“The DeWitt, on Broadway and 25th Street, where a McDonald’s now stands, went out of business in 1975, said Joseph E. Ryan, Bayonne’s public information director.”
New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Mar 27, 2005. pg. 14NJ.5
When the couple first met as teenagers they went to the movies with another young couple. The American marquee is clearly visible in the background. Interestingly, the theater was built in 1942 but the movie scene took place in 1939/1940. In fact it did look a brand new theater in the film. Too bad it has closed. Of course that scene took place in Seabrook, SC so the American was just substituting as a period movie theater.
PS Mapquest shows 2 Seabrooks within 20 miles of each other. Pretty confusing!
View link
type “Market Street Paterson” in the search box.
Caption:
View down Market St., Paterson, New Jersey, late 1937 Visible businesses include the Mahattan Hotel, the Hotel Alexander Hamilton, Bickford’s, and the Garden Theatre. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
I must have bad eyes because I can’t see the theater.
Caption:
circa 1940: Moviegoers queue up around the block, outside the Stand Theater in Times Square, New York City. Director Raoul Walsh’s film, ‘They Drive By Night,’ is billed on the marquee. (Photo by A. E. French/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1971 ad when this theater was a part of GC. Not sure if this was an adult theater at the time or if the movie was a “mainstream” X rated release (courtesy of RobertR):
Pitman theater sale is cleared
Thursday, July 21, 2005
By Matthew Ralph
Gloucester Times
CAMDEN — U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Judith H. Wizmur signed an order Wednesday authorizing the sale of the Broadway Theatre in Pitman to a Camden County talent agent for $450,000.
According to the order filed in the Camden court, Veronica Goodman-DeAngelis, owner of Veronica Goodman Agency in Runnemede, is “a good-faith purchaser” of the 79-year-old theater, which has been closed since March 29.
It was unclear Wednesday whether Goodman had secured the funding needed to make the purchase. Several phone calls to the talent agency were not returned. Realtors for the property, Cherry Hill-based Feinberg and McBurney, have declined comment.
Dan Munyon purchased the 1,060-seat theater in 1999 for $325,000, but in 2001 ran into financial difficulties he attributes to a downtown streetscape project that made it difficult for patrons to park and walk to the theater, and the economic downswing caused by 9-11. Munyon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2003 to free himself from the threat of unpaid creditors' lawsuits.
Wizmur converted Munyon’s case to Chapter 7 liquidation in March and appointed Voorhees attorney Andrew Sklar as trustee of the theater. Sklar was given a 90-day reprieve from foreclosure proceedings in April to market the property. The deadline for the sale set by the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office is July 27.
Munyon owes The Bank $271,421.54 on his mortgage.
Phone calls to Sklar’s Voorhees office were not returned Wednesday.
Mayor Alice Polocz, a local business owner, said the theater closing has had an impact on nearby businesses.
“Just having the theater closed has been a loss,” Polocz said. “It was another reason to come into town. It was one more thing we had to offer and hopefully it will be again.”
Polocz recently issued a letter to the Gloucester County Economic Development Office expressing council’s interest in creating a redevelopment area that would include the theater. A redevelopment area, she said, would help ensure that the theater would not be converted into a non-theater use in the future.
Goodman also leases the Harwan Theater on the Black Horse Pike in Mount Ephraim, which remains closed despite original plans to reopen the theater in June 2004. A concert and film event known as “Ghoulstock” has been scheduled for the 500-seat theater on July 30.
Goodman plans to bring off-Broadway and other live theater productions to the Broadway stage, according to published reports.
The stage in the former vaudeville house would need to be expanded to accommodate full theater productions, according to Munyon, who always favored film to live theater.
“You really couldn’t do anything more than community theater in there now with the stage that’s there,” Munyon said. “I still think the best use is as a movie theater.”
Munyon, who recently took a job working security for Electric Factory Concerts, said he is optimistic the theater will again be operational. Though he no longer has an interest in ownership, he said he would still like to be involved in some way.
“As far as the theater not being a theater, I don’t worry about that,” said Munyon, who estimated that it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fully renovate the theater. “I do worry about someone doing the correct restoration on the building. It does deserve that. Only a solid nonprofit is going to be able to do that.”
Thanks Rick. Here is the entire text, since the links disappear after 14 days.
Bows for Broadway?
Friday, July 22, 2005
Gloucester Times
It is heartening to read that Pitman’s shuttered Broadway Theater has a clearer future, now that a bankruptcy judge has OK’d the sale to a new owner for $450,000.
Veronica Goodman-DeAngelis, a Runnemede talent agency owner, wants to bring live theater productions to the Broadway’s stage. Goodman-DeAngelis also leased the vacant Harwan Theater in Mount Ephraim in 2004, but it has yet to reopen,
Both theaters are long past their prime as first-run movie houses. The 79-year-old Broadway closed in March, and it would be a particular shame to see it lie fallow for so long that it falls into complete disrepair.
Goodman-DeAngelis has a plan to get the Broadway open again, and borough and county officials should be supportive. If the sale goes through, they should also be proactive.
