BOSTON — It’s nearly 5 p.m. on a blustery Friday afternoon in late November.  In the Boston suburb of Brookline, the sky is overcast and gray and the sun has nearly set as local businesses on Harvard Avenue in Coolidge Corner begin locking their doors and turning off their lights, indicating to passers-by that the weekend is upon them.  For a few moments this quaint, store-lined street of Brookline is dimly lit as people scramble to catch the 66 bus home or duck into one of the local coffeehouses that is still open after dark.  At the corner of Harvard and Beacon Streets, a faint buzz sounds as a neon pink and electric blue sign abruptly lights up the winter sky, followed by a flash of white light.  The entire block is now illuminated by the marquee, which reads “COOLIDGE” in bright white lettering.  The Coolidge Corner Theatre is now ready to open its doors for the evening just as it has every Friday night for the past 74 years.  Unlike many theatres of its kind, the Coolidge is one of the only movie houses in the United States, not to mention the only one in Boston, that has been a fully operational theatre since first opening its doors to the public on December 30, 1933, a task that has by no means been easy.

Joseph Zina has been the executive director of the Coolidge Corner Theatre since 1999.  Zina began teaching in 1971 after receiving his master’s degree in arts education from Penn State University.  He left teaching to pursue a career as a dancer in New York City in 1973 and spent four years performing with the Nikolais Dance Theatre and later with the Susan Buirge Dance Theatre in Paris.  He returned to the United States in 1980 to teach movement and exercise classes at Salem State College in Massachusetts.  His interest in all things art led him to join the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation in 1997, and two years later he became the executive director of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, playing a large part in the renovation and design process, an undertaking which has helped the Coolidge compete with other movie theatres in the area that have the funding of a large corporation behind them.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre is the only not-for-profit Art Deco theatre in Boston that is still in operation.  When Zina took over as executive director, one of the first things he did was contact local artists to restore the interior of the theatre, which had suffered water damage from a leak in the roof, in an Art Deco style using rich colors and metal elements to give the theatre a modern feel.  Today, the front lobby reflects the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s with deep burgundy walls, hanging chandelier light fixtures, and chrome molding.  “With a team of artists we began a mission to restore the Art Deco interior design which had either been water damaged or painted over,” Zina said.  “We restored hidden murals and plaster motives in the main theatres.  Fresh coats of paint brought back the brilliance of the original work in the theatre.  We have maintained the look an feel of the theatre’s interior.”

During the past ten years, the Coolidge has undergone many renovations.  Upper Crust, the small pizza parlor next to the theatre, was at one time an Au Bon Pain. At that time, the theatre shared the original wooden doors of the theatre with the coffee shop, so patrons had to enter through the Au Bon Pain to get into the theatre, a process that theatre manager Andy Thompson refers to as “a bit awkward.”

The Coolidge opened in 1933, following an extravagant ceremony during which local politicians, business owners, and members of the Brookline community came out to show their support.  This local support combined with innovative programming, fund-raising, and community outreach efforts; art and independent film screenings; first-runs; local filmmaker showcases; matinees; children’s events; and even a midnight burlesque show have kept the Coolidge Corner Theatre in constant operation for more than seven decades.  Coolidge Corner itself is at the heart of Brookline where Harvard Street meets Beacon. Once a quiet farming community in the early 1800s, Brookline has endured many changes that have shaped the area into the eclectic, independent community it is today, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre reflects that spirit, drawing a diverse group of patrons spanning generations.

“The Coolidge Corner Theatre is a tremendous cultural resource in the town and attracts viewers from the entire Boston region and beyond, bringing together a community of people who are curious about the world and want to learn more.  I go there to see foreign movies which are hard to find at mainstream theatres,” said Patricia Connors, a Brookline resident, town council member, and patron of the theatre.  Connors has shared her love of the Coolidge with her daughter and has many stories about shows she has seen there over the years.

