh! Thought the crowd was gonna tear the place down that night.

2) My grandfather took all my cousins, uncles, brothers, etc. to the retirement of Esposito's # 7 jersey. We sat two, maybe three rows behind the Bruins bench for the whole Bourque # 77 show. Somewhere in the current Garden, they had (maybe still have) a massive picture w/Espo raising his jersey - everyone in my fam is in the poster, save for 7 year old me, who was blocked by Derek Sanderson.

1) Mid/late 80s Saturday afternoon WWF wrestling. I was ~7 or 8, and we had a good family friend that got us in for free. As it was, there were no tickets so we had to sit in a press box overlooking the ring. Pretty cool for a kid. Tough for an adult as you had to climb up through a crazy ladder system, as I recall. They had TVs in the box that ran a live feed inside the Garden. The Blue Blazer had just dispensed with the guy in the yellow draws, so we started playing w/the knobs on the TVs. And there it was - the Hart foundation w/ Mean Gene Okerlund, yelling about how they were gonna crush (let's say it was the British Bulldogs) at Wrestle Mania on such and such a date. Then we heard a voice off screen correct Brett on the date. "Oh" - and then Brett repeated his tirade with the correct date and asked, "how's that?" Then the Bulldogs walk on screen and there all, "what's up guys." Shot to the gut - it's all fake? :(
 
Femail friend of mine was part of Killer Kowalski's stable of stars. Got to be friends with a couple of them. The ladies wrestled every weekend for the world championship at every arena and state fair up and down the East Coast, including the old Garden. The outcomes were scripted, but don't kid yourself, they are real athletes!
 
Sprngh2o said:
Killer Kowalski....WOW, blast from the past
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Sprngh -- Killer just passed away [well seems like yesterday] -- actually it was 2008

A few months before then I saw an interview with him at his school] -- it seemed like he could have gone in the ring at that time [he was 81 or so] -- Amazing physical specimen
 
I went to the first scheduled concert at the then Fleet Center, R.E.M., in 1995. A friend and I were wandering the city and got off there to check out the new North Station, As we made our way down the stairs from the elevated Green Line station, a scalper was selling tickets at the bottom. We asked how much, he said $20 apiece. We had $18 between the two of us and he sold them to us anyhow. They were nosebleed, stage right, but it was a lot of fun!
 
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