Menlo Park Twin Cinema

Menlo Park Cinema tribute group formed!

A tribute to Central New Jersey Movie Theaters that brought happiness to thousands of people but have sadly been demolished. The theaters may be gone but the memory lives on and here is a place were we can discuss, reminisce, and remember.

This group can also be open to other thetheaters the surrounding areas such as Somerville, Plainfield, Westfield and other areas of Somerset County. Please feel free to post your stories and in particular any ads, photos or memorabilia you may have. Many Thanks and…enjoy the show!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenloBlueStarCinemas

Oh the memories you folks have rekindled. All the great people who worked here, Mr.Rizzo, Thom T, Abe and Joe and Jerry K. Some of you know me, Mark Pusillo, the last projectionist to work there in Dec 1991 when the place closed. My dad Joe P. worked there as well. Sadly, he passed on over 14 years ago. But the memories, from “Star Wars” to “Close Encounters” to “Grease” to whatever. This was THE place to be in the late 70’s into the late 80’s. It was really hard for me at the end because General Cinema hired me and Ed H. the other projectionist at the time, to strip the interior of whatever was useable, from equipment to seats. I have said for years that many of the old theatres should not have been destroyed, but this one and the Woodbridge Twin (former Walter Reade) were true crimes. Neither of these should have ever come down, espescially Menlo Park, for what? That sheetrock multiplex they put in the mall? Anyway it was great to read all the old stories, Thanks.

I lived in Staten Island in the summer of ‘77. I was unemployed at the time, and went to see a matinee of “Star Wars” its first day. I walked right in; the theater was only half full on a Wednesday afternoon. I went back a few weeks later to try to see it again. By then, word had gotten out, and the theater was sold out. Even with the air conditioning out on a hot July day. Needless to say, I blew it off.
I went back there to see “Empire Strikes Back” three years later. By then, I had a job (I took the day off) and waited about three hours to get in. It was well worth it.

I worked at the Menlo Twin in the summer of 1989 – even then we knew it was going once the new multiplex opened over at the mall, but it was still a shock for me when I got back from Alaska in 1992 and it was totally gone. I worked with some good people and still have some good memories of that summer, and now I drive by that spot and think about what was.

If I knew I wouldn’t have asked, bonehead!

Beginning when?

Was screen #1 really THX certified as claimed in a post from Feb 2?

“Was Menlo Park running 70MM long before it did with ‘Star Wars’ ???”

Menlo Park did not run the original “Star Wars” in 70mm. The first 70mm engagement at Menlo Park I’m aware of was “Alien” in 1979.

Did the Menlo Park lobby have a waterfall of some type in it?
( GCC Central Plaza in Yonkers did )

Saw the theater’s opening day newspaper ad on www.fromscriptotdvd.com and it mentions “Beautiful gardens” with an illustration resembling a waterfall. The ad appears in the list of 70mm equipped theaters section on that site.

Thanks.

Justin –

Even if the Rockaway 16 had 70mm it would do no good as there are no new films being made or presented in that process. Michael’s articles about 70mm in New York are fascinatiing reading for anyone who grew up in this area.

Justin:
In addition to Peter’s recommendation of the American Widescreen Museum, I’d also like to recommend the “70mm in New York” article that Bill Kallay and I put together a couple of years ago.

View link

The American Widescreen Museum is a great resource for a general history of 70mm (and other widescreen processes). But do also check out “70mm in New York” if you want to know which films played in 70mm and in which theatres in the greater New York City region (including North Jersey). The films that ran in 70mm at MENLO PARK are included.

By the way, those simultaneous engagements of “Star Wars” at MENLO PARK did not begin on the same date. The Screen #1 engagement began on May 25, 1977; the Screen #2 booking began on June 10, 1977. (Sorry, I do not at present have the closing dates.)

35 millimeters :)

Seriously, 70mm offered a much larger film area than 35mm and looked stunning on a large screen. Go to www.widescreenmuseum.com and read up on it.