Manhasset Cinemas
430 Plandome Road,
Manhasset,
NY
11030
430 Plandome Road,
Manhasset,
NY
11030
5 people
favorited this theater
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saw civil war yesterday in upstairs theatre and was very disappointed with projection—trailers run at wrong sizing and a tear in lower left of screen has not been fixed. house lights just totally shut off at feature time–meanwhile during trailer time –house lights fully on—–also almost like they shrunk down the projection to minimize the tear. I ended up moving to front row to see “a better image”.
What a shame—so many good memories of that fun theater upstairs.
This is a fun Theatre to go to all the way back from the 1920s. Definitely check out this downtown movie theater
PLEASE update open, and it became a triplex on February 15,1980
Malverne, Bellmore and NorthShore is reopening. Their was a newspaper article about Franklin Square closed permently and Grand Avenue had for rent signs posted.
The theatre has reopened and the status should be changed. Unfortunately that is not yet the case for the Roslyn, Herricks, Squire, Soundview, North Shore Towers, Malverne, Bellmore Movies, Grand Avenue Cinemas or Franklin Square.
From manhassetpress.com website Manhasset Cinemas Sues Landlord For Breach Of Surrender Agreement The movie theatre has been closed since March
By Marco Schaden -November 25, 20200
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Manhasset Cinema, 430 Plandome Rd. (Photos by Marco Schaden) Manhasset Movie Theatre, also known as Manhasset Cinemas, and Roslyn Movie Theatre filed a lawsuit on May 26, 2020, against their landlord Gilman Management Corporation for not abiding by a surrender agreement that was signed on Dec. 16, 2019. The lessee and operator of the two theatres, Rudy Toolaprashad, approached Gilman in the fall of 2019 to enter a surrender agreement of the lease that would come into effect on April 30, 2020, and pay Toolaprashad $157,500 for the movie theatre equipment he purchased from Gilman.
On April 30, 2020, Toolaprashad went ahead with the surrender agreement despite lack of feedback and no representation from Gilman at the theatres for inspection of the properties. At that point, both movie theatres had been closed due to Governor Cuomo’s executive order closing all movie theatre’s in the state. Both movie theatres have not been open at any point since March despite the governor reopening theatres with limited capacity.
Toolaprashad never received the monies he was owed by Gilman as part of the surrender agreement and proceeded to file a lawsuit. Through court proceedings, Judge Steven Jaeger has sent the two parties into mediation, scheduled at some point in December to resolve the matter. Gilman and their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
“They don’t want to pay my client, they want to control the timing of everything that happens and when it happens and what they want to do is put the entire burden of coronavirus on my client,” Toolaprashad’s lawyer Vincent Lentini said. “My client performed all their obligations under the agreement and the defendants have not. Defendant’s only obligation was to pay and they have not done that.”
The theatre’s new tenant started its lease in April, but by the fall of 2019 the tenant decided to enter a surrender agreement that would nullify the lease as of April 30, 2020, and pay the tenant $157,500 for the movie equipment previously bought. In court documents that were filed in the Nassau County Supreme Court, Gilman argues that Toolaprashad is violating the surrender agreement because a new tenant must be in place to take over the movie theatres. Lentini, states in court documents that his client was training a Gilman employee, “Steve,” to learn the business of running a movie theatre as part of the surrender agreement as Gilman planned on running their own movie theatres in the two locations and not look for another tenant.
“[Gilman] formed two new companies that were going to run these movie theaters. [Gilman] was going to operate it [themselves],” Lentini said. “From December through March, my client trained Steve on how to run a movie theater, how to run projectors, how to do ticketing, how to order the movies, how to speak to the booker. If they were getting another tenant in, I wouldn’t need to train anybody.”
