Community Theatre
Bay Walk,
Ocean Beach,
NY
11776
Bay Walk,
Ocean Beach,
NY
11776
1 person
favorited this theater
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Located on Fire Island. The Community Theatre is listed in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook with a seating capacity of 350.
In the 1943 edition of Film Daily Yearbook it is listed with a seating capacity of 500 and is ‘Closed’. It later reopened and was still operating in 1963.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
During the summer they show movies in a space called The Community theatre in the community of Ocean Beach. I wonder if this is the same space. Also, I believe, years ago they had summer movies in the Fire Island community of Point-O-Woods.
This theatre has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/12/18/fire-island-cherry-grove-community-house-and-theater-restoration-receives-boost/
I was the projectionist at the Community Theatre in Ocean Beach in the summer of 1966. The manager was Jean Dattner. The contract with Local 640 Projectionists included a room as there was no way off the island after the show ended at midnight except by expensive “water taxi” or small boat fir $35! I had Mondays off when the house was closed and would go back to Woodside where I lived.
There were two 35 mm Standard Simplex projectors with Strong carbon arc lamphouses.
At the end of the season, i had to cover all moving parts of the projectors with naval jelly to prevent corrosion from the salt air. Then the auditorium was rearranged for religious services for Rosh Hashannah. I was told to write my name on the booth wall’s pantheon of projectionists which I did. If the theatre is still there, would somebody take a picture and post it?
I remember screening “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” while it was still on Broadway first run because the remoteness and inaccessability of the Community took it out of the NY Metro market. What a movie! I also ran “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming there which was about a small beach community invaded by Alan Arkin, "Emergency: everyone to get from STREET!”
Contact .
I grew up on Long Island. In the late 80’s and/or early 90’s I remember seeing locations like Point-O-Woods, Ocean Beach, possibly Saltaire, Atlantique or Fire Island Pines amongst the theaters listed on the bottom of ads for specific movies in the Newsday newspaper during the summer.
I was curious what a movie theater was like in the little Fire Island towns, but never got over there to see for myself. (I remember feeling maybe the last ferry back to the mainland would have run already before the movie was over.)
If anyone can post comments with details, I’d appreciate.
If anyone has photos they can upload of ads that include listings for theaters on Fire Island, I would be interested.
I remember Newsday carrying movie listings for the Community (which was in Ocean Beach) and Point-O-Woods. Haven’t seen any in recent years. However, have been to Ocean Beach in recent years. The Community, which was just the Community Hall with blackout curtains on the windows, still showed movies up until a couple of years ago. Never been to other Fire Island towns so I can’t comment on them.
Uploaded a picture of the Community Center in which the theater was housed.