“One of my all time favorites was a few years back of Judy Collins, with no musical accompaniment, casually singing a few of her songs in between discussing her new book at the time, which was being sold at the Booksmith across the street,” said Connors.  “Ms. Collins’ voice was so stellar; I was glad to have been able to bring my then 9-year-old daughter to witness her extraordinary performance.”

Coolidge Corner is named after businessman David S. Coolidge, who owned Coolidge and Brother general store, which opened on the corner of Harvard Street and Beacon Street in 1857.  At that time, Brookline was merely an extremely rural suburb of Boston comprised of expansive land owned by Boston merchants for summer estates or by local families who operated farms.  In 1886, local businessman Henry Whitney pushed to develop the area in an effort to increase commerce.  He made a proposition to widen Beacon Street into a boulevard using the plans of architect Frederick Law Olmsted.  The new boulevard would have separate lanes for horse-drawn coaches and wagons, and in the center of the street would be a tree-lined railway.  Many Brookline residents opposed the street widening, because of the cost, the loss of land, or the increased commercial activity that would be a direct result of the new road.  Whitney owned enough land and had enough money that he was able to pay for most of the construction costs on his own, so in 1887, Beacon Street widened to 160 feet, the same width as it is today.  The newly widened street, followed by the introduction of the first electric streetcar in 1889, turned Brookline from a sleep farm town into a bustling “streetcar suburb” of independent businesses – a reputation the community is still fighting to hold on to in 2007.

In the next few decades, Brookline continued to develop as buildings such as the S.S. Pierce Building, built in 1899 by grocery store owner Wallace Pierce, were added to the landscape.  In 1906, the developing community enticed the Beacon Universalists to build a new church on Harvard Street.  The building contained classrooms, offices, a social hall, and a sanctuary.  The sanctuary stood where the Coolidge Corner Theatre Auditorium is located today.  As the community of Brookline grew commercially and residentially (immigrant groups began moving into new apartments in the area), land speculators began proposing a plan to build a movie theatre in Coolidge Corner, but zoning issues prevented this growth from taking place until 1933 when the Beacon Universalist Church leased its property to Harvard Amusement Company, part of the Strand Theatre chain.  Using the plans of architect Ernest Hayard, the church was converted into a movie theatre, a process which the Brookline Chronicle described as “a real chapter in the life of the town.”

On opening night in 1933, the Coolidge Corner Theatre showed Only Yesterday, Saturday’s Millions, a Disney short, and a montage of local photographs.  Since that first showing, the Coolidge has presented thousands of movies and has played host to many special guests over the years, including actress Meryl Streep, Robert Altman, and director Martin Scorsese.  Scorsese visited the theatre in April 2007 for a discussion of his newest film, The Departed, and a ceremony during which Oscar-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker was presented with the Coolidge Award, an honor the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation presents every year to a film artist whose work is original and particularly challenging .  Over the years, the Coolidge Corner Theatre has adapted with the times and more importantly with the ever-changing film industry.  During the Depression, the theatre sponsored China giveaways to attract patrons.  This type of giveaway was common practice for theatres during that era, as items that were considered excess were hard to come by.

In 1977, the Coolidge was acquired by entrepreneur Justin Freed, who converted the balcony section into a separate theatre in an effort to draw more patrons.  He targeted a more contemporary audience by showing independent and foreign films.  His efforts failed, as he was in constant competition with multiplex cinemas and the growing popularity of video rental chains.  Freed eventually sold the theatre, and in the early 1980s, it became targeted for demolition, an idea that angered the Brookline community.  In 1989, the community came together for an enormous grassroots fund-raising campaign in an effort to save the theatre from being torn down.  The group’s efforts proved to be successful, and the Coolidge remained in operation.  Out of these efforts came the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation, a group that remains focused on attracting a wide variety of patrons from the Brookline community and other areas as well.  The foundation has created various programs to reach out to the community including weekend kids’ shows,  the Science on Screen series, Booksmith Readings, Box Office Babies, Divas in the Dark, Midnites, Off the Couch, Senior Matinees, and World Cinema.  Perhaps most notably, the Coolidge is known for its showing of independent and foreign films, which according to Zina has pleased the Brookline community.

