Not listed in the 1970 Film Daily Yearbook. Listed in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac under New Brunswick as Rutgers Plaza Cinema I & II.
In Time Life’s book “This Fabulous Century 1920-1930”, there is a picture on page 244 of “Shipwreck” Kelly sitting on top of a flagpole on top of BF Keith’s theatre in Union City. Must have been quite a fad back then…
Most likely they are the same theater. The 1951 FDY lists both, with no address for the Mt. Holly. The 1956 FDY lists the Fox with no address and the Mt. Holly at 48 Main Street. The 1970 FDY lists the Mt. Holly theater under the Fox Theatres corporate listing.
AND THE WINNER IS — EAST ORANGE
Hollywood Theatre reopening paves city’s walk into a new era
Friday, March 03, 2006
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
It was hailed as the Fifth Avenue of New Jersey, an upscale boulevard lined with elegant restaurants, jewelers, furriers, top retail stores and pricey specialty shops.
Anchoring the strip was the Hollywood Theatre, a plush, 1,629-seat movie palace where Spencer Tracy once walked the red carpet and where people from across Essex County flocked to watch the latest films in style.
For Central Avenue in East Orange, those glory days died long ago. The restaurants became fast-food joints. The fancy shops traded deluxe for discount. And the Hollywood, after a long decline, went dark, its last showing in 1986.
Yesterday, East Orange officials, business leaders and city residents, some old enough to remember Central Avenue’s heyday, celebrated with Academy Awards-style fanfare as the Hollywood officially reopened, bringing a touch of luster back to the faded strip.
Renovated at a cost topping $2.5 million, the new five-screen Hollywood Cinemas represents more than a place to watch movies. To Mayor Robert Bowser, it represents a tangible step in the struggling city’s revitalization.
“It’s a total rebirth for Central Avenue and the rest of the city,” Bowser said.
Raymond L. Scott, president of the East Orange Chamber of Commerce, called the Hollywood’s revival “the most wonderful thing that’s happened in East Orange.”
“It signals our growth in commerce and prosperity for the city,” Scott said. “I just hope our residents, businesses and visitors take time to stop by and watch a good movie here.”
The theater opened for business in December, but yesterday’s ceremony gave those in the community a chance to celebrate the achievement together. About 175 people toured the building and gathered in the movie house’s lobby, its floor covered in Wedgwood blue carpeting, as a three-piece combo played soft jazz.
The theater will soon be complemented by an East Orange Walk of Fame, patterned after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in which the names of famous entertainers with some connection to East Orange will be engraved on 2-foot squares embedded in the sidewalk.
As if at their own Academy Awards ceremony, three city council members unsealed envelopes before the crowd and announced the Walk of Fame’s first eight inductees, whose engravings will be unveiled at a May 16 ceremony.
They include singer-actress Queen Latifah, singer Dionne Warwick, jazz musician Slide Hampton and actor Derek Luke, who played Antwone Fisher in the film of the same name.
The other inductees, all deceased, are pop-country singer Eddie Rabbitt and jazz greats Cozy Cole, Walter Davis Jr. and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
The Hollywood owes its rebirth to a group of businessmen led by New York investor Edmondo Schwartz, who said studies showed the potential for a theater in East Orange, a city of 69,000. Before the reopening, the closest theaters were in Newark and West Orange.
“We’re real excited, real excited. It’s been a great reopening,” said Schwartz, whose father owned a chain of RKO theaters in New York and New Jersey. “Everyone who has come to see a movie has reacted so positive.”
One of Schwartz’s partners, Robert Grimes, echoed city officials in saying the theater could spur redevelopment.
“We hope our opening will encourage other business to come into the community,” Grimes said.
Once, that wasn’t a problem. East Orange — and the Hollywood — was a destination. The theater opened in 1925 and thrived for decades, its ornate copper facade and red tile roof marking it as a showplace. Decorative moldings covered the interior walls, and moviegoers sat in cushy maroon seats.