In an email to Vincent Lentini dated April 16, 2020, Doug Spector, a Gilman lawyer, states “My client’s position is that no one is closing a movie theatre that is not allowed to be open in the first place. His position is that in these unprecedented times we are facing a public health crisis and are under a statewide order to stay at home that is a more than reasonable position. As soon as the theater is permitted to open, he is prepared to arrange for an orderly surrender.”
Toolaprashad opened the two movie theatres on April 13, 2019, after a lease between Gilman and Bow Tie Cinemas expired. Toolaprashad also owns other movie theatres in the area and resides in the Village of Lake Success.
Based on the article from the Manhasset Press, this theatre is CLOSED
Aha. That explains joint movie ads in the past for Century and Skouras which always seemed odd to me. Century also had deals with Loew’s for the Prospect in Flushing and the Manor/Vogue in Brooklyn. Although they built the Suffolk in Riverhead there was some sort of swap with Prudential for the Huntington Station.
According to trade journal research, the Manhasset Theatre opened on November 23rd, 1936, which was the Monday before Thanksgiving of that year. Although built by the Century Circuit simultaneously with the Elm and Quentin in Brooklyn, the Manhasset would be managed by Skouras Theatres, which, in 1935, had signed a “pooling” agreement with Century for all of their theatres in Queens and Long Island. George Skouras, head of that company, wanted to use the Manhasset as a test for ending double features in communities with a single theatre and no nearby competition…The overview to this listing claims that the Manhasset Theatre first opened in 1927, which could be true if it was “modernized” into the one of 1936. But nothing turned up in research to justify that possibility.
And before that by Skouras.
Prior to Clearview CInemas operating the theatre, it was operated for years by United Artists Theatre Circuit. It was sold to Clearview during UA financial problems.
It’s the same operator as the Main Street Cinemas in Kew Garden Hills, Islip Cinemas and Grand Ave Cinemas. https://theislandnow.com/featured/manhasset-roslyn-theaters-reopen-under-new-operator/
thanks for sharing—good to know there are options out there.
After closing both this theater and the Roslyn theater last Thursday April 11th they are both reopening tomorrow the 19th. Manhasset is advertising on its marque next week’s Avengers film (which normally would not have played there). Tomorrow they have Amazing Grace, High Life and Wild Nights with Emily (all new to Long Island and more their speed).
This is one of 2 cinemas owned by Bow Tie that closed yesterday, along with the Roslyn theater. The owner of the properties sold them in November, both to the same buyer. Bow-ties' Great Neck theater was taken over April 1 by the former owners of Movieworld in Douglaston, Queens.
PhilMiller is absolutely correct, at the Manhasset Cinema, the auditorium opened up to a lovely corridor and then to doors that led out to the lobby and Plandome Road. This was a magnificent single screen theater until about 1977 when it was cut up into 3 screens. The programming remains amazing but the wonderful theater is sorely missed. I saw so many films here that I still remember the phone number which remains unchanged.
They are closed for renovations. Are they getting upgraded to digital?
I seem to recall another set of doors leading from the lobby to the back of the theater. To my knowledge these were never closed. On your right was the back wall of the theater, straight ahead on the right the stairs to the loge (balcony) and on your right the left, center and right aisles to the orchestra seats. The manager’s office was tucked under the balcony stairs and was tiny. The balcony was the only place in the theater where you could smoke, so there was an extra charge to sit up there. No child was permitted in the balcony without and adult.
In 1950 the chain installed a candy “cabinet”, with wings that folded in when shut, a large red Coca Cola cooler that held bottles of Coca Cola, and a counter to warm and serve popcorn. These were all positioned in front of the fireplace, and while the equipment may have changed I think the refreshment area is still in the same place. The candy machine was a thing of the past. The large oval recess in the lobby ceiling originally contained a large oval frosted glass art deco chandelier which cast most of the light up, and less down. There were also lamps around the lobby as well.