We see the Broadway as an asset in search of a good business model. If live theater is not it, we hope that Pitman and Gloucester County will be prepared to offer some alternatives, and that Goodman-DeAngelis will be prepared to consider them.
On page 6-7 of “VE Day in Photographs” by Sean McKnight, there is a nice picture of Times Square taken on May 7, 1945. You can clearly see the marquee of the New York Theatre, which reads:
CARY GRANT LARAINE DAY
in MR. LUCKY
RAY MILLAND PAULETTE GODDARD
in THE LADY HAS PLANS
I saw “March of the Penguins” here yesterday. Some notes and observations not made clear in their web page nor by member postings:
There is no balcony.
There is a small stage with false arches on either side.
The screen is huge, so large in fact that the projected image did not fill the entire width.
Sound is great. Projection very good.
They don’t use a curtain.
They show movie previews but no annoying advertising.
There is no organ in this theater but they do play nice music before the show.
Rest rooms are tiny and a bit dated.
The CVS that was to be built here must have been built later on the same side of the street at the next corner.
The parking lot is tiny, 8 spaces.
The marquee is V shaped and partially blocked by a tree.
I took some photos that I will put in photobucket.
Overall a very nice experience. And the movie was wonderful!
I saw “March of the Penguins” here yesterday. Some notes and observations not made clear in their web page nor by member postings:
There is no balcony.
There is a small stage with false arches on either side.
The screen is huge, so large in fact that the projected image did not fill the entire width.
Sound is great. Projection very good.
They don’t use a curtain.
They show movie previews but no annoying advertising.
There is no organ in this theater but they do play nice music before the show.
Rest rooms are tiny and a bit dated.
The CVS that was to be built here must have been built later on the same side of the street at the next corner.
The parking lot is tiny, 8 spaces.
The marquee is V shaped and partially blocked by a tree.
I took some photos that I will put in photobucket.
Overall a very nice experience. And the movie was wonderful!
Beautiful memoirs of the theatre:
View link
“The DeWitt, on Broadway and 25th Street, where a McDonald’s now stands, went out of business in 1975, said Joseph E. Ryan, Bayonne’s public information director.”
New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Mar 27, 2005. pg. 14NJ.5
Looks like it was an adult theater in 1967 (posting courtesy of Bill Huelbig):
View link
When the couple first met as teenagers they went to the movies with another young couple. The American marquee is clearly visible in the background. Interestingly, the theater was built in 1942 but the movie scene took place in 1939/1940. In fact it did look a brand new theater in the film. Too bad it has closed. Of course that scene took place in Seabrook, SC so the American was just substituting as a period movie theater.
PS Mapquest shows 2 Seabrooks within 20 miles of each other. Pretty confusing!
Exterior (and interior?) of this theater can be seen in “The Notebook” (2004).
View link
type “Market Street Paterson” in the search box.
Caption:
View down Market St., Paterson, New Jersey, late 1937 Visible businesses include the Mahattan Hotel, the Hotel Alexander Hamilton, Bickford’s, and the Garden Theatre. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
I must have bad eyes because I can’t see the theater.
View link
Type “Asbury Amusement Park” into the search bar and you’ll see a photo of the Mayfair from 1935 (on the left in the photo).
View link
Type whitestone drive in into the search box for 3 old photos.
Darn it. go to www.gettyimages.com and search for image number 3233117.
Here is a 1940 image:
View link
Caption:
circa 1940: Moviegoers queue up around the block, outside the Stand Theater in Times Square, New York City. Director Raoul Walsh’s film, ‘They Drive By Night,’ is billed on the marquee. (Photo by A. E. French/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Small current photo at this link:
View link
1971 ad when this theater was a part of GC. Not sure if this was an adult theater at the time or if the movie was a “mainstream” X rated release (courtesy of RobertR):
View link
Was showing X rated movies in 1971 as a UA theater (courtesy of RobertR):
View link
Courtesy of RobertR. Still open as of 1971 as an adult theater & a part of Film Bookers.
View link
Pitman theater sale is cleared
Thursday, July 21, 2005
By Matthew Ralph
Gloucester Times
CAMDEN — U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Judith H. Wizmur signed an order Wednesday authorizing the sale of the Broadway Theatre in Pitman to a Camden County talent agent for $450,000.
According to the order filed in the Camden court, Veronica Goodman-DeAngelis, owner of Veronica Goodman Agency in Runnemede, is “a good-faith purchaser” of the 79-year-old theater, which has been closed since March 29.
It was unclear Wednesday whether Goodman had secured the funding needed to make the purchase. Several phone calls to the talent agency were not returned. Realtors for the property, Cherry Hill-based Feinberg and McBurney, have declined comment.
Dan Munyon purchased the 1,060-seat theater in 1999 for $325,000, but in 2001 ran into financial difficulties he attributes to a downtown streetscape project that made it difficult for patrons to park and walk to the theater, and the economic downswing caused by 9-11. Munyon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2003 to free himself from the threat of unpaid creditors' lawsuits.