The theater’s biggest moment may have come on May 16, 1940, during the premier of “Edison, the Man,” a motion picture based on the life of inventor Thomas Edison, a one-time resident of West Orange. Spencer Tracy, the movie’s star and Hollywood’s top box office draw at the time, attended the premier with his co-star, Rita Johnson.
By the 1960s, as theater attendance declined across the nation, the Hollywood started its downward spiral. As receipts dropped, maintenance suffered. Twenty years ago, it closed its doors after a showing of “Commando” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The renovated building has 944 seats across its five theaters. It also has digital projectors, plush stadium seating, oversize screens, a new marquee and free on-site parking. Off-duty East Orange police officers provide security.
Staff writer Mark Mueller contributed to this report.
Beautiful photo can be found in the book “Urban Landscapes A New Jersey Portrait” by George A. Tice
The photo is from February 1974. That Man Bolt and High Plains Drifter are the features. The theatre’s marquee reads “The New International Cinema”
Listed as the Capitol Plaza Cinema under GCC in the 1970 Film Daily Yearbook. Listed as the Capitol Plaza Cinema I & II under GCC in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac.
In the 1956 FDY, the Crescent is listed as closed, however, the ROYAL theater is listed as open at the same address with identical 631 seats. In the 1961 FDY, the Royal Theater is listed as part of the Snaper Circuit.
Also listed as part of Hunt’s Theatres, Inc. in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac. Another multiple affiliation.
Listed in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac under GCC as Shrewsbury Plaza Cinema I & II.
Not listed in the 1970 Film Daily Yearbook. Listed in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac under New Brunswick as Rutgers Plaza Cinema I & II.
Listed in the 1956 FDY as part of Independent Theater Service, Inc.
In Time Life’s book “This Fabulous Century 1920-1930”, there is a picture on page 244 of “Shipwreck” Kelly sitting on top of a flagpole on top of BF Keith’s theatre in Union City. Must have been quite a fad back then…
Also listed in the 1944 FDY.
My photos from 12/10/05. The history is shown on this sign, right under my nose all of this time:
View link
Old lobby:
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Side:
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Rear:
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My photos from 12/10/05:
Actually the date is 1895 –
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Old program from 1931:
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Was previously known as the Broadway Theatre. Compare this postcard to the previos one:
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Most likely they are the same theater. The 1951 FDY lists both, with no address for the Mt. Holly. The 1956 FDY lists the Fox with no address and the Mt. Holly at 48 Main Street. The 1970 FDY lists the Mt. Holly theater under the Fox Theatres corporate listing.
Listed in the 1944 FDY.
AND THE WINNER IS — EAST ORANGE
Hollywood Theatre reopening paves city’s walk into a new era
Friday, March 03, 2006
BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff
It was hailed as the Fifth Avenue of New Jersey, an upscale boulevard lined with elegant restaurants, jewelers, furriers, top retail stores and pricey specialty shops.
Anchoring the strip was the Hollywood Theatre, a plush, 1,629-seat movie palace where Spencer Tracy once walked the red carpet and where people from across Essex County flocked to watch the latest films in style.
For Central Avenue in East Orange, those glory days died long ago. The restaurants became fast-food joints. The fancy shops traded deluxe for discount. And the Hollywood, after a long decline, went dark, its last showing in 1986.
Yesterday, East Orange officials, business leaders and city residents, some old enough to remember Central Avenue’s heyday, celebrated with Academy Awards-style fanfare as the Hollywood officially reopened, bringing a touch of luster back to the faded strip.
Renovated at a cost topping $2.5 million, the new five-screen Hollywood Cinemas represents more than a place to watch movies. To Mayor Robert Bowser, it represents a tangible step in the struggling city’s revitalization.
“It’s a total rebirth for Central Avenue and the rest of the city,” Bowser said.
Raymond L. Scott, president of the East Orange Chamber of Commerce, called the Hollywood’s revival “the most wonderful thing that’s happened in East Orange.”
