Lafayette Theatre
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
37 people
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Good question, Jeff. That’s what we were told by some folks from the school system – I don’t know if it was called Lafayette Avenue at the time or if it also got named that at the same time.
So Pete, do you suppose then the street was named after the theater, or the theater named after the street?
You’re welcome. One thing that’s missing from the profile I wrote above is that the theatre had no name when it was being built. At some point during the construction phase, a contest/survey was held among the local school children and they were the ones who named it “Lafayette”, after the Revolutionary War figure who had been in the area. Perhaps they constructed the marquee to facilitate adding the name later? Sadly, the microfilm I was using didn’t go back to the 20s.
Lost Memory -
The Lafayette opened in 1924, so the Nanook showing must have been a later run of the film. When I was researching the newspaper archive a few years ago prior to our 3D festival, the earliest ads from around 1934 said ‘Lafayette Theatre’ on them. We also have a very old newspaper from around 1927 on display in the lobby that has listings and it also says only ‘Lafayette Theatre’.
Lost Memory – Thanks for the photos. Besides my sister’s florist, the other businesses in this theater building during the early 50’s were a womans' dress shop,(sorry I can’t recall the name), Haddad Photography Studio and a Christian Science Reading Room. In 1957, my sister rented the space next-door (which had been the reading room), broke thru the walls and added a “gift shop” to her florist. I spent many after-school days just hanging around. I also took “oil painting lessons” from a woman named Miss Adams, I think, who had an art studio located in one of the upstairs areas. This particular space was later leased to a lawyer. Next month I’m hoping to visit with my sister and look thru some old family photo albums. I would like to find additional pics and info.
Continued thoughts! Here is a copy of a post I just made for the Dyker theater — along with summer travel plans!!
Especially for BoxOfficeBill. You haven’t posted lately, but I hope you are still keeping in touch. I re-read your comments here, and looked for others concerning Cinema Treasures. You have renewed my interest in theaters; and from what you wrote, I see we are the same age. If, just if…my family had stayed in Bay Ridge, I could have easily experienced all the same “memories” of the Dyker. So, a special thanks to you (and others) for making this theater come to life through your wonderful descriptions and narratives. BTW…I am planning a drive to Suffern, NY, in August intentionally to visit the Lafayette. I emailed my sister about this site and my posting. She sent the following reply:
Yes the Dyker and Lafayette Theatres pictures and comments were interesting,…in 1945 I opened up my florist just before Christmas, must have sold the business around 1967. It is a very beautiful theatre and I have gone several times last year and heard the big organ being played.
Hello again – Please add to my comment above: For 25-30 cents, not only did we see the Saturday Serial presentation, but we also enjoyed a cartoon or two, the latest world “Newsreel” and… the featured film!
Hello – I just found this site, and I am delighted to read the comments and to view some of the photos. Before I write about the Lafayette theater, I would like to relay some information which I also posted for another “Cinema Treasures” – the Dyker Theater. My father, along with one partner, owned the Dyker Theater. I never had the opportunity to visit this building as my family had moved from Brooklyn to Northern NJ in 1934 – eight years before I was born. My father took care of the day-to-day management until his “retirement” at this time, but continued to lease the theater to RKO until his death in 1968. I had always thought the Dyker was sold immediately, torn down and made into a parking lot!! So, it is especially nice to know many people still enjoyed the movies for a few years after and loved this theater building as much as my father did.
As it turns out, our home in NJ was very near Suffern, NY, where the Lafayette is located, still in operation and designed by the same architect as for the Dyker. We went to the Lafayette frequently and especially for the weekly Saturday serials in the late 40’s and early 50’s. For 25 or 30 cents, you could see the continuing adventures of The Lone Ranger and Superman. Also, does anyone remember the Halloween “costume” contests at the Lafayette during those years, too? All the children received prizes of games and toys!! Another fact: My older sister, a florist, rented a shop for her business (from 1945 till ~1965) that was located at one end of this theater building, “Joyce Flowers.” So, although I never got to see The Dyker, I remember the Lafayette Theater well and look forward to a visit!.
The season opens this Saturday – March 10 – at 11:30am with Shirley Temple in The Little Princess, presented in 35mm dye-transfer IB Technicolor!
Here is the complete schedule for the spring:
March 10 – The Little Princess starring Shirley Temple, in Technicolor
March 17 – High Sierra starring Humphrey Bogart & Ida Lupino
March 24 – Sullivan’s Travels starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
March 31 – Boy’s Town starring Spencer Tracey & Mickey Rooney
April 7 – The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, presented in Technicolor
April 14 – A Night to Remember starring Kenneth More & Honor Blackman
April 21 – White Heat starring James Cagney & Edmund O'Brien
April 28 – The Thief of Bagdad starring Conrad Veidt & Sabu
May 5 – The Cameraman starring Buster Keaton, this silent comedy classic will have live Pipe Organ accompaniment by Jeff Barker
May 12 – Follow the Fleet starring Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers
May 19 – Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni, George Raft, & Ann Dvorak
May 26 – Monkey Business starring The Four Marx Brothers
June 2 – Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur starring Robert Cummings & Priscilla Lane
June 9 – Mister Roberts starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, William Powell, presented in CinemaScope
June 16 – The Looney Tunes & Comedy Festival featuring classic cartoons & other comic delights…
not to be a nudge….but when are we getting the current season of classics??
