Comments from ctcirc

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ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 4, 2007 at 11:18 pm

As an aside, Abe Preiskel was head of the Passaic police; but he was a steady customer of my grandfather, who was a leading “bootlegger” in Passaic during the Roaring Twenties.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 4, 2007 at 10:41 pm

I stand corrected. Abram Preiskel was the architect of both the Capital and Montauk Theaters in Passaic. He was Commissioner of Public Safety from 1919 to 1934. He died in 1967 at the age of 84. Samuel Harris owned the theater originally. Harry K. Hecht owned the Central (see my comments there) and my uncle, Harry Stein, owned the Montauk Theater Building (see there also). My grandparents were close friends with all of these owners and builders for almost 50 years.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 4, 2007 at 10:41 pm

I stand corrected. Abram Preiskel was the architect of both the Capital and Montauk Theaters in Passaic. He was Commissioner of Public Safety from 1919 to 1934. He died in 1967 at the age of 84. Samuel Harris owned the theater originally. Harry K. Hecht owned the Central (see my comments there) and my uncle, Harry Stein, owned the Montauk Theater Building (see there also). My grandparents were close friends with all of these owners and builders for almost 50 years.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Montauk Theatre on Jun 29, 2005 at 9:51 pm

The postcard must date prior to 1927. When my uncle, Harry Stein, bought the building, he retitled the building edge to read “Stein Building”. It still reads that way today. PASSAIC

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Capitol Theatre on Mar 24, 2005 at 2:25 am

The Capital was built by Samuel Harris, a Passaic businesman. I disagree with a comment above. Abe Preiskel, was the police chief in Passaic, and i would be curious of the author’s source of him as the architect.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Central Theatre on Mar 24, 2005 at 2:23 am

This building was erected by the Passaic businessman, Harry K. Hecht who also built and operated the Palace Theater. Harry Hecht was a prominent Passaic businessman and philanthropist. He was a founder of Beth Israel Hospital and Temple Emanuel in Pssaic (President of both) and during World War 2, sold so many war bonds that a plane was named for him. He was killed in an auto accident in May, 1951. Quite a beloved figure in Passaic’s history.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Palace Theatre on Mar 24, 2005 at 2:18 am

This theater was built and operated by Harry Hecht who died in May, 1951 in Passaic.

ctcirc
ctcirc commented about Montauk Theatre on Mar 24, 2005 at 2:16 am

My uncle, Harry Stein, owned the block along Main Ave from Henry St to Madison St. He demolished the old Montauk and opened the new theater in 1927. Next door, was the Ritz Restaurant (closed in mid 1960’s) and on Henry ST. side was the Hotel Lincoln and upstairs the Ritz Ballroom. When he died in 1952, the Passaic Herald News listed him as Passaic’s largest taxpayer. The family sold the building about 1966-67. As far as the cicuit, Uncle Harry was associated with the Stanley-Warner circuit in the 1920’s. He also owned the Rialto Theater(later named the Lincoln) on Lexington Avenue.