“We have maintained the focus on film exhibition, which has always been the passion of the community audience.  To that we added programs that would focus on nurturing new audiences.  Live performances for children was a catalyst to expand activities beyond film and programming during the hours when the theatre was not exhibiting feature film,” Zina said.

The kids’ shows began on Saturday or Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. and usually last from 45 to 60 minutes.  In November, the theatre hosted a Kids’ Variety Talent Show with local entertainers Rose Giovanetti and Harrison Beck, as well as a magic show, The Magic of George, featuring magician George Saterial.  In December, the kids’ shows will include a showing of The Wizard of Oz, as well as a marionette performance of Cinderella.  The Science on the Screen series is another program the Coolidge Corner Theatre offers its patrons.  For each program, a feature film or documentary with a science theme is showed along with an introduction by a special guest.  The most recent program in the series was a showing of The Man Who Fell to Earth starring David Bowie.  The movie is about an alien who tries to assimilate to human life, so the Coolidge Corner Theatre chose Boston University College of Arts and Sciences professor and chairman of the anthropology department Robert Weller to introduce the movie.  Weller was honored to discuss the film at the Coolidge, because he feels the theatre plays a significant role in the Brookline community.

“Coolidge Corner Theatre is a local treasure that we have.  It’s one of the few theatres that shows anything, everything that’s out of the ordinary run of commercial theatres and so I’m in favor of patronizing it for anything that they do.  But in addition this particular series seems interesting in that each one of them has a rather interesting speaker to introduce the film and to give a kind of new angle on what are in every case classic films that they have to offer,” said Weller in an interview with BU Today’s Edward Brown.

In a continuing effort to reach out to a diverse audience, the Coolidge Corner Theatre holds several film festivals a year.  This fall, the Coolidge hosted the Boston Palestine Film Festival, the Boston Latino Film Festival, the Croatian Film Series, and the Boston Jewish Film Festival, which has been held at the theatre for the past 19 years.

Today, the Coolidge Corner Theatre is managed by Andrew Thompson, who admits that he never thought he’d manage anything after “hanging out with a bad crowd” in Providence, Rhode Island, where he moved after graduating from Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, with a fine arts degree.  Thompson eventually relocated to Boston where he says he “worked a string of boring, soul-numbing office temp jobs” before becoming a part-time floor staffer at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.  He is also the proud owner of Ticket, a fuzzy white feline who used to take up residence at the Coolidge.  Ticket was rescued by theatre staff members during a snow storm three years ago.

“She was a tiny ball of fluff.  She quickly grew into a much bigger ball of fluff who relentlessly killed mice in this old building,” Thompson said.  “She also spent a lot of time sitting on computer keyboards and knocking everyone’s pens onto the floor.”  Nowadays, Ticket lives with Thompson.  “After several years of service the introduction of certain new members of our office staff and their attendant allergies necessitated her moving in with me instead of living at the theatre,” Thompson jokes.  “I’m sure she misses watching films on the big screen but such is life.  She has an enviable life of leisure.”

As the theatre manager, Thompson doesn’t exactly enjoy that same life of leisure as Ticket, as he’s been known to work 60 or more hours a week.  During his tenure at the Coolidge, Thompson has seen the addition of a new stage for the Kids’ Show and live events, as well as the installation of an elevator between the upper and lower lobbies.  Many of those changes as well as community outreach efforts have made the Coolidge Corner Theatre a significant part of the Brookline community and Coolidge Corner.

“I feel like we’re one of the cornerstones of Coolidge Corner; we definitely bring a lot of people into the area who otherwise might not have any reason to come here,” Thompson said.  “Brookline’s an unusual town in many ways and I like to think that we’re one of the best things about it.  Along with the Brookline Booksmith, of course.”