By ABBY BRAVO
Editor-in-Chief
Within less than 24 hours, Albany has lost two of the final independently owned movie theaters in the area. Both the Landmark Spectrum 8 Theatre and the Madison Theatre, announced their closures during the week of Valentine’s day.
The Spectrum 8 has been a staple in the city for over 30 years and specializes in arthouse films along with traditional screenings of new movies. Their final screening was on Thursday, Feb. 22 and while they are closed, a new owner is predicted to come soon.
Co-founder of the theater, Keith Pickard, told the Times Union in a recent interview that he hopes the Spectrum “remains a theater” and that there is hope that a new owner will take over the Spectrum soon after the closure.
Closer to the Saint Rose campus, the beloved Madison Theater announced its closure on Feb. 16 in a Facebook post, in tandem, giving their condolences to the Spectrum 8 theater on their closure.
“Small business owners everywhere can truly understand how hard of a decision it was to make…As ironic as the timing may be, The Madison Theatre’s last showing will be on 2/25/24,” wrote the theater in their Facebook post.
This comes as a big blow to the Pine Hills community, as they continue to suffer continuous losses along with the closure of Saint Rose. The strip where the Madison Theater sits, has faced continuous issues with the closing of the CVS on the corner of Madison Ave. and South Main Ave., as well as Bard and Baker cafe leaving in May of 2020. Now, all that will remain is Motor Oil coffee which moved into Bard and Baker’s space last semester.
“One of the big draws for the Pine Hills neighborhood was that it had everything in it, a grocery store, a cafe, a library, a pharmacy, and a movie theater,” wrote Kyla Mayberry, a senior communications student at Saint Rose.
Students from the college viewed the Madison Theater as a convenient and affordable way to spend time with friends when they were not doing school work.
“It’s a shame because it’s such a central part of the community and it’s affordable,” wrote senior communications major, Nicole Ferraro. “The student discount got me a ticket for nine dollars which is unheard of in New York State. For me, back home, I’m paying $20 for a movie ticket.”
This same sentiment is felt by Mayberry as well. “I’ve gone to see movies there since freshman year when I bought their movie membership. The tickets were always more affordable than going to the mall would’ve been and it was a nice local atmosphere,” she wrote.
The closure of the Madison was not due to financial issues according to owner Kevin Parisi. He told the Times Union that his decision to sell the theater is due to his “other commercial real estate ventures.”
Parisi also told the Times Union that the theater is already in discussions with new owners who plan to make minimal changes to the theater outside of slight renovations.
Albany Mayor, Kathy Sheehan, has told multiple news outlets that she is looking for new operators for both the Spectrum 8 and the Madison Theater.
Both theaters are not expected to remain vacant for long, as they both have high hopes for the new buyers. In Regards to the closure of the Landmark Spectrum 8, the Madison Theater wrote, “We are extremely confident that they will be back up and running in no time at all. We want to wish all involved an easy transition and look forward to the reopening in what will hopefully be the near future,” they wrote in a post on Facebook.
