House Call! Hartford's Art Cinema: Part 1 - Photo Gallery

Doc here, your humble sea bass, and the start of our extensive profile and review of Hartford's Art Cinema.

Well, I have been teasing The Art Cinema House Call Report long enough... It's time to light this candle and spill the beans on the most memorable weekend I have ever spent in an adult theater.

In Part 1, The Good Doctor will take you inside The Art Cinema via a series of images I took in the wee hours of the morning on August 12th, 2012.  Ernie, the owner of The Art Cinema, was kind enough to let Looking Glass Alice and myself stay after closing on Saturday night, and for the next 2+ hours, I took approximately 60 images of the inside of The Art Cinema, and below are the best of the best.  A huge thank you goes to Ernie for his patience and understanding (especially since it was his normal night off)!

For some historical context, the following is a brief blurb from Cinematreasures.org about The Art Cinema's legacy:

"The Rialto Theatre was built in 1919 and is Hartford’s last operating classic movie house. It was formerly part of a chain that included the Colonial Theatre, Lenox Theatre and Lyric Theatre in Hartford, and the Central Theatre in West Hartford. When business waned, it started showing art films in the 1950’s, hence the name Art Cinema.

Nowadays, however, it is the last remaining adult cinema in town and has been showing X-Rated features for decades. The theater seats 601 (350 on the main level, 251 on the balcony) and still has a 35mm projector, but it is not used at all because the adult films are on video."

Gallery (click to ENLARGE)









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What's in store for Part 2? Friday night at The Art, meeting Ernie, as well as spending quality time with reporters M&S.

Stay tuned, and comments are open...

Thanks,
Doc