The Charles Theatre

1711 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA

Related:	senate theatre
Address:	1711 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Phone:	+1 410-727-3464
Site:	thecharles.com
Rating:	4.5

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 11

Alexia S

Horrible experience. It all began with parking. I parked in the lot directly across the street and the owner Dale was extremely rude and disrespectful. I had to ask him when and how to pay, had I not, I could have left the parking lot without paying anything. He huffed and puffed as he yelled "you can pay me now, 2 dollars." I asked for a receipt he motioned his hands to shoo me away and told me to go. I asked for a receipt again and he blew his breath, wrote the receipt and tossed it my way. I get to the theatre and the young lady who helped me at the box office was pleasant and apologized on behalf of my parking experience. I went to the concession stand and the cashier was clearly peeved and annoyed with the customers, not to mention my cherry coke was watered down and flat. However, when I went to get my ticket ripped, the young lady on door was pleasant. Inside the theatre there was a customer being obnoxious and yelling through the ENTIRE showing of Southside With You. After about an hour, I spoke to the manager and I was told that they would ask the individual to leave. The manager came into the theatre for ONE MINUTE, the person yelled at least once while she was there, and she quickly left back out. And of course, as soon as she left out the person was still yelling at the screen. She never asked him to be more considerate, she did not offer to refund my ticket, or anything. I have worked in a theatre and I know that my experiences could have been handled much, much differently. This was very disappointing and made a lasting first impression. I will never visit here or recommend this awful theatre to anyone, EVER. Im shocked to see so many enjoy it.

A Private User

The Charles Theatre often has the indie films that you can find no where else in the area. They are cash only and have an array of drinks and movie goodies that are not outrageously priced like those at AMC or Regal Cinema theatres. I love their selection and look forward to which movies are coming on their website, as it is the only place to catch really great foreign films or ones with limited release. They have a Cinema Sunday subscription available which is really interesting. For a fixed price you can see several movies on Sunday mornings accompanied by a talk or discussion pertaining to the film. You always get an interesting sprinkling of people sitting in the nicely renovated lobby and the theatre is sandwiched between two excellent places to eat. Im not crazy about the location which can be a bit dodgy in the evenings if you dont park on that one block or in the adjacent garage. If you park behind the block or a little farther up Charles st (dont do that), make sure youre not alone in the dark.

Bebe Verdery

The Charles, my favorite theatre, does not offer caption options as the big box theaters do, and I can no longer come to shows because I cant hear the words. It is so depressing to be deprived of all the films I want to see at the Charles and have to veto outings with friends there. I got no reply to my email asking when/if they would begin to offer captioning (a device that fits into the cup holder and allows you to read captions, like captions on TV shows). Sure its probably expensive to install initially so lets have a capital campaign. I am not deaf but hard of hearing and from the age span of others Ive seen there, I think this is a major issue for many attenders. Its just not worth the frustration to sit through a movie and hear only half the dialogue. Charles, pls wake up and work on this!

Colin Freas

Ok. The Charles. I love the place, I do. Its Baltimore through and through. But its got issues. The seats are uncomfortable. The theatres cramped , the screens small. The floors are sticky. But I see a movie there once or twice a month. The selection of films for a movie buff if spot on, and there is literally no other show in town. In the pro column, the concessions are cheap for the movies, the tickets are reasonably priced. I want to five it 5 stars, and in one sense, its a 5 star place. But in another sense, its a 1 star place.

Ant J

Beautiful venue. I love the nostalgic feel I get as I walk in to this area. Had the opportunity to see "Check it!!" (The film tells the story of the 1st documented Gay gang who forms to protect themselves in one of DC most notorious neighborhoods. ) Google about the film. But the seating was adequate for the size of the participating audience and theyre connected to a restaurant next door. Great for a dinner and a movie meet/date night. Its also appropriately located in a very artsy part of Baltimore!

Isabella Louis

The guy who took our tickets was incredibly unfriendly.. he also had us wait before we could enter the movie even though it was only 2 minutes before the showtime. He said it was because they were still cleaning the theater, and when we entered there was popcorn, wrappers, and old cups everywhere. It seems that they only cleaned the very front rows so that it looked presentable to those entering. The film I saw was great though. And overall its a great theater, but the white staff could be better.

Terry Simmons

Truly a special place. You wont see the commercial blockbusters here, but you will see indie films, foreign films, and classic cinema from around the world, as well as special events: talk backs with directors and discussions with film professors. Follow the schedule and find your interest. Theres always something worthwhile, and the admission is reasonable. You can bring to go cups from the bar next door if youd like to have a beer or glass of wine with your film.

Yaz Wright

Everyone complaining about how "crappy" the building was or bad the experience was, were most likely young kids or misinformed. This is a nice, small historic building that provides the experience that was intended. If youre looking for a modern-day building with huge seating capacities then this is not the place for you. Perfect for a cute date night in a small, quiet, mature and respectful audience. Not an environment for children or teenagers.

Ben Brown

Fantastic place! Went to a John Waters Q/A. We were waiting in line and then found out that the tickets I printed out needed to be exchanged for real ones at the box office. A guy who worked there let my friend go in and then I got to jump line and catch back up after I got my tickets exchanged. I probably would have been screwed out of a good seat elsewhere. Oh yeah and its BYOB how could you hate this place??

A Private User

I am an urbanite. I do not like to leave the city. Fortunately, the best movie house in the entire metropolitan area is in central Baltimore City. If you like quality cinema, and not just the Hollywood commercial stuff, youll love the Charles. Its not a slashing, overlit, assault on the senses, suburban mall type theater. This place keeps the emphasis were it belongs; presenting quality - intellegent films

jan angevine

I love the whole thing, culture, films, historical presence. I love it. I would so appreciate if The Charles could upgrade their sound systems. At The Charles, I find the sound muddled and dialogue indistinct. While at the Landmark, for example, the sound is crystal clear; I can understand each word. Id rather the films at The Charles, but I always come away stressed-out by the sound system.