AMC Fantasy 5
18 N. Park Avenue,
Rockville Centre,
NY
11570
18 N. Park Avenue,
Rockville Centre,
NY
11570
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 115 comments
Perhaps they are modernizing, and trying to get a jump on Regal’s proposed reconstruction of the nearby Lynbrook Theatre. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a LieMax screen go in here, with a stadium seating upgrade to the other auditoriums. Not sure what a million dollars buys you, these days, in terms of cinema upgrades.
The AMC website now says: Temporarily closed while we make upgrades you are going to love. Please join us at AMC Raceway 10 (Meadowbrook Parkway and Zeckendorf Blvd) while this theatre is temporarily closed.
The Fantasy is currently closed, undergoing what the permit in the window calls a $1 million renovation. The permit says there will be work on Level 3 (the upstairs where screens 4, 5 and 6 are) and on the marquee.
The front glass doors are covered in brown paper, except for one door, where it is possible to see construction dumpsters in the lobby.
The marquee and one sheet displays remain lit, still advertising the features that were playing this past Friday, as well as upcoming attractions.
Showtimes are not available on the AMC website nor on Fandango.
I hope they are installing bigger screens, because there sure is room for them. There is plenty of space around the current screens on both the top and bottom, and on the sides.
And while they are renovating, maybe this is a good time to update the Fantasy’s description on this page, which is woefully scant for a theater with such a long history of movie exhibition. Any additional information is appreciated.
I saw “Saving Mr. Banks” here.
Must be the case with the Shore in Huntington. They should spend a couple of bucks ‘cause you drive right past it at night since is no marquee. Will all the changes of ownership they should just put up the theatre names.
It may be that AMC merger agreement with Loews-Cineplex may have specified that the Loews name remain on some theaters or it may be similar to the choice made when Regal was formed to keep some theaters operating under the Edwards and UA brands just as Cinemark has kept (and opened) some theaters under the Century and Cine Arts labels. Or, perhaps, they just do not want to spend the money to have the theaters re-signed.
Why is that mylar “Cineplex Odeon” sign still up? It’s starting to rot away by now and makes all the new neon look a little shabby. (And how come so many Loews signs are still up and not replaced by AMC signs, such as at the Raceway
The universal thread in the comments is the lack of upkeep of theatres.
My wife and sister-in-law visited this theater just a couple of days ago to take the kiddies to see “Madagascar 3.” They report that the auditorium they sat in was quite dirty and overall the theater seems to be running down on the inside, despite the recent of expense of refitting the outdoor vertical sign.
Beautiful shots, Ed. Just saw them, almost by accident. (I wasn’t notified of a new post to this page…still a few bugs in the system, I guess. It seems we have to manually subscribe now; just making a comment doesn’t automatically subscribe us.)
Hey saps… Finally got those images up of the marquee lit up nice and bright at night.
You the man!
Hey saps! Sorry I haven’t gotten around to taking a pic yet, but been busy of late. I did actually pass by one recent evening, but did not have my good camera on me. The lighting effect of the new neon along the vertical is very subtle and I don’t think a cell phone camera would do it justice. The letters F A N T A S Y along the blade are backlit with neon to provide a reddish glow behind the letters that helps define each character. I don’t want to make any empty promises, but I’ll try to get over there sometime this weekend to snap a couple of shots.
I wouldn’t say they had the same look, except for the official Century carpet, and the fact they dated to the 1930s,but they were well maintained.
When I was in High School back in the early 70s I used to sub usher here sometimes. My main house was Centurys Grove in Freeport. In the 70s, all the Century Theatres had just about the same look, and were kept very clean and in top shape
This theatre is actually in pretty good shape, and they just spent thousands of dollars rehabbing the giant verticle blade sign with new neon tubing. It glows bright red instead of its previous pink, and looks really impressive.
Hey, Ed Solero! Get out your camera and document this for us, OK? Thanks in advance!
That’s the way they do it. I keep reading similar comments on most of the theatres. Century was about the only one that had a good maintenance reputation. UA, Cineplex, etc. just let things slide. Hey, most of these places are leased anyway so the company has no real interest in maintaining them.
Sadly they have let this place fall to crap
Ed,
Thanks for the offer to take a few shots of the lobby and also your great description of the interior space. I look forward to seeing your photos.
Jimly… I go here from time to time and will gladly snap some shots for you, but it’s pretty non-descript. The lobby now takes up about 2/3 of the full width of the building. Standard generic carpeting (I think it’s blue), concession stand is in the back right of the lobby, box office is still facing the street and takes up the right front side of the lobby as you walk in. Bathrooms are on the far right of the lobby. There are a few steps down to the left of the concession stand to get to the two (I believe) downstairs theaters, and against the far left wall is the long escalator and staircase leading up (and down) the remaining theaters on the 2nd level. If you enter through the doors just to the left of the box office, there is a half wall that runs about a ½ the way into the lobby, I suppose to separate those who enter the theater from those who would exit through the two sets of doors that are opposite the escalator and staircase. At the end of the half wall, there is a column on which a framed photo (no bigger than an 8"x10") showing the Fantasy’s original facade from 1929. In fact, it is the very same vintage view that Warren G Harris posted on April 28, 2008. And THAT is the ONLY trace of the old Fantasy Theater that remains!
AMC is letting this fall to crap, the vertical and marquee have so many burned out bulbs.
Does anyone have any recent images of the interior lobby and the area around the concession stand?
Thanks Lost Memory.
What’s the point in updating the chain names. They change as often as banks.
That’s because the AMC Empire was always an AMC theater, one of a small handful in the New York area, and the only one in Manhattan.