Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center
90 Main Street,
Sag Harbor,
NY
11963
90 Main Street,
Sag Harbor,
NY
11963
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 49 comments
Although the facade had to be replicated the signage was salvaged and repaired. This signage is a replication of the original fabricated less than ten years ago at a cost of $22,000.
Current article about rebuild.
https://www.curbed.com/2021/05/sag-harbor-rebuilt-cinema-first-look.html?fbclid=IwAR2VcQ6a3ycEPVPGzhB_JVae4bM7wBXlJv12_Llg9i5i_M6xEYz7Vkbh5lg
Theatre will have soft opening on April 9th, with the official grand opening on Memorial Day Weekend according to press release. Uploaded grand opening pictures.
Announced today that the theatre will officially reopen April 9th. No details of the how.
Uploaded an image of the Elite from the Sag Harbor Historical Society which appeared in “A Century of Celluloid in Sag Harbor” in the February 16, 2016 Sag Harbor Express. Article can easily be Googled online.
There are now three auditoriums. Theatre 1 233 seats 4K projection, 10 x 10 Dolby Atmos; Theatre 2 90 seats 4k, 16mm, 35 mm projections, Dolby Sound; Theatre 3 (on the new third floor) a 38 seat screening room available for rental and use by student exhibitors. Actual physical tours can be booked at this time but the venue is not open for regular usage during Covid restrictions.
https://www.sagharborcinema.org/a-pictorial-tour
Photos of the completed rebuild post fire.
As the Elite participated in a September 1920 ad in Paramount Week for a special exhibiting event.
I remember seeing one movie here, The Music Man. My family would go on vacation for two weeks in the Noyak section of Southampton where we had a summer home. It was raining one day, so my parents took us to the movies here.
Please update, the is going to be 3 screens when it reopens. Total seats 366 It should be listed OPEN and the website is sagharborcinema.org
Now called the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center. Currently doing virtual programs until the grand reopening.
Just saw a news story on News 12 where they relite the refurbished signage on the new building facade (which replicates the old). This was done symbolically to signal the rebirth of the cinema towards the end of this year.
Don’t know what it cost to build but it was sold in 1929 for between $35,000 and $40,000. Before the fire the asking price was 14 million. Talk about appreciation, or it is greed.
The Sag Harbor Partnership purchased the cinema for 8 million dollars in January 2018. This was made possible in part by a 1.5 million dollar grant from the state. In October 2018 the restored sign was illuminated (see uploaded photo). It is hoped that the 6 million dollar renovation will be completed this year.
The village planning board has approved a proposal for the rebuilding of the theater with a projected cost of $6 million. A public hearing will be held on April 12th. Under the plan the facade of the old theater will be replicated using the refurbished neon sign. The auditorium will be split in two with seating of 200 and 100. Additional footage will be added to the second and third floors. The second floor will be the home to a 49 seat screening/class room. A grand staircase will connect the floors and there will be a ground floor cafe.
The non-profit Harbor Partnership purchased the building for $8 million earlier this year.
As we approach the first anniversary of the disasterous fire which occured on December 16, 2016, I would like to give you details of a wonderful book which has been published in 2017:
“Sag Harbor:100 Years of Film in the Village” by Annette Hinkle. Published by East End Press and available from Amazon for $35.00
With 128 pages and hundreds of photographs (many in color), the book charts the history of the theatre and others in the town, right up to that fateful night. It is a ‘must’ for any collector of cinema buildings books.
The May 18, 2017 Newsday reports that Billy Joel has contributed $500,000 to the rebuilding project which entitles him to naming rights of the theater’s popcorn stand.
This pushes fund raising efforts to $2.25 million. The Sag Harbor Partnership signed an agreement on April 6 to buy the property from the owner at an asking price of 8 Million but they must have 75% of this pledged by July 1st. (Originally the quoted asking price before the fire was $18 million.)They also hope to raise an additional $5 million to rebuild the iconic facade, upgrade the sound and projection in the main theater and add two smaller screening rooms.
And another local piece:
http://patch.com/new-york/southampton/despite-demolition-lobby-sag-harbor-cinemas-seating-interior-remains
Stories are conflicting about the auditorium itself. Time will tell.
FYI, another local piece.
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Sag-Harbor/505536/Sign-For-Historical-Sag-Harbor-Cinema-Is-Saved-By-Serendipity
I wouldn’t think that moviebuff. The roof collapsed and they put tons of water on it. From the accounts I read the place was a total loss except for the signage. Also, from accounts I read previously there was a small balcony. After the demo of the facade there is no signs of that.
thankfully the theater interior didn’t suffer any major damage just the exterior.
The reality is the signage is a reproduction of the original. A decade or so the sign was replaced. I seem to recall the cost at around $22,000.
Demolition video and saving of the sign.
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/General-Interest-Southampton/505412/Officials-Sag-Harbor-Cinema-To-Be-Demolished-By-Saturday
Uploaded fire aftermath photo from Newsday.com.