Gone, But Not Forgotten: The Old Embassy Theater

At one time or another Waltham had five movie theaters. The most memorable is the old Embassy on Moody Street, across from the former Grover Cronin Not the newer version on Pine Street.

What was the Embassy Theater is now a small park between two buildings. I can’t help but remember the theater every time I pass the empty space on Moody Street.

The smell of popcorn, the opulent red velvet and gold accented décor, and the faint odor of age, it's all etched in my memory. Some might consider it gaudy now, but in that era, it was lovely and almost magical.

Although I saw more than a few movies there, Romeo and Juliet with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, is the only one I recall. Our 10^th grade English class, taught by Ms. Grillo in the old Waltham High School, went to see the movie after we read the book. 

The old theatre was built in 1928 and had its last showing in 1972, according to Al Arena, director of the m.  The theater didn't even last one-half a century. 

The Embassy was originally a vaudeville theater, with a stage for actors and actresses who came through Waltham to perform. As Hollywood started producing movies, the theater began showing the latest black and white reels, and eventually showed color films.

Originally, Waltham had the Maynard, the Rex, The Waldorf, the Center Square and finally the Embassy theaters, Arena said.

“As one went up another went out of business,” Arena said. “When the Center Square Theater went up, the Maynard went out of business.”

When Embassy hit the Moody Street scene in 1928 the Waldorf lasted only two more years before closing its doors in 1930. When it finally closed in 1972, the owners marked the occasion with a performance by Guy Lombardo. One week later the bulldozers moved in and a few weeks later the theater was a mere memory.

The is wonderful, and growth is part of any city or town, but the old Embassy Theater still lives in our memories.

What do you remember seeing at the Embassy? What are your fondest memories there?

The statute of limitations has come and gone three times over, so admit if you snuck in, sat for the next viewing without paying, or threw popcorn over the balcony. Maybe it was where you had your first kiss, or that special someone draped an arm over your shoulder.

Y'know you want to tell someone ...