Ventnor Square Theatre

5211 Ventnor Avenue,
Ventnor City, NJ 08406

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Showing 1 - 25 of 67 comments

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on March 9, 2023 at 11:54 am

Please update, theatre was restored an open on June 16, 2001 under new management and closed December 2, 2004 as a Twin

rivest266
rivest266 on March 9, 2023 at 9:18 am

The Ventnor theatre opened on July 8th, 1922. Grand opening ad posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on March 8, 2023 at 4:21 am

Reopened as the Ventnor Twin on June 15th, 1979. and posted.

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on May 20, 2021 at 11:06 am

Please update, grand opening May 22 with 3 screens and total seats 334 based on theatre ticketing system. Theatre 1 264 Theatre 2 37 and Theatre 3 33.

fred1
fred1 on May 16, 2021 at 1:18 am

Will have new operators https://www.squaretheatres.com/

Crazy Bob Madara
Crazy Bob Madara on September 29, 2020 at 12:06 pm

I worked there as a union projectionist from 1973-1984. I also lived in the top floor Apt. on Weymouth Ave., in 1974-75. I have one of the old Western Electric 35mm sound projectors in my garage. When the Franks twinned it in 1979, I became manager/projectionist.

Cdelross
Cdelross on August 14, 2020 at 9:23 pm

I forgot about that slope in the floor! It was so pronounced that you had to be careful setting a drink or anything that could tip over onto it. I mean, I’ll be real honest, by the time I started going here on my own in the mid 90s, it really wasn’t in great shape. But I found everything about it charming, even the weird mildew smell.

As far as the renovation, they’ve obviously run into many issues, the most recent being Covid, and two years into the process, it still looks a couple months off from being operational.

Cinedelphia
Cinedelphia on May 4, 2018 at 8:50 am

More good news re The Ventnor Theater. In an interview on Downbeach Buzz from mid April, one of the new owners indicated the following: The theater will be gutted and more than likely end end up as a 3 screener. All screens will have State of the Art projection and multi-track (7.1) Dolby Digital Sound. There will be one what he termed “large format” room with a 50 ft screen. The apartments above the theater will be converted into a “Burger Bar” and a separate bar. Food/drinks will not actually be sold in the auditoriums but patrons may bring in food/drinks from the Burger Bar and Bar. Another adjacent building is to be torn down which will open up plenty of parking in a large lot behind the theater. The theater will be re-named the “Ventnor Square Theater” and is expected to be open by Spring 2019 and remain open year round.

Cinedelphia
Cinedelphia on April 27, 2018 at 7:00 am

Your memory of the Ventnor Twin is accurate. The theater on the right was much narrower than the larger on the left. The smaller theater had a 2.40 to 1 screen with side masking that was positioned pretty high on the wall and the seating rows had an odd slope…kind of like an S. The last film I saw in the smaller theater was in 1997 (Conspiracy Theory)and I do recall that the picture quality was dark and murky and the sound tinny mono. I don’t recall whether the larger theater on the left had masking (the last two films I saw there were in ‘scope) but the screen was really big and appeared to have an aspect ratio of around 2.2 to 1. At some point the larger theater had Dolby sound installed but not Dolby Digital.The last two films I saw in the big room were Forrest Gump and True Lies. As I recall, the projection for both films was quite good. I would guess that whatever renovation is done, it will include digital projection and digital surround sound.

Mikeoaklandpark
Mikeoaklandpark on April 26, 2018 at 6:33 pm

I was there once when it was a twin but the only thing I remember is the theater on the right had masking and the left did not. If I recall correctly it was a tacky split.

Cinedelphia
Cinedelphia on April 26, 2018 at 5:21 pm

The guys who bought it have the Harbor Square Theater in Stone Harbor. Based upon what they did with the Harbor Square they will gut the theater and completely renovate. It will be interesting to see if it remains a two screener or if they divide it up into more screens. The larger auditorium at the Ventnor as I recall is quite wide and had a very large screen. If left intact dimensionally that large room could potentially be one of the best places to see a film at the Jersey shore.

Mikeoaklandpark
Mikeoaklandpark on April 26, 2018 at 2:06 pm

This is awesome news.

