This is the first of three articles in a series looking at the evolution and current status of movie theaters in Berkshire County.

 

The expansion and remodeling of Images Cinema at 50 Spring St. in Williamstown reflects the unusual cinematic landscape of Berkshire County in the wake of a very disruptive period that was sparked by the COVID pandemic of 2020.

 

Images, which is operated by a non-profit community-based organization, had been one of the last single-screen movie theaters in the country. In 2023, it launched a fundraising campaign to convert it into a multi-screen theater. The first step in the $2.5 million project was conversion of an adjacent storefront into a lounge with a bar and event space capable of also showing films for small audiences.

 

In October 2025, the main theater was closed for construction to create two auditoriums in its existing space and an adjacent section of the building, which Images has a long-term lease on.

 

"We ripped out everything and did a brand-new build of the interior," said Executive Director Dan Hudson.

 

Images used the lounge as a temporary substitute for the main auditorium during the construction. It reopened the main auditorium as a 70-seat venue on Memorial Day with "First Look," a series of the year's top films. It is also putting the finishing touches on a second 18-seat screening room which is slated to open in early July.

 

"We held a soft opening in May when the main auditorium was completed," said Hudson. "We're still doing the final work on the other new auditorium for a grand opening of the entire completed theater in early July, hopefully on the Fourth."