I worked at St. Elizabeth Hospital for several years in the 1970s and I passed by the Regent and Fine Arts everyday. Of course by then, the Fine Arts was a clothing store and the Regent had closed and then re-opened. In addition to the Kung-Fu films mentioned above, I also remember seeing the marquee state rather dramatically, that “Joe Don Baker Is Walking Tall!!”. Seems kind of funny now. I also recall that once in the early 60s, my mother, brother and I went to see The Tingler at the Fine Arts. I believe Psycho was playing next door at the Regent and my mother said no to that one!
Thank you Roger for the information on the Roosevelt. I stand corrected! I’m glad it’s still there, whatever it’s use. What a totally clever way to put a large movie theater in the middle of a crowded city block!!. I wish I could remember how long the entry was. When you’re a kid, your sense of scale is pretty skewed. I do recall that the interior was also white and that the screen and stage area had a gold-colored arch over the middle and a similarly-colored column on either side. As previously stated, this was a very nice theater in it’s day, definitely a cut above some of the lowlier neighborhood houses that could be found in the Newark area. I wonder what the interior looks like now.
I did a satellite search of the Roosevelt’s address. Apparently, this theater is gone. There is a house on the address. I panned the satellite image, using the church on the corner of Leslie St and Clinton Ave as my starting point. I remember that parking was always a rather tricky thing. My parents would usually park somewhere on Leslie St and we would walk toward Clinton Ave, past the church and turn left onto Clinton Ave. A few hundred feet more and there was the Roosevelt. I do remember that the exterior was white. Back then, in the early 60s, you could still walk and not get killed. As a matter of fact, at one time, this part of Newark was home to a very large Jewish population. One of the largest synagogues in Newark was located a short distance doen the street from the Roosevelt. This temple had a huge swimming pool and gym!! Now, it’s a war zone. Very sad.
I found some other info about the Mayfair. Believe it or not, there was a 10-tone Carillon installed in one of the towers! I’ll bet the stupid politicans who let this place get torn down didn’t know that.
Also, I found an article about a church in Laurelton, NJ that used a couple of steel beams that had been in the Mayfair Theater when the church was undergoing a renovation. If true, it’s nice to know that at least a small part of the Mayfair lives on.
My family and I spent several summers in Bradley Beach in the early 60s. We went to Asbury Park many times—via the boards from Bradley and through Ocean Grove or by car, traveling down Main Street and making the right turn onto Lake Avenue. Anyway, I remember going to the Mayfair once to see El Cid with my mother and brother. They loved big epics. I spent most of my time looking all around the theater. I especially remember the ceiling—it was painted to look like the evening sky, complete with stars!! Reminded me of the ceiling in the Hayden Plantetarium. To a kid, an old theater like this was a magic place. Wish I could remember more about it. tragedytragedy
I worked at St. Elizabeth Hospital for several years in the 1970s and I passed by the Regent and Fine Arts everyday. Of course by then, the Fine Arts was a clothing store and the Regent had closed and then re-opened. In addition to the Kung-Fu films mentioned above, I also remember seeing the marquee state rather dramatically, that “Joe Don Baker Is Walking Tall!!”. Seems kind of funny now. I also recall that once in the early 60s, my mother, brother and I went to see The Tingler at the Fine Arts. I believe Psycho was playing next door at the Regent and my mother said no to that one!
Thank you Roger for the information on the Roosevelt. I stand corrected! I’m glad it’s still there, whatever it’s use. What a totally clever way to put a large movie theater in the middle of a crowded city block!!. I wish I could remember how long the entry was. When you’re a kid, your sense of scale is pretty skewed. I do recall that the interior was also white and that the screen and stage area had a gold-colored arch over the middle and a similarly-colored column on either side. As previously stated, this was a very nice theater in it’s day, definitely a cut above some of the lowlier neighborhood houses that could be found in the Newark area. I wonder what the interior looks like now.
I did a satellite search of the Roosevelt’s address. Apparently, this theater is gone. There is a house on the address. I panned the satellite image, using the church on the corner of Leslie St and Clinton Ave as my starting point. I remember that parking was always a rather tricky thing. My parents would usually park somewhere on Leslie St and we would walk toward Clinton Ave, past the church and turn left onto Clinton Ave. A few hundred feet more and there was the Roosevelt. I do remember that the exterior was white. Back then, in the early 60s, you could still walk and not get killed. As a matter of fact, at one time, this part of Newark was home to a very large Jewish population. One of the largest synagogues in Newark was located a short distance doen the street from the Roosevelt. This temple had a huge swimming pool and gym!! Now, it’s a war zone. Very sad.
I found some other info about the Mayfair. Believe it or not, there was a 10-tone Carillon installed in one of the towers! I’ll bet the stupid politicans who let this place get torn down didn’t know that.
Also, I found an article about a church in Laurelton, NJ that used a couple of steel beams that had been in the Mayfair Theater when the church was undergoing a renovation. If true, it’s nice to know that at least a small part of the Mayfair lives on.
My family and I spent several summers in Bradley Beach in the early 60s. We went to Asbury Park many times—via the boards from Bradley and through Ocean Grove or by car, traveling down Main Street and making the right turn onto Lake Avenue. Anyway, I remember going to the Mayfair once to see El Cid with my mother and brother. They loved big epics. I spent most of my time looking all around the theater. I especially remember the ceiling—it was painted to look like the evening sky, complete with stars!! Reminded me of the ceiling in the Hayden Plantetarium. To a kid, an old theater like this was a magic place. Wish I could remember more about it. tragedytragedy