Westfield Twin Cinema
138 Central Avenue,
Westfield,
NJ
07090
138 Central Avenue,
Westfield,
NJ
07090
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Closed August 30th, 1995
twin cinema 01 Sep 1995, Fri The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) Newspapers.com
Small neighborhood theatre in Westfield NJ. Had my 1st job there when I was 14 in the early 90’s. Theatre one on the left side was the bigger one and the screen/masking opened up for wide scope films. This auditorium probably sat 250 and was equipped with Dolby Stereo. Theatre two on the right was very small and narrow, small screen/masking closed down further for scope films making screen even smaller and less of an event when a film was in scope. This theatre was mono, and auditorium probably sat 100 or less. They always had bookings with Orion films and Disney/Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures mid 80’s until closing.
The Westfield Cinema was like watching a movie on an airplane. Long theater, small screen. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Seven Beauties there in the mid 70’s.
November 12th, 1971 grand opening ad in the photo section. Address in that ad is 138 Central Avenue.
I worked here on and off from 1975 through the early 80’s. It was originally owned by a true southern gentleman named Andrew Sullivan who had previously worked(as I also will many years later)for MGM. Heard countless-though entertaining-stories about every actor and actress he came across while working there. The Westfield Cinema very successfully ran primarily art product until about 1977 when Andy wanted to compete with the “big boys” and run commercial product. It worked for a while because he played almost all Warner Bros product. However, the theatres in the neighboring towns started to expand and gobble up all the good pictures and the cinema was left with the leftovers. The theatre closed for awhile in 1979 when Mr. Sullivan went bankrupt but reopened shortly after with a new owner. As a footnote the theatre was a single screen until January 1978 when a second screen was built in the vacant storefront adjacent to the original.
Picture/address given are wrong; it was at 141 Central, in what is now a Smith-Barney office. Awful place, but it got the interesting things the Rialto wouldn’t. Only thing I recall seeing there was “Hair”, 1979
I know it was open until at least Feb 1992 when I went with a long time friend to see a movie here before she moved out of state.
I saw Pipi in the South Seas Valley Girl and Yentl here
Pretty sure I saw “Battlestar Galactica” and “Throw Momma from the Train” here