Amboy Multiplex Cinemas

amboyurbex, I give you a ton of credit for going in there and getting photos. The air must be foul. I was in there in late 2008 to get screens and sound equipment out and the air was stale then. And rumor has it cinema 1 and 2 flooded during Sandy when the Raritan River swelled. You brought back a flood of memories for me when I saw those projection room photos. Spent 21 years working there.

Is the cinemas building in any danger of colapsing?

Hey all. I am back. Sorry for the belated response. Sadly this isn’t a site I frequent too much. It appears my photos and story were spread on Facebook, which is fine, but what I didn’t account for was this site seems to show highly detailed and revealing EXIF data. A person I know did find me to give me a heads up. To those who found me, I am not afraid of being found and respect your perseverance, but I would at least like to stay on the down low until that theater is demolished. I would like to add that while I did enter the building, I did so in a respectful way to document and preserve what was left behind.

I decided to delete all the pictures I already posted here so unfortunately your comments are gone. But as an added bonus, I decided to add them again with some more pictures from that day. I am not really a fan of the upload feature of this site and that EXIF thing causes me to double my efforts to share my work, so I may upload a few more shots in the future.

To answer SNdoniB_1999’s question: Sadly there were no posters of movies on the walls. There were ads for food and there was a mural for the upcoming Madagascar painted on the front window. I did not get a photo of that because I didn’t want to shine my flashlight on the widows what with Route 9 and the Parkway being right there. The front windows are boarded up, but a little light does shine through and I would assume my light would be visible to the outside. I honestly felt exposed being in the lobby using my flashlight to light anything really.

It appears the sinkhole is there and I knew of it before going there, but I didn’t see it. It could be I overlooked it or that it was hidden under the concession stand. In any case, I was extra cautious there and spent little time by the concession stand because I was not sure of the nature of the sinkhole. I didn’t want to fall into it if it was bad.

Whar was the name of the drive-in that was there?

Can they claim this property as some type of tax write off??? If not, why didn’t they sell it off before retail went down hill??

Is there any plans to fix and reopen these cinemas?

My email is

AmboyUrbanEx there are no words to express how much I want to thank, my mom used to go to this theater all the time like to see films Indiana Jones 3. She was really taken back by all these photo. God bless you !!!!!!

While I agree with you about not going in there, thanks for the photos, particularly the projection room. I spent 21 years working in that booth. The theater you took the photo with no screen has to be either 8 or 14. We removed those screens in dec 2008 to take to the Ritz in Elizabeth. I think a lot of the water damage is from the fact vandals have stripped the a/c units on the roof.

I went inside Amboy Cinemas last year. I will not tell anyone how I got inside, nor will help anyone do it and/or accompany them. For the record, I will never go in there again. It is situated by the Parkway, Route 9, and Route 35 and even though I know what I am doing, I consider myself incredibly lucky I was not detected at all considering the high traffic all around. Not to mention, just days after I gained access a cop killed himself on that property, which scared me and made me hesitant to share these photos. I don’t want to sound harsh, but I want nothing to do with anyone else’s urban exploration excursions unless I know and trust them. Maybe when they tear the place down, I can reveal my research and methods, but until then, I do not wish to have any part in anyone’s plans to go there.

That said, I posted a few photos of my time there. It is very dark in there and once I gained access, the air was old and stale. There were many signs of water damage but it seems like no one vandalized the building and it seems like very few people have ever been inside since it closed. Although there was evidence of people messing around with what was left. Much of the office furniture is there as well as movie related equipment. I walked into only a couple theaters. Some posters and signs were still up. One of the last movies that played there was Star Wars Episode III, and they had mentions of the cartoon Madagascar coming there soon.

If you have questions, I will be happy to answer some, but nothing related to gaining access. I know people will feel the need to go now that I revealed it can be accessed so I will offer one last warning and advice. Do not go if you are unprepared, ill-equipped, and did not do the proper scouting prior. If you do, you must not be detected at all including from the highways. I have had the cops called on me by a person passing in a vehicle just for taking pictures on an overpass (legally). Consider any passerby a snitch and in that location, someone will see you unless you know the correct access point and time to go… and have luck on your side. It is also 100% dark inside and there are many hazards on the floor. Do not think a cell phone flashlight will be enough to see. I had to change the batteries on my main light, and I used my cell phone to see that. It was not enough to see across the theater. I would suggest to not do it, but I won’t tell anyone what to do.

December 7th, 1979 grand opening ad in the photo section. National Amusements also opened the Showcase Cinemas North on the same day in Pittsburgh and maybe the Sunrise cinemas on Long Island.

Shit I’d do a job like that, all that facinates me. Also the theatre was very dull colorish. red, white, maybe like a beige color too. I’m trying to imagine how it can look, ah man. I just don’t get why it’s not alllowed to go inside, because once they say to take it down, it’s going all garbage