I worked here as a usher in the summer of 1974. It was my very first job out of high school and was very excited. The only movie I saw during my whole tenure there was The Exorcist. It must have played the whole summer. The manager was an old woman, Mrs. Hallad, who was too cheap to sell fresh popcorn or fountain soda, so one of my jobs was to handle a cigar box with change in it, so customers could feed the vending machines that dispensed these items. She did'nt believe in snack bars! After seeing The Exorcist about 10 times, and since we were bored out of our minds, myself and another usher would amuse ourselves by taking Tic Tacs and throwing them one by one over the partition that separated the auditorium from the vending machines, hoping to bean a innocent customer on the head! I know, my bad.
I do remember the projection booth had 2 projectors that used carbon rods. The lobby had 1 wall that was mirrored, to give the effect of it being bigger than it was. There were 4 poster cases on the walls, with frames to hold 30x40 posters, instead of the usual 27x41 1-sheets. Along the mirrored wall was a small utility closet, with among other things, a huge stack of presskits and trade magazines like Independent Film Journal and Boxoffice. Several copies of these magazines made it home with me; I recall one time I accidentially knocked over the stack and they made a hell of a loud thud. Mrs. Hallad was not pleased with me! Her office was located upstairs in the balcony next to the projection booth. She had a large box of folded 1-sheets on the floor at the time, and I plotted and scheemed to break in and steal as many as I could, but I chickened out.
The theatre is currently carved up into 4 screens. Probably the worst screen to see anything on is the upstairs screen. You enter the room in front of the screen, which you can touch and, if you dont like the movie, shake or smear chocolate onto. There is a storage room on the right side of the room, which ushers continually go in and out of with bags of popcorn, cups, etc. You can’t help but hear and see them, thereby destroying any involvement with the movie you are watching. Very annoying and not very pretty!
I’ve been there many times when it was still one screen. Nothing spectatular, but great fun! 2 occasions stand out; the all-day Planet of the Apes marathon with all 5 films. I walked in near the end of Beneath, and stayed for the other 3 films. Those kids were screaming so loud during Conquest, it gave me a huge headache. The overall quality of Battle did'nt help, either! I also went to see The Song Remains The Same, the Led Zeppelin concert film there. The film starts, but the sound is a little low, so the kids start to yell “Turn it up!” The manager refuses. The kids are screaming “Turn it up!!”. Still the manager refuses. These metal-heads want to stick their heads in the speakers and get their eardrums shedded, pronto.
The manager is leaving these hoods no other choice, they start stomping on the seats, breaking them and throwing them at the screen, or at each other. By the time the film is over, about 10 seats are broken, the screen has a hole in it, and one young man has taken it upon himself to urinate on the wall!! Incredible! All because the sound was too low. Gotta love those fine Bergenfield youths.
I really can’t believe that this theatre has been twinned. The theatres must be the size of a closet! I used to go there with my parents in the early 70’s for their $1.00 double features like The Organization / Diamonds are Forever. The place would be totally sold out. I recall one showing I went to, the management would let people sit on the floor in the eisles along the walls! Incredible! Thank god there was never a fire!
I also recall the theatre was closed for a long time and reopened in the late 60’s – early 70’s.
Last time I was there, it must have been 5 years ago. Too many kids running around, not very good projection, and expensive. The 12 plex
in Ridgefield Park has replaced Paramus as one of my main theatres. I fondly remember seeing Star Wars there, first day, third show. I got there early and the lobby was already packed for the 5:15 showing. I remember during the Death Star assault waiting in the lobby and feeling the floor shake. When we were let into the theatre for our showing, I remember saying that I had never seen a screen that big before. Amazing!
FYI, the first film they played when they opened in December 1965 was Thunderball.
My first visit to the Lafayette was a little over 1 year ago, for the Saturday morning showing of The Magnificent Seven. WOW! I’ll say it again! WOW! For anyone with even the slightest interest in classic films, THIS is the place to be! 1000 seats (with legroom!) a clean, bright silver screen, and ambiance you can’t get anywhere else! Throw in Jeff Page on the wurlitzer organ and you are in for a GREAT experience! Nelson Page and Pete Apruzzese are to be congratulated for putting on one great show! Can’t wait for Gaslight this weekend at 11:30!
I must confess I did go to the Queen Anne when It was a triple X theatre, and the inside was still beautiful, with glass and wood partitions with heavy velvet curtins covering the glass. The seats, unfortunately, were probably still from 1929 and were as hard as milk crates to sit on. Ouch! Parking was a joke. If there was no parking on the street,you could park behind the Exxon station across the street. The lot was deeply rutted and you could have easily bottomed out your car in one of those potholes. The youths of Bogota would sometimes hang around the theatre and jeer as you came in or went out of the theatre.
Mikey, I’m not so sure about that. The theatre closed on March 31, as did the chinese resturant and the Firestone tire dealership. The post office behind the theatre is also boarded up. I think it may be used by the construction company for something. The 1-sheet poster frames are gone, as well as some of the other stuff inside the theatre. The end of another era?
The drive in was located on Route 17 south. The marquee and entrance was located next to the Bel-air motel and across the highway from Anchor Rent-all. Today, the entrance is being used for the industrial park that stands where the drive in used to be. Pity. Many great memories are buried there.
