Colonial Theatre
100 N. Bay Avenue,
Beach Haven,
NJ
08008
100 N. Bay Avenue,
Beach Haven,
NJ
08008
3 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Frank Theatres
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: New Colonial Theatre
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News About This Theater
- Jun 18, 2010 — "Jaws"... Happy 35th!
- May 14, 2010 — Please Post Today, May 14 --- "Jaws," Happy 35th
Opened July 4, 1922 as the New Colonial Theatre. It was equipped with a Robert Morton organ in 1927. This theater maintained its original appearance until September 2003, when it closed.
By October 2008 it was in use as Tuckerton Lumber Hardware Store. They were still operating in 2009. It then became Gallery 100 Center for the Arts, which had closed by 2016. In 2017 it was in retail use by Artifacts and Company. By 2021 it was How to Live Bayside, a boutique gift shop.
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
A Robert Morgan organ was installed in this theater in 1927. These pictures show the progression of the theater through the years:
http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/beachpage2.htm
I actually called 609-492-4450 (the number that I had for this theater) and the owner stated that indeed it had been an operating theater that was recently converted into a residence. Maybe the Hoyts was the last owner?
Meanwhile, Yahoo shows one theater in Beach Haven: the Frank Theatres Beach Stadium 5 at Herbert Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard with a phone number of 609 492-6906. They have the same movies playing there that Digital City has at the Colonial, running at the same times…unlikely. A local paper ran this story re the reopening of the Beach 5, so that is probably the one currently operating.
Listed in the 1944 FDY. Listed in the 1970 FDY as part of Frank Theatres, Inc.
Opened on July 4, 1922 as the New Colonial on the corner of Bay & Center. This theatre replaced an older and smaller Colonial Theatre on 3rd Street, which was still used in the winters when crowds were smaller. Opened by Harry Colmer and his partner Leon Cranmer (who soon got out of the business). This was a wooden structure. The four sides were constructed in the Firman Cranmer Lumber Yard across the street and hoisted up with pulleys. In the early days before air conditioning, Colmar would use ice blocks and fans to cool the place. Colmar died in 1956 but his family continued to run this theatre and two others until 1964 before selling.
Source – Eighteen Miles of History on Long Beach Island by John Bailey Lloyd, pages 160-162.
Closed bat the end of the 2003 season. September, Labor Day weekend. Last movies shown were; “Freaky Friday,” “Seabiscuit,” “Uptown Girls” & “Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl.”