Rotunda Movie Theater Closes

The movie theater at the Rotunda has officially closed.

The Rotunda has been undergoing a major renovation project since September 2013, with the cinema and Rite Aid the only retail businesses still open during construction, The Daily Record reported.

New retailers will open this fall in the mixed-use development, according to builder Hekemian & Co., including Starbucks, MOM’s Organic Market, Massage Envy and Floyd’s 99.

The developers had previously announced that Cobb Theatres would be replacing the old movie theater with a new upscale CinéBistro offering the “dinner and a movie” concept complete with a professional chef and cocktail options.

However, the idea was that the Rotunda Cinematheque would stay open until the new theater was ready to come online, according to an executive at Hekemian, who told the Baltimore Business Journal last year: “...they’re going to stay right up until we open the CinéBistro.”

The Rotunda theater’s last day in operation was July 8, The Baltimore Sun reported, with the decision to close coming as parking options were few and the noise of construction drowned out the movies. According to the paper, the owner offered employees jobs at the company’s other locations.

The owner—Horizon Cinemas—still operates four other movie theaters in the area: Pikes Theatre in Pikesville, Beltway Movies in Parkville, Marley Station Movies in Glen Burnie and Sun Valley Movies in Glen Burnie.

Will you miss the Rotunda Cinematheque? Tell us in the comments!