“It signals our growth in commerce and prosperity for the city,” Scott said. “I just hope our residents, businesses and visitors take time to stop by and watch a good movie here.”
The theater opened for business in December, but yesterday’s ceremony gave those in the community a chance to celebrate the achievement together. About 175 people toured the building and gathered in the movie house’s lobby, its floor covered in Wedgwood blue carpeting, as a three-piece combo played soft jazz.
The theater will soon be complemented by an East Orange Walk of Fame, patterned after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in which the names of famous entertainers with some connection to East Orange will be engraved on 2-foot squares embedded in the sidewalk.
As if at their own Academy Awards ceremony, three city council members unsealed envelopes before the crowd and announced the Walk of Fame’s first eight inductees, whose engravings will be unveiled at a May 16 ceremony.
They include singer-actress Queen Latifah, singer Dionne Warwick, jazz musician Slide Hampton and actor Derek Luke, who played Antwone Fisher in the film of the same name.
The other inductees, all deceased, are pop-country singer Eddie Rabbitt and jazz greats Cozy Cole, Walter Davis Jr. and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
The Hollywood owes its rebirth to a group of businessmen led by New York investor Edmondo Schwartz, who said studies showed the potential for a theater in East Orange, a city of 69,000. Before the reopening, the closest theaters were in Newark and West Orange.
“We’re real excited, real excited. It’s been a great reopening,” said Schwartz, whose father owned a chain of RKO theaters in New York and New Jersey. “Everyone who has come to see a movie has reacted so positive.”
One of Schwartz’s partners, Robert Grimes, echoed city officials in saying the theater could spur redevelopment.
“We hope our opening will encourage other business to come into the community,” Grimes said.
Once, that wasn’t a problem. East Orange — and the Hollywood — was a destination. The theater opened in 1925 and thrived for decades, its ornate copper facade and red tile roof marking it as a showplace. Decorative moldings covered the interior walls, and moviegoers sat in cushy maroon seats.
The theater’s biggest moment may have come on May 16, 1940, during the premier of “Edison, the Man,” a motion picture based on the life of inventor Thomas Edison, a one-time resident of West Orange. Spencer Tracy, the movie’s star and Hollywood’s top box office draw at the time, attended the premier with his co-star, Rita Johnson.
By the 1960s, as theater attendance declined across the nation, the Hollywood started its downward spiral. As receipts dropped, maintenance suffered. Twenty years ago, it closed its doors after a showing of “Commando” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The renovated building has 944 seats across its five theaters. It also has digital projectors, plush stadium seating, oversize screens, a new marquee and free on-site parking. Off-duty East Orange police officers provide security.
Staff writer Mark Mueller contributed to this report.
Old postcards:
View link
View link
Beautiful photo can be found in the book “Urban Landscapes A New Jersey Portrait” by George A. Tice
The photo is from February 1974. That Man Bolt and High Plains Drifter are the features. The theatre’s marquee reads “The New International Cinema”
Also listed in the 1970 FDY as a GCC theater (under a Plainfield location).
Just goes to show that even the FDY’s aren’t 100% accurate.
Listed as the Capitol Plaza Cinema under GCC in the 1970 Film Daily Yearbook. Listed as the Capitol Plaza Cinema I & II under GCC in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac.
Listed in the 1944 FDY. Listed in the 1970 FDY as part of Frank Theatres, Inc.
Listed in the 1944 FDY. Listed in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac as part of the Sameric Corporation. Listed as the Eric Playhouse.
In the 1956 FDY, the Crescent is listed as closed, however, the ROYAL theater is listed as open at the same address with identical 631 seats. In the 1961 FDY, the Royal Theater is listed as part of the Snaper Circuit.
Here is an old photo of the Royal:
http://www.jhalpin.com/nj/perthamb/royalthea.jpg
Listed as part of Warner Bros. in the 1944 FDY. Listed as CLOSED and part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.
Listed as part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.
Listed as part of Warner Bros. in the 1944 FDY. Listed as CLOSED and part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.
Listed as part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.
Listed as part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.