Harvard Square Loews to Close

Dear reader, I feel like I’m the bearer of bad news lately. First the demise of FNX and now this: The Crimson is reporting that the AMC Loews in Harvard Square (nee the Harvard Square Theater) will close its doors for good on July 8.

Ryan Noonan, the director of public relations for AMC Theatres, wrote in an emailed statement [to the Crimson] that the theater will be sold as part of a continual effort to improve the quality of the AMC theater chain.

“We encourage AMC guests to visit our other nearby AMC locations, including AMC Boston Common 19, which is approximately five miles away,” Noonan said in his email.

But, I don’t want to go to the Boston Common. I want to ride my bike from Somerville to Harvard Square, grab a beer at nearby Cambridge 1, and then decamp to the intimate theater to see “Rock of Ages,” thank you very much.

The saddest part about the shuttering is that the Full Body Cast will have to find another location to stage “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” The company has been performing the cult classic there every Saturday night since 1984 — that’s a lot of rubber gloves, toilet paper, and pieces of toast. (Lest you think that no one goes to see Brad and Janet do the “Time Warp” again these days, here are some photos of the weekly shenanigans that Erik Jacobs shot for Boston.com last year.)

Change is inevitable, especially in Harvard Square — and I’ll continue to frequent the nearby Brattle and Kendall theaters and the Harvard Film Archive, of course — but I don’t think I can take another blow to our collective past for at least a few weeks. I’m still reeling over Filene’s Basement.