Cinedelphia
Cinedelphia on April 26, 2018 at 6:35 am

Very, very good news for folks at the Jersey Shore and fans of the old Ventnor theater. In an unrelated article (it was about the Margate beach front issues)in today’s Phila Daily News there was a blurb “the long decrepit but historic and much loved Ventnor Twin was purchased by the owner of the Stone Harbor boutique movie theater who plans a similar bar-theater- restaurant complex”. Sounds promising to say the least.

Cdelross
Cdelross on August 11, 2016 at 7:58 am

I love this theater more than I can possibly explain. Movies are pretty much my favorite thing in the world and this is the place where my love of them really took hold. I’d save my allowance and pedal my bike from my parents house on buffalo avenue to see whatever they had playing. I’ve thought long and hard about trying to purchase the theatre and get it operational again, but I’m not a wealthy person so I’d need investors. If anyone has a million bucks or so sitting around (I’ve got to imagine it needs a lot of work after the hurricane) and wants to talk logistics, feel free to get in touch haha.

Mikeoaklandpark
Mikeoaklandpark on March 21, 2014 at 3:47 am

The theater was not twined until the late 70’s. Saw Earthquake there and Midway. The last season as a single theater it went to a dollar discount theater. One of the opening features as a twin was Kramer Vs Kramer. Please UPDATE overview information.

jillperry
jillperry on March 20, 2014 at 9:54 pm

This building is still available for purchase. It was the LAST operating theater on the Absecon Islands. Worked there for many years. If anyone is interested in buying and attempting to revitalize it, if possible can contact me via email

jillperry
jillperry on March 20, 2014 at 9:51 pm

There was a theater in Ventnor Heights called the Ventnor Plaza. My father, George Perry, relocated here from Massena NY to open it under perry management in the 60s. It was a dual movie theater. Played host to premieres, one I can recall was “Seduction” starring Morgan Fairchild, which her and the stars attended. My father hosted many FREE movie days in appreciation to those that served the community for the Local Policemen and their families (it was touching at his funeral some remembered and honored him by attending). He also made first run movies available to his children’s school and had buses of kids coming to theater for a day out to see a movie. He was very giving to the community and his empoyees at this theater. The bright orange ticket booth with the candy counter stand out in my memory most. It is the first place I ever worked or helped out. It was eventually sold to the Frank Family of Theaters that operated the remaining majority of theaters in the community. It reopened for a bit as other businesses, and now remains closed, believe due to damage from flood water from Hurricane Sandy.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on September 7, 2010 at 7:25 pm

Needed a much larger marquee to do the movie titles justice.In 1981 picture.

cljahn
cljahn on September 7, 2010 at 6:22 pm

Ken – the theatre at Ventnor Plaza was called “The Ventnor Plaza Twin.” I lived a few blocks away, and saw a lot of movies there. Last time I was there, it was a video rental store about to close.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 3, 2009 at 10:27 pm

Boxoffice Magazine reveals the date the Ventnor reopened with Armand Carroll’s handsome deco-moderne interior (seen in the 1936 photos linked in Warren G. Harris’s comment of May 15, 2008, comment above.)

The September 26, 1936, issue of Boxoffice ran an article about theater grosses in the Atlantic City area. One line reads “…and Ventnor in Ventor city also reported grosses topped previous season despite the fact that the Ventnor house was only rebuilt and opened on July 4, missing a month of good business.”

The Boxoffice item corroborates Warren’s 1936 trade journal photos as to the year the Ventnor reopened, but this Cinema Treasures news post says the house was reopened in 1938, after the original 1921 theater was destroyed by a fire. Unless the place was rebuilt twice in two years, the claim of a 1938 reopening must be an error. Unfortunately, the news post doesn’t cite a source for the date or for the information about a fire.

The wording of the Boxoffice article doesn’t make clear if the Ventnor was closed for only a month for rebuilding (an awfully brief time for a major project) or had merely lost a month’s business from the busy summer season, but it does use the word “rebuilt,” suggesting that, at the least, the house had been gutted, so a fire is a possibility. A planned rebuilding probably would not have been scheduled at a time that might keep the house closed during its busiest season.

This message board page includes some discussion of the Ventnor Theatre, and some pictures of the facade.

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on February 13, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Hi Newt, Thank you for the update! When you drove by, did you notice if the windows are boarded up, and if a wooden fence is surrouding the theater? Is the building being prepped for demolition? If so, and it won’t be landmarked, then I will notify the party who may “transport” the theater elsewhere. Please let me know as many specifics as you possibly can. Thank you!