Jim_C – re your Prudential Guide photo. When you say Kings Park I presume you mean the Park on Main Street rather than the Kings Park in the shopping center. If so, the Park site is in need of additional information if you have any.
I seem to recall Prudential having a theater in Moriches in addition to the Center Moriches. Am I correct? Do you have anything to substantiate that?
Also, re the Riverhead photo, presumably the theater wasn’t air conditioned since they were only going to reopen in October and were referring people to the Suffolk which, and I can vouch for it, was and the nearby Drive In.
Re several comment above: from the photo I uploaded you can see that the theater is a free standing building and not the one referred to by Bway in 2009.
I’ve uploaded a February 22, 1953 photo obtained courtesy of the Queen Borough Public Library Archives, Long Island Daily Press Photograph Morgue Collection when the Jamaica was still open. It stood empty for a number of years but, since those were different times, was not vandalized.
Did a little Google searching and came upon a site with a lot of depressing Page Manor interior photos. Uploaded a better picture of the exterior. There was actually a closeup but the “O” was missing. Obviously vacant. Also the sign trying to drum up support for the theater and a picture of the main auditorium. From the comment on the photo it was inferred that the second theater, seating 271 was carved from the rear of the original auditorium. Photo of the second auditorium was already in the photo section.
My company opened a Dayton satellite office in the 1970s and I happened to see an ad for this theater in a newspaper that one of my associates brought back to New York. I was surprised to see the Century name since the company was based in Brooklyn, NY and, until the advent of shopping centers was basically a Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island operation. They did foray onto Staten Island and in to New Jersey. Was surprised they went as far a Dayton. I wonder if they others of which I’m not aware.
I was speaking with someone from the Staten Island Historical Society about the Greenridge/New Springville issue. She said there is often that confusion. But she referred me to a book by Colin Reed entitled “Going to the Movies on Staten Island” in which he mentioned the theater and also had the copy of an ad, by Century, which specified it was a Red Carpet Theater in the Korvette Shopping Center in New Springville.
So my question to Pete Delaney, who put the theater on CT is what source did you have for the Greenridge designation?
Vito, just for you I cobbled an opening blurb on this theater from an article in the business of the New York Times. Article also went on to say that the 50 year lease on the property cost 20 million. 50 years is quite a long time the way theater properties are disposed of when they are outdated 18-20 years later. For this property you have the Greenburg Multiplex which isn’t all that far away. And when you look at reviews for the theater they gripe about old seats, small screens, sticky floors, roaches and bed bugs.
Uploaded photo as auto parts store.
Jim_C – re your Prudential Guide photo. When you say Kings Park I presume you mean the Park on Main Street rather than the Kings Park in the shopping center. If so, the Park site is in need of additional information if you have any.
I seem to recall Prudential having a theater in Moriches in addition to the Center Moriches. Am I correct? Do you have anything to substantiate that?
Also, re the Riverhead photo, presumably the theater wasn’t air conditioned since they were only going to reopen in October and were referring people to the Suffolk which, and I can vouch for it, was and the nearby Drive In.
Re several comment above: from the photo I uploaded you can see that the theater is a free standing building and not the one referred to by Bway in 2009.
Movie was from 1948. Have to do some research to determine why the Press published it in 1953; possibly to announce it’s closing.
I’ve uploaded a February 22, 1953 photo obtained courtesy of the Queen Borough Public Library Archives, Long Island Daily Press Photograph Morgue Collection when the Jamaica was still open. It stood empty for a number of years but, since those were different times, was not vandalized.
Uploaded generic ad trying to get the South Shore people to go to the drive in.
Uploaded photo of signs directing one to either screen 1,2 or 3.
View of the theater, in the day, uploaded from the Newsday Long Island Places We Loved site.
Uploaded a picture of the marquee when the Calderone served as a concert hall. From the Newsday Long Island Places we Loved site.
Referring to my comment of May 5, 2009, uploaded a picture of the screen being resurfaced contained in the Newsday Long Island Places We Loved site.
What we really need is a photo of the theater.
Did a little Google searching and came upon a site with a lot of depressing Page Manor interior photos. Uploaded a better picture of the exterior. There was actually a closeup but the “O” was missing. Obviously vacant. Also the sign trying to drum up support for the theater and a picture of the main auditorium. From the comment on the photo it was inferred that the second theater, seating 271 was carved from the rear of the original auditorium. Photo of the second auditorium was already in the photo section.
My company opened a Dayton satellite office in the 1970s and I happened to see an ad for this theater in a newspaper that one of my associates brought back to New York. I was surprised to see the Century name since the company was based in Brooklyn, NY and, until the advent of shopping centers was basically a Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island operation. They did foray onto Staten Island and in to New Jersey. Was surprised they went as far a Dayton. I wonder if they others of which I’m not aware.
In 1976 there was also a fire which destroyed the lobby. Unclear whether the twinning also occurred at the same time.
Photos of the downstairs auditorium and the staircase to the balcony level uploaded.
Two fuzzy pix as the Olympia from American Classic Images uploaded.
There is an early image of, what the marquee reads, “Astoria Grand”, a copyrighted photo on the Greater Astoria Historical Society site.
I was speaking with someone from the Staten Island Historical Society about the Greenridge/New Springville issue. She said there is often that confusion. But she referred me to a book by Colin Reed entitled “Going to the Movies on Staten Island” in which he mentioned the theater and also had the copy of an ad, by Century, which specified it was a Red Carpet Theater in the Korvette Shopping Center in New Springville.
So my question to Pete Delaney, who put the theater on CT is what source did you have for the Greenridge designation?
Photo of the Esquire in the day uploaded.
1970s burlesque ad updated
Picture referred to above uploaded.
Bway I uploaded the linked picture of the Mardi Gras you mentioned above to the Mardi Gras site.
Uploaded photo of the Mardi Gras mentioned above which was linked on the Linden site.
Uploaded photo previously linked by Bway since links tend to be broken.
Vito, just for you I cobbled an opening blurb on this theater from an article in the business of the New York Times. Article also went on to say that the 50 year lease on the property cost 20 million. 50 years is quite a long time the way theater properties are disposed of when they are outdated 18-20 years later. For this property you have the Greenburg Multiplex which isn’t all that far away. And when you look at reviews for the theater they gripe about old seats, small screens, sticky floors, roaches and bed bugs.