The downtown multiplex known as Metro Movies, located at 140 Main St., is a Middletown institution and a mainstay in the life of many Wesleyan film lovers. With its eye-catching light green exterior, colorful neon signage, and convenient location just a short walk from campus, it has been the go-to place to see new releases in town for decades. A movie theater has stood at that location in the Metro Square shopping complex for over 23 years, longer than most current Wesleyan students have been alive. Yet the saga of how Metro Movies came to be is somewhat tumultuous. Over the decades, its developments have been narrated by various articles in The Argus.

The first Argus article discussing this story, written by Contributing Writer Andrew McIntosh ’00 was published in the April 30, 1997 issue of The Argus, with the headline “Movie Theater May Open in Metro Square.” The article discusses the broad effort to revitalize downtown Middletown which was occurring at the time and encompassed an array of projects, including the encouragement of new businesses to open along Main Street and the beautification of existing businesses. McIntosh described how four boards of local volunteers joined in on this effort, advising but working independently from the city of Middletown’s Department of Planning and Zoning. 

“Each board has a different objective, summed up in the acronym DOPE—design, organization, promotion, and economic development,” McIntosh explained.

One major piece of this initiative’s economic development component was a proposal to open a theater in Metro Square.

“The ten screen movie complex will possibly be situated in Metro Square, an area which currently suffers from severe economic depression,” McIntosh wrote. “The movie theater will be funded privately as a result of the $4.3 million price tag on the property.”

A theater on Main Street was seen as an important initiative, as DOPE believed Middletown’s downtown was lacking in attractions related to arts and culture.

“The movie theater fits into DOPE’s scheme of economic development because it targets an untapped market for revenue,” McIntosh wrote. 

However, the plan to open a theater encountered a major roadblock when Metro Associates, the owners of Metro Square, declared bankruptcy in Dec. 1997. This development was detailed in the Sept. 11, 1998 issue of The Argus in an article entitled “Middletown Movie Theater Delayed Indefinitely,” also written by then-News Editor McIntosh.

“The theater’s opening was stopped because the second mortgage holder for the plaza has raised objections to the substance of the lease between Destinta Theaters and Metro Associates,” McIntosh wrote. “The planning commission and other Middletown agencies have okayed the theater, but the only stumbling block remaining in the process is the bankruptcy filing.” 

This did not prove a permanent roadblock, though. In June of 1999, the new movie theater at Metro Square finally opened for business under the name Destinta Theaters. The Argus, being away on summer break, was not able to cover the opening until the start of the fall semester. In the article “Finally, Movie Theater Opens in Middletown” from the Sept. 3, 1999 issue of The Argus, Editorial Writer Oliver Haslegrave ’01 detailed the process behind the new theater’s opening. 

“Five days after the class of 1999 graduated and Wesleyan closed its doors, Destinta Theaters opened the long-awaited twelve screen movie theater in Metro Square,” Haslegrave wrote.

The plan had evidently evolved since 1997 to include two more screens than initially announced. In addition to noting some of the popular, then-current offerings at the new Destinta, such as “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” Haslegrave explained how the legal turmoil noted in McIntosh’s earlier article had been resolved, allowing the theater to be built. 

“Construction of the theater began in mid-January [of 1999] after a bankruptcy court approved the lease between the New Jersey-based Destinta Theaters and Metro Associates, the owners of Metro Square, a shopping center at the corner of William and Main Streets,” Haslegrave wrote. “Metro Square declared bankruptcy in December 1997. Therefore any new lease agreement had to be approved by a bankruptcy court.”

Haslegrave also shared student opinions on the new Destinta Theaters at Metro Square, which shed an interesting light on the student moviegoing culture of 23 years ago. 

“Physically, the theater is nice, and it is ideal if you want a good new release and don’t want to drive 20 minutes to Berlin,” Samantha Smith ’01 was quoted as saying. “[But] I don’t think people will go there instead of the Film Series, because the Film Series is cheaper and has better movies.”

In an age before students could conveniently stream movies on demand in the comfort of their dorm rooms, the Film Series seems to have been more central in spreading new, popular films. By contrast, its current programming features a more eclectic mix of older and lesser-known films, with a few current releases. 

Destinta Theaters operated for 13 years in the same space that is currently home to Metro Movies. The theater came under new management in July of 2012, when the chain RC Theaters acquired the property, renovated it, and renamed it Metro Movies, a nod to its Metro Square location. 

This update was also covered in The Argus, in an article appearing in the Sept. 18, 2012 issue that bore the headline “Metro Brings Theater Updates.” The article, written by Arts Editor Adam Keller ’14, narrates a personal experience visiting the then-new Metro Movies to see the film “ParaNorman.” Keller characterized the new Metro as a welcome change from Destinta, which had become somewhat run-down during its 13 years in business. 

“The charmingly sketchy ‘Destinta’ movie theater has been rebranded as ‘Metro Movies,’ with new management RC Theaters and a swank pastel green paint job,” he wrote.

Keller praised the theater’s conversion from aging film projectors to new digital ones. 

“Destinta provided a pretty good theatergoing experience for its main attractions, but the smaller cinemas had dirty lenses, dim projector bulbs, and horrible smells,” Keller wrote. “[Metro’s] digital projection was as bright and sharp as it could’ve been.”

Keller’s perspective contrasts interestingly with those from other time periods. In 1999, Smith’s comments characterized Destinta as an attractive, well-maintained theater, but, given the details in Keller’s article, it had clearly fallen into disrepair by 2012, shedding light on the business’s changing reputation over the years. 

Additionally, in the last decade, digital projection has become a dominant standard, while watching movies on film has become an attractive, nostalgic medium for many cinema lovers. In 2012, digital projectors represented an obvious upgrade over decaying film ones, but these days, screenings on 35mm are special attractions at Film Series, and directors make it a point of pride to share that they shot on film.

Ultimately, Keller was highly positive about the new Metro Movies.

“I know where I’ll be spending my weekends,” Keller wrote.

Since Keller’s article, The Argus has not written any major updates regarding Metro Movies. However, the cinema has been mentioned in The Argus a handful of times, whether in passing as the location where the author of a movie review saw said film or included on lists of recommended off-campus attractions in Middletown. With the tenor of these mentions shifting from major news updates to casual references, we can observe the transition of Metro Movies from an intriguing new business to a local institution, where generations of students have gathered to appreciate the art of cinema. 

Oscar Kim Bauman can be reached at obauman@wesleyan.edu. 

“From the Argives” is a column that explores The Argus’ archives (Argives) and any interesting, topical, poignant, or comical stories that have been published in the past. Given The Argus’ long history on campus and the ever-shifting viewpoints of its student body, the material, subject matter, and perspectives expressed in the archived article may be insensitive or outdated, and do not reflect the views of any current member of The Argus. If you have any questions about the original article or its publication, please contact Head Archivist Sam Hilton at shilton@wesleyan.edu.