Contrary to the heading on this site the pylon is still there. It has now been covered by a fabric banner advertising Olney Vineyards developments. At 55 MPH that was all I could glean.
It’s interesting that of the 17 Newburgh theatres listed on CT only two are open; both are single screen. One goes back to the beginning of the 20th century the other is in the beginning of the 21st.
Before the illuminated sign was erected atop the concrete slab marquee there was a sign announcing the Elmont Theatre. It didn’t say Century. As a rule Century had it’s name out there on any project which they initiated. This was probably a lease that Century bought into late in the contruction phase. And the name Argo is strange since the Argo Village section of Elmont was no where near the theatre. Guess the name Elmont wasn’t as desirable.
And past it’s closing it was the site of some really big Flea Markets each Sunday. I was local and just called it the 110 Drive-In. In that immediate area were also the Massapequa, Hempstead Tpke (in Bethpage/Plainedge) and Johnny All Weather in Copiague.
Great photos. I concur that it’s unlikely that any of the original architecture is likely to exist with all the exposure to the elements. I was only in the Westbury once, before it was twinned. As I recall there was no balcony. Just sort of a stadium seating along the lines of the Plainview. Hence, no exterior fire escape stairs.
Long time since we’ve heard about these renovations. Also the Paramount in Huntington. They seemed to have stopped work on the Suffolk in Riverhead. The Islip plan fell through as did the Patchogue Plaza with the latter rumored to be demolished in May.
And what has happened to this project. The Islip deal fell through, the Patchogue Plaza deal fell through, work seems have stopped on the Suffolk in Riverhead and I haven’t heard any more about the Westbury.
It seems as all the plans to revitalize theatres on Long Island are falling through. There were plans for the Islip. A recent newspaper article says they’re going to tear down the Patchogue Plaza rather than going for for the Media Arts Center. Work seems to have stalled on the Suffolk in Riverhead. Haven’t heard any more about the Westbury or the Paramount in Huntington.
I signed up to get program alerts from you guys at one of those Alive After Five evenings in Patchogue. I have yet to attend a screening but, if the stars are in perfect allignment and you’re showing something I’d like to see……In the meantime keep up the battle. I don’t see what’s announced as being related to the efforts you have been making. Now, a couple of years ago, demolition would have been the preferred option.
I thought that the original building was going to be used rather than tearing it down and rebuilding. When you look at the artist’s rendering of the PlazaMAC exterior it just looks like a renovation of the old building.
Interestingly, if you look at the CT listing for the Cambria in Cambria Heights, there is some discussion about the Cameo being known as the Cambria for a period of time. No reference to that here though even in the AKA portion.
I noticed that, too, the other day. What always surprised me about the pylon was that it just said Whitman Theatre. Century was never shy about identifying their properties, particularly on the facades of their later theatres. Perhaps a zoning thing. The simple design may be the reason for it’s survival; it’s innocuous.
In theory the last name standing is the CT rule (not always observed) and as you note problematic. As a Long Islander I know the new name and access it as such. It could also be argued that one would look up the name of the community and try the entries there hoping a specific AKA would appear.
Prior to the time I created this site there was quite a bit of discussion about the Edwards on the Old Post Office (also East Hampton) site. It’s probably not feasible to have that moved over here so check it out.
Back in the day people would come at their convenience and leave when the part they came in on came around. You could never do that now. I remember the cashier at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC telling me that one woman came during her lunch break and stayed for 20 minutes. The next day she came 20 minutes later, etc. The cashier said that after the second day she never charged her again. What a way to see a movie.
When it was built this theatre probably cost less than $35,000. Now it’s going to cost ten times that much to bring it back to life.
While in Montreal for Expo 67 I saw Two For the Road here. English with French subtitles. As with smart films playing in foreign markets (I remember the audience in Ghent at a Touch of Class sitting silently while I was laughing)it didn’t go over too well with the locals.
Erwin – I could swear the lyrics specifically mentioned the Center Theatre coming down, or at least that’s what I heard. But that was 60 or so years ago.
They are really pushing the Plaza Media Arts concept with a lot of publicity and the showing of indy films at a local site under the PLAZAMAC auspices. They are on the web at www.plazamac.org They are also on facebook as plazamac.
It’s interesting, in its ads Century Theatres always referred to themselves as being on Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. And by rights Brooklyn is Kings County, Manhattan is New York County and Staten Island is Richmond.
Contrary to the heading on this site the pylon is still there. It has now been covered by a fabric banner advertising Olney Vineyards developments. At 55 MPH that was all I could glean.
Did they ever finish the conversion to a church. There was still construction on the facade when I was in the area at the end of the year.