I worked here as a usher in the summer of 1974. It was my very first job out of high school and was very excited. The only movie I saw during my whole tenure there was The Exorcist. It must have played the whole summer. The manager was an old woman, Mrs. Hallad, who was too cheap to sell fresh popcorn or fountain soda, so one of my jobs was to handle a cigar box with change in it, so customers could feed the vending machines that dispensed these items. She did'nt believe in snack bars! After seeing The Exorcist about 10 times, and since we were bored out of our minds, myself and another usher would amuse ourselves by taking Tic Tacs and throwing them one by one over the partition that separated the auditorium from the vending machines, hoping to bean a innocent customer on the head! I know, my bad.
I do remember the projection booth had 2 projectors that used carbon rods. The lobby had 1 wall that was mirrored, to give the effect of it being bigger than it was. There were 4 poster cases on the walls, with frames to hold 30x40 posters, instead of the usual 27x41 1-sheets. Along the mirrored wall was a small utility closet, with among other things, a huge stack of presskits and trade magazines like Independent Film Journal and Boxoffice. Several copies of these magazines made it home with me; I recall one time I accidentially knocked over the stack and they made a hell of a loud thud. Mrs. Hallad was not pleased with me! Her office was located upstairs in the balcony next to the projection booth. She had a large box of folded 1-sheets on the floor at the time, and I plotted and scheemed to break in and steal as many as I could, but I chickened out.
The theatre is currently carved up into 4 screens. Probably the worst screen to see anything on is the upstairs screen. You enter the room in front of the screen, which you can touch and, if you dont like the movie, shake or smear chocolate onto. There is a storage room on the right side of the room, which ushers continually go in and out of with bags of popcorn, cups, etc. You can’t help but hear and see them, thereby destroying any involvement with the movie you are watching. Very annoying and not very pretty!
I’ve been there many times when it was still one screen. Nothing spectatular, but great fun! 2 occasions stand out; the all-day Planet of the Apes marathon with all 5 films. I walked in near the end of Beneath, and stayed for the other 3 films. Those kids were screaming so loud during Conquest, it gave me a huge headache. The overall quality of Battle did'nt help, either! I also went to see The Song Remains The Same, the Led Zeppelin concert film there. The film starts, but the sound is a little low, so the kids start to yell “Turn it up!” The manager refuses. The kids are screaming “Turn it up!!”. Still the manager refuses. These metal-heads want to stick their heads in the speakers and get their eardrums shedded, pronto.
The manager is leaving these hoods no other choice, they start stomping on the seats, breaking them and throwing them at the screen, or at each other. By the time the film is over, about 10 seats are broken, the screen has a hole in it, and one young man has taken it upon himself to urinate on the wall!! Incredible! All because the sound was too low. Gotta love those fine Bergenfield youths.
I really can’t believe that this theatre has been twinned. The theatres must be the size of a closet! I used to go there with my parents in the early 70’s for their $1.00 double features like The Organization / Diamonds are Forever. The place would be totally sold out. I recall one showing I went to, the management would let people sit on the floor in the eisles along the walls! Incredible! Thank god there was never a fire!
I also recall the theatre was closed for a long time and reopened in the late 60’s – early 70’s.
Last time I was there, it must have been 5 years ago. Too many kids running around, not very good projection, and expensive. The 12 plex
in Ridgefield Park has replaced Paramus as one of my main theatres. I fondly remember seeing Star Wars there, first day, third show. I got there early and the lobby was already packed for the 5:15 showing. I remember during the Death Star assault waiting in the lobby and feeling the floor shake. When we were let into the theatre for our showing, I remember saying that I had never seen a screen that big before. Amazing!
FYI, the first film they played when they opened in December 1965 was Thunderball.
Does anyone know exactly where the theatre used to be? Across from the Old North Church or up further where borough hall is today?
My first visit to the Lafayette was a little over 1 year ago, for the Saturday morning showing of The Magnificent Seven. WOW! I’ll say it again! WOW! For anyone with even the slightest interest in classic films, THIS is the place to be! 1000 seats (with legroom!) a clean, bright silver screen, and ambiance you can’t get anywhere else! Throw in Jeff Page on the wurlitzer organ and you are in for a GREAT experience! Nelson Page and Pete Apruzzese are to be congratulated for putting on one great show! Can’t wait for Gaslight this weekend at 11:30!
I must confess I did go to the Queen Anne when It was a triple X theatre, and the inside was still beautiful, with glass and wood partitions with heavy velvet curtins covering the glass. The seats, unfortunately, were probably still from 1929 and were as hard as milk crates to sit on. Ouch! Parking was a joke. If there was no parking on the street,you could park behind the Exxon station across the street. The lot was deeply rutted and you could have easily bottomed out your car in one of those potholes. The youths of Bogota would sometimes hang around the theatre and jeer as you came in or went out of the theatre.
Mikey, I’m not so sure about that. The theatre closed on March 31, as did the chinese resturant and the Firestone tire dealership. The post office behind the theatre is also boarded up. I think it may be used by the construction company for something. The 1-sheet poster frames are gone, as well as some of the other stuff inside the theatre. The end of another era?
The drive in was located on Route 17 south. The marquee and entrance was located next to the Bel-air motel and across the highway from Anchor Rent-all. Today, the entrance is being used for the industrial park that stands where the drive in used to be. Pity. Many great memories are buried there.