Pete,
Any chance of the film noir weekend that was cancelled happening this year?
Keep up the great work!!
Thank you, Peter. I am very happy to read your comments about our work and will pass them on to the gang – thanks for your support. 2024? Maybe my son will be running the projectors by then :)
Rhett – I hope to have the full schedule ready to announce in the next two weeks or so (learning from past experince not to count on anything until I get a confirmation) – no clues, but there will be a terrific assortment of shows.
Pete Apruzzese
Thank you to Nelson Pete Bob Jeff and the entire Lafayette Theatre staff for a GREAT 2006!! The Christmas show on Dec 16th was OUTSTANDING!! Big screen classics with the ENTIRE Crimsion Ghost seriel.The organ playing before regular hollywood flicks on Sat nite.
Since Galaxy Theatre Corp toook over the theatre(2002)and renovated the entire interior including a new silver screen,DTS sound system projection,there is NO DOUGHT that this is THE FINEST MOVIE THEATRE ON THE ENTIRE EAST COAST!!
Keep up the good work for 2007.08,09…
2024 is the 100th anniversry of the Lafayette,I will be keeping that date open!!!
So….Pete…how bout some clues as to the next BigSceen series….going crazy here
PeterApruzzese: Do you have any pictures of the interior of the Lafayette? Would really like to see some of the lobby and auditorium.
Thanks Bill. Yes, it was a treat.
Last night Celeste Holm made a personal appearance at the Lafayette for a screening of her 1956 film “High Society”. What a treat to see her in person – she was so charming. Jeff S took these pictures of her:
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One more night to remember at the Lafayette.
Understood…good job Pete
Hi, Rhett.
I appreciate your constructive comments and support of our shows.
The reason for yesterday’s show was because of the brutally bad condition of reel 6. The print as it came in had no ending – at least the last 20 feet of image (of Shane riding off) was missing as well as the entire ending Paramount logo. What I did to make it play as smoothly as possible was to remove the Paramount logo from the beginning of the film (after it ran, obviously) and attach it to the end of reel 6 (since that opening logo had a nice picture fade up and out). While I rode the sound – fading down on the last 12 feet of image, I started the curtain closing just as the Paramount logo was hitting the screen, making for a better presentation of a bad print, IMO.
Normally, I time the curtain close so that the audience never sees a white screen (which is the way I was always taught and the real old-timers here will back me up on). I’ll cheat a little and wait a bit longer sometimes if the film doesn’t have a long end cast, but most of the films from the era we’re playing are timed to have a curtain close over their final 8 seconds or so of end-title image.
Thanks.
Saw “Shane” yesterday. What a great film which gets me thinking…we have no good movie heroes today. It’s easy to see how a young boy can be influenced by Shane.
Now, yet another nitpick….once again, the curtain closed early on the ending, thus, causing distraction and and blocking the music tag at the very end where it says “A Paramount Picture”. This is the 3rd time this season where I felt a little ripped off at the end (Kane, Becket and this) where eitherthe curtain, lights or both marred the final impact of a great film. That final tag on “Shane” was always a great final moment but the curtain seems to be closing too early on these films. Why not wait until the final frame? Realizing it wasn’t the best print (I;m not complaining as I’m grateful to the Lafayette for getting thse great films) For the record: The Lafayette is THE BEST theater around. I didn’t even renew my Film Forum membership but I leave the theater a little disapointed as a final moment is gone because of an early curtain (BTW…people move when the curtain goes or lights come up and the old couple behind me were up and out, hitting my head before the film even ended.
Neat pics, Bill, thanks for posting.
See you Saturday!
To get you in the mood for Saturday’s screening of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane”, here are some pictures I took in October 2005 of the house in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles where the exteriors of the movie were filmed in 1962. It looks a lot better now that the bars have been taken off the windows.
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Just got back from a superb showing of “Psycho” at the Lafayette. The 46-year-old print was in amazingly good condition, and Bernard Herrmann’s shrieking violins scared everyone in the place, mainly because they were played at the most effective volume. The movie ended with one of the most enthusiastic and sincere rounds of applause I’ve ever heard at a classic film show.
Forgot to add:
The Horror & Science Fiction Festival 2006 is this weekend at the Lafayette! Nowhere else will you see PSYCHO, THE CRAWLING EYE, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, HOUSE OF USHER, and ROSEMARY’S BABY in one great festival…
See the news item posted here: http://cinematreasures.org/news/15378_0_1_0_C/
Thanks, Bill. Glad you noticed the music – you were one of three who knew what it was and figured out why I played it. I overheard a couple of people say that they thought it was music from The Omen!
Rhett – the lights coming up a little early on Becket was a mistake. The overhead lights are controlled from the projection booth and I never turn those up until a “The End” hits the screen. But the sidelights (which you are referring to) are controlled from downstairs and they must have faded them up as people started to come in to the lobby (before the film was over, during that last long shot), thinking the film was over. I’ll make certain the manager knows in the future not to turn them up until he sees a “The End”, or whatever the first credit is, on-screen. Unfortunately, our litigious society prevents us from keeping the house lights down until the curtain closes.