Bow Tie Cinemas History

The history of Bow Tie Cinemas begins over 100 years ago, in the era of the Nickelodeon, when B.S. Moss began his long and illustrious career providing popular entertainment to the public.

The business of operating street front Nickelodeons quickly gave way to Vaudeville, which was the heart of B.S. Moss Theaters until the 1930s when B.S. Moss sold his last Vaudeville theater and dedicated himself fully to building and operating motion picture theaters.

In 1936, B.S. Moss opened the Criterion Theater, known then as The Theater of Tomorrow, on Broadway in the heart of Times Square. The Criterion was the first motion picture theater built exclusively for the exhibition of talking motion pictures. It operated continuously for 63 years and was the home of several major New York film premiers including Sleeping Beauty, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, Lawrence of Arabia and Alien.

Today, Bow Tie Cinemas is dedicated to continuing in the traditions of its founder by returning style and elegance to the movie-going experience. Bow Tie Cinemas owns and operates 128 screens in 17 locations in Connecticut, New York, Maryland and Colorado. In addition, Bow Tie Cinemas is currently constructing 17 new screens in Richmond, Virginia. For more information on Bow Tie Cinemas, please visit www.bowtiecinemas.com.