It’s interesting that of the 17 Newburgh theatres listed on CT only two are open; both are single screen. One goes back to the beginning of the 20th century the other is in the beginning of the 21st.
It’s interesting that of the 17 theatres listed on CT for Newburgh only two are open, both single screen one from 2006 the other from the early 1900s.
Before the illuminated sign was erected atop the concrete slab marquee there was a sign announcing the Elmont Theatre. It didn’t say Century. As a rule Century had it’s name out there on any project which they initiated. This was probably a lease that Century bought into late in the contruction phase. And the name Argo is strange since the Argo Village section of Elmont was no where near the theatre. Guess the name Elmont wasn’t as desirable.
And past it’s closing it was the site of some really big Flea Markets each Sunday. I was local and just called it the 110 Drive-In. In that immediate area were also the Massapequa, Hempstead Tpke (in Bethpage/Plainedge) and Johnny All Weather in Copiague.
Great photos. I concur that it’s unlikely that any of the original architecture is likely to exist with all the exposure to the elements. I was only in the Westbury once, before it was twinned. As I recall there was no balcony. Just sort of a stadium seating along the lines of the Plainview. Hence, no exterior fire escape stairs.
Long time since we’ve heard about these renovations. Also the Paramount in Huntington. They seemed to have stopped work on the Suffolk in Riverhead. The Islip plan fell through as did the Patchogue Plaza with the latter rumored to be demolished in May.
And what has happened to this project. The Islip deal fell through, the Patchogue Plaza deal fell through, work seems have stopped on the Suffolk in Riverhead and I haven’t heard any more about the Westbury.
It seems as all the plans to revitalize theatres on Long Island are falling through. There were plans for the Islip. A recent newspaper article says they’re going to tear down the Patchogue Plaza rather than going for for the Media Arts Center. Work seems to have stalled on the Suffolk in Riverhead. Haven’t heard any more about the Westbury or the Paramount in Huntington.
I signed up to get program alerts from you guys at one of those Alive After Five evenings in Patchogue. I have yet to attend a screening but, if the stars are in perfect allignment and you’re showing something I’d like to see……In the meantime keep up the battle. I don’t see what’s announced as being related to the efforts you have been making. Now, a couple of years ago, demolition would have been the preferred option.
I thought that the original building was going to be used rather than tearing it down and rebuilding. When you look at the artist’s rendering of the PlazaMAC exterior it just looks like a renovation of the old building.
The theatre was purchased at auction for $100,000 according to a reference in Lost Broadway Theatres by Nicholas van Hoogstraten.
Interestingly, if you look at the CT listing for the Cambria in Cambria Heights, there is some discussion about the Cameo being known as the Cambria for a period of time. No reference to that here though even in the AKA portion.
I noticed that, too, the other day. What always surprised me about the pylon was that it just said Whitman Theatre. Century was never shy about identifying their properties, particularly on the facades of their later theatres. Perhaps a zoning thing. The simple design may be the reason for it’s survival; it’s innocuous.
In theory the last name standing is the CT rule (not always observed) and as you note problematic. As a Long Islander I know the new name and access it as such. It could also be argued that one would look up the name of the community and try the entries there hoping a specific AKA would appear.
Prior to the time I created this site there was quite a bit of discussion about the Edwards on the Old Post Office (also East Hampton) site. It’s probably not feasible to have that moved over here so check it out.
I knew Century had a Paramus Theatre but didn’t realize they had other Jersey locations.
Back in the day people would come at their convenience and leave when the part they came in on came around. You could never do that now. I remember the cashier at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC telling me that one woman came during her lunch break and stayed for 20 minutes. The next day she came 20 minutes later, etc. The cashier said that after the second day she never charged her again. What a way to see a movie.
When it was built this theatre probably cost less than $35,000. Now it’s going to cost ten times that much to bring it back to life.
While in Montreal for Expo 67 I saw Two For the Road here. English with French subtitles. As with smart films playing in foreign markets (I remember the audience in Ghent at a Touch of Class sitting silently while I was laughing)it didn’t go over too well with the locals.
Erwin – I could swear the lyrics specifically mentioned the Center Theatre coming down, or at least that’s what I heard. But that was 60 or so years ago.
I remember a rather bizarre show, presumably on NBC, celebrating that “The Center Theatre’s coming down”.
MarkieS the old drive in is listed. Do a lookup by city – Valley Stream and it’s there.
They are really pushing the Plaza Media Arts concept with a lot of publicity and the showing of indy films at a local site under the PLAZAMAC auspices. They are on the web at www.plazamac.org They are also on facebook as plazamac.
It’s interesting, in its ads Century Theatres always referred to themselves as being on Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. And by rights Brooklyn is Kings County, Manhattan is New York County and Staten Island is Richmond.