Wizmur converted Munyon’s case to Chapter 7 liquidation in March and appointed Voorhees attorney Andrew Sklar as trustee of the theater. Sklar was given a 90-day reprieve from foreclosure proceedings in April to market the property. The deadline for the sale set by the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office is July 27.
Munyon owes The Bank $271,421.54 on his mortgage.
Phone calls to Sklar’s Voorhees office were not returned Wednesday.
Mayor Alice Polocz, a local business owner, said the theater closing has had an impact on nearby businesses.
“Just having the theater closed has been a loss,” Polocz said. “It was another reason to come into town. It was one more thing we had to offer and hopefully it will be again.”
Polocz recently issued a letter to the Gloucester County Economic Development Office expressing council’s interest in creating a redevelopment area that would include the theater. A redevelopment area, she said, would help ensure that the theater would not be converted into a non-theater use in the future.
Goodman also leases the Harwan Theater on the Black Horse Pike in Mount Ephraim, which remains closed despite original plans to reopen the theater in June 2004. A concert and film event known as “Ghoulstock” has been scheduled for the 500-seat theater on July 30.
Goodman plans to bring off-Broadway and other live theater productions to the Broadway stage, according to published reports.
The stage in the former vaudeville house would need to be expanded to accommodate full theater productions, according to Munyon, who always favored film to live theater.
“You really couldn’t do anything more than community theater in there now with the stage that’s there,” Munyon said. “I still think the best use is as a movie theater.”
Munyon, who recently took a job working security for Electric Factory Concerts, said he is optimistic the theater will again be operational. Though he no longer has an interest in ownership, he said he would still like to be involved in some way.
“As far as the theater not being a theater, I don’t worry about that,” said Munyon, who estimated that it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fully renovate the theater. “I do worry about someone doing the correct restoration on the building. It does deserve that. Only a solid nonprofit is going to be able to do that.”
Thanks Rick. Here is the entire text, since the links disappear after 14 days.
Bows for Broadway?
Friday, July 22, 2005
Gloucester Times
It is heartening to read that Pitman’s shuttered Broadway Theater has a clearer future, now that a bankruptcy judge has OK’d the sale to a new owner for $450,000.
Veronica Goodman-DeAngelis, a Runnemede talent agency owner, wants to bring live theater productions to the Broadway’s stage. Goodman-DeAngelis also leased the vacant Harwan Theater in Mount Ephraim in 2004, but it has yet to reopen,
Both theaters are long past their prime as first-run movie houses. The 79-year-old Broadway closed in March, and it would be a particular shame to see it lie fallow for so long that it falls into complete disrepair.
Goodman-DeAngelis has a plan to get the Broadway open again, and borough and county officials should be supportive. If the sale goes through, they should also be proactive.
We see the Broadway as an asset in search of a good business model. If live theater is not it, we hope that Pitman and Gloucester County will be prepared to offer some alternatives, and that Goodman-DeAngelis will be prepared to consider them.
Here is a view of the Strand via an old postcard (see the red marquee on the right):
http://www.cardcow.com/product.php?productid=19311
On page 6-7 of “VE Day in Photographs” by Sean McKnight, there is a nice picture of Times Square taken on May 7, 1945. You can clearly see the marquee of the New York Theatre, which reads:
CARY GRANT LARAINE DAY
in MR. LUCKY
RAY MILLAND PAULETTE GODDARD
in THE LADY HAS PLANS
I saw “March of the Penguins” here yesterday. Some notes and observations not made clear in their web page nor by member postings:
There is no balcony.
There is a small stage with false arches on either side.
The screen is huge, so large in fact that the projected image did not fill the entire width.
Sound is great. Projection very good.
They don’t use a curtain.
They show movie previews but no annoying advertising.
There is no organ in this theater but they do play nice music before the show.
Rest rooms are tiny and a bit dated.
The CVS that was to be built here must have been built later on the same side of the street at the next corner.
The parking lot is tiny, 8 spaces.
The marquee is V shaped and partially blocked by a tree.
I took some photos that I will put in photobucket.
Overall a very nice experience. And the movie was wonderful!
I saw “March of the Penguins” here yesterday. Some notes and observations not made clear in their web page nor by member postings:
There is no balcony.
There is a small stage with false arches on either side.
The screen is huge, so large in fact that the projected image did not fill the entire width.
Sound is great. Projection very good.
They don’t use a curtain.
They show movie previews but no annoying advertising.
There is no organ in this theater but they do play nice music before the show.
Rest rooms are tiny and a bit dated.
The CVS that was to be built here must have been built later on the same side of the street at the next corner.
The parking lot is tiny, 8 spaces.
The marquee is V shaped and partially blocked by a tree.
I took some photos that I will put in photobucket.
Overall a very nice experience. And the movie was wonderful!
Upcoming film festival at this theater:
http://www.njstatefilmfestival.com/2005.htm
Homepage for one of the stores:
http://www.bayhead.biz/memoryshop.htm
1966 ad for the New Bergen, courtesy of Bill Huelbig:
View link
1966 ad for the Palace courtesy of Bill Huelbig:
View link
Bill: Another one of your ads from 1966, showing the location as Ramsey:
View link