Seaview Square Cinema
Seaview Square Mall,
Asbury Park,
NJ
07712
Seaview Square Mall,
Asbury Park,
NJ
07712
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Grand opening ad in photo section.
Grand opening as the Walter Reade Circle Theatre on December 23, 1970. It was architected by David Marner of Asbury Park. Mrs. Walter Reade Jr. did the interior design and the first film was a benefit screening of “Tora! Tora! Tora!” General Cinema Corp. took on the theater June 17, 1977 changing it to the Seaview Square Cinema to match the mall that was opened.
If anyone has any pictures of the theatre exterior, please post them! Thanks!!!
I saw Star Wars there in ‘77.
This was one of my favorite theaters. It had a giant screen and very comfortable seats. In the lobby there was a framed poster of the 1970 movie “Tora Tora Tora” which I was told was the first feature shown in the theater. The Circle Theater reopened as a twin in June of 1978. I went there to see “Grease” which was being shown on both screens with staggered starting times. I hated what they had done to this once great movie house.
i worked at Seaview Square from 1986 to 1988. It was a GCC theater as someone else mentioned. When i started we had “club paradise” and “running scared”. Fun times. Sad to see it go. I have some super8 film i shot of the place not long before they demo’d it.
I started going here after the Neptune City Theater became too sketchy, around 1985. My friends mom took us to see Star Wars here. In ‘86, my first solo trip to the movies was here to see 'The Color Purple". It was my first 'cineplex’ experience. All the new movies played at Seaview Square and was within walking distance from the mall. The big differences were the film quality and ticket price, compared to Neptune City. Oh, and also one’s personal safety.
I saw “Return of the Jedi” and “E.T.” here around 25 years ago. It should not be listed as an Asbury Park Theatre though. Seaview Square is in Ocean Township, on the west side of Route 35.
This theatre was never a music makers theatre, thank god. It came under the General Cinema banner in june of 1977, the same time another former Walter Reade house, the Woodbridge was taken over by GCC. In the fall of 1977, both Seaview and Woodbridge were split in half. I know this because I worked at Woodbridge, and the constuction crew would tell us how Seaview was about a week behind Woodbridge. What they did in one theatre this week, the crew went to the other theatre the following week. First the wall studs, then the sheetrockers, and finally put the seats back in. Then we came in to do the screens, projection room, apertures, etc.
This theatre was built in 1970 and opened with TORA! TORA! TORA! It was a Walter Reade Theatre and the interior design was by Mrs. Walter Reade, Jr. The name of the theatre was The Circle. After the demise of Walter Reade, Jr. in February 1973, the theatre went to the Edwin Gage firm and run under Seascost Theatres until it went to Music Makers Theatre and was split down the middle in the early 1980s. The opening was in December 1970 with standard 35mm optical monophonic sound. The Mayfair and St. James demise came in December 1974. The name change came when the former Seaview Square Mall was opened. GIL CARNEY drop me a line so we can go over old times with Balmer, Floresheimer, Gunberg, Tom Budd, George Clark, Charlie Chappell, Sam Colissimo et al. Glad to see an old familiar name from the WRO (Walter Reade Organization). Email is
This cinema definitely was open at least as early as 1974, because I remember passing the marquee when they were playing DAISY MILLER. And I believe it was twinned before the 1980s.
I personally purchesed what equipment was left in the projection booth and installed it in the Beach Cinema.
Gil Carney
posted by Gilbert Carney on Apr 15, 2006 at 3:03pm
Hi Gilbert,
When I was 12 me and my uncle rented a beach house in Bradley Beach and would often check out movies here, its great to hear (or technically see) someone make reference to this treasure.
Sincerely
Greenpoint
The Seaview Square Cinema was built by the Walter Reade Org. right after the Mayfair in Asbury Park was torn down. It opened as a single screen and was made into a twin in the 80’s. I was a part time projectionist at the theatre with the full time projectionist Paul Koning. It was also one of the first automated theatres on the central jersey shore. It had two Simplex 35 projection heads and IPC sound heads and ran on 6000' reels. The sound system was from Altec, as my father worked for Altec at the time and built the system for the theatre when it first opened. Some of the equipment from the theatre is now in the Beach Cinema in Bradley Beach NJ. I personally purchesed what equipment was left in the projection booth and installed it in the Beach Cinema.
Gil Carney
Listed as a twin theatre in the 1991 International Motion Picture Almanac as a GCC Theatre.