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Inside the Niantic Cinema, Connecticut

A few years ago a friend of mine made a documentary called Music Palace. It both celebrated and lamented the fate of one of the last remaining Chinatown movie theaters in America, the Music Palace on Bowery. The theater was about to close, and he made his film as an elegy to a passing time.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit my parents in Connecticut. One night I took my mother to the movies at the Niantic Cinema, the movie theater in the center of town. A small theater, it was the one theater in the region that would show somewhat artier fare. The blockbusters went to the theater in Waterford, although I do remember sitting in the front row watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when I was in high school. We joked about seeing him crush spiders two feet wide underfoot in front of us.

For a while, the Niantic Cinema operated as a second-run theater; now I'm not sure what it's niche market is. Perhaps it caters to the summer crowd and the locals who don't feel staying close to home.

The Music Palace still sits, empty. I once had a dream of refurbishing it and showing Chinese art films, contingent upon winning the lottery. I had a lot of plans for imaginary lottery money. As do most people, I suppose.