Then you went through the first set of doors and as described in previous posts moved toward the lobby doors where you ticket was taken. The lobby was totally art deco in design, furniture, carpeting, lighting. As you came in straight ahead was a faux fire place with a large mirror over it and upholstered arm chairs on either side. As previously noted the lobby dog legged to the right and the lay out is the same. Amazingly the water fountain is still there. In 1949, just to the left of the fountain, was a candy machine, the only refreshment stand in the theater, dispensing five items. This was to change in the next year 1950.
Re: the box office (Vohdin and Solero). This did indeed stand outside the entrance doors where the “M” is in the terrazo now. It was 7 or 8 ft. tall and the facade was wood, probably mahogany.
It was 3' wide, 4' deep, had glass windows on the front and sides (the side windows were partially curtained) and a door on the back.
The booth was heated and contained the ticket and change dispensing equipment, a phone, a buzzer to the manager’s office, an overhead light, and a high backed stool for the cashier. It was indeed a tight fit. You had to pull out the stool, load the ticket magazines, then in went the cashier followed by the stool.
The Manhasset was also used for private screenings of films by entertainment executives who lived in the vicinity. These were usually shown after the last show in the evening. It was also occasionally used for public events and fund raising. I recall one particular fund raiser for the planned North Shore Hospital that featured stars of opera, and stage. Somehow or other they did manage to get a piano in there. The star of the evening was Licia
Albanese. The manager had every one dressed to the nines-everyone with white gloves. It was a success.
This matinee included a newsreel, cartoon, chapter of a serial, and then a feature suitable for young people. When that ended the regular show started.
I worked at the Manhasset in 1949 and 1950. It was then part of the Skouras chain on Long Island, which included the Beacon in Port Washington and the Playhouse and Squire in Great Neck. However, unlike those theaters the Manhasset was unique for it was a single feature theater, and to my knowledge the only one on the North Shore. Monday through Friday the theater ran one show at 1:00PM,
then closed down, and at 7:00PM reopened and ran two more. Saturday and Sunday it ran continuously from 1:00PM to closing, but during the fall, winter and spring Saturday usually started with a children’s matinee.
serial chapter
Ed Solero – thank you for the link in your reply 6 posts up. I was very happe to see that the water fountain is still there, and still has the built in light working (I remember convincing the UA electrician to replace the old ceramic fixtures back in the late 80’s so we could get it lit again).
I also must say that the new paint job is a big improvement over the dreary grays that UA first started back in 1986 and Clearview decided to continue with a fresh coat of the dreary gray when they took over 10 years ago.
It also looks like the lilly popcorn truck has hopped the curb a few more times, too: many a Thursday afternoon I’d arrived to open the Manhasset Theatre and had to hunt up and down the sidewalk for the missing letters that would pop off when ever that truck het the marquee… Once I found one in the tree on the corner…
Now, you did get a good shot of the old ceiling (in the balcony theatre) and did you notice the rectangleular board in the center of the big circle? That’s covering the original winch opening for the chandelier that once was there (and it is also covering a couple of air conditioning vents that were on either side of the winch opening. Last I was up in the attic, the winch pulleys were still in place. I’m not sure if I remember correctly, but I think the winch to lower the chandelier was backstage somewhere, maybe in the blower room (up and behind theatre 1). I can only remember that there were 2 pulleys I’d found: one in the center of the ceiling, and the other one was near one of the edges of the ceiling (the walls and ceiling are- believe it or not -one single piece of iron wire-lath, cement and plaster suspended from the roof trusses. Think giant jello mold). The second pulley was in line with the one in the center, and all I can remember was thinking “what a strange place to run the winching rope”. Part of me wants to remember it near the projection booth, but another part says it was near one of the “dead” drops near the old precemium (the dead space between the curving, inner walls and the cinderblock outside walls: when seen from the attic, you can look all the way down to the ground below- if you’re careful…)
Anyway, that’s this year’s post :D
(For anyone looking for the links in my post on Feb 14, 2007, they are now defunct- and there’s no edit function available – but the images are still obtainable:
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