Menlo Park Twin Cinema
390 Menlo Park Mall,
Edison,
NJ
08837
390 Menlo Park Mall,
Edison,
NJ
08837
17 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cineplex Odeon, General Cinema Corp.
Architects: Elliot Willensky
Previous Names: Menlo Cinema
Nearby Theaters
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AMC Dine-In Menlo Park 12
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Forum Theatre Arts Center
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Iselin Theatre
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Woodbridge Cinemas 5
-
Fords Cinema
News About This Theater
- May 24, 2012 — Celebrating the Original STAR WARS on its 35th Anniversary
- May 21, 2010 — Happy 30th, "Empire"
- Aug 21, 2009 — "Alien" 30th Anniversary
- Jan 4, 2008 — Website dedicated to Menlo Park and Blue Star Cinemas!
- May 25, 2007 — Happy 30th, Star Wars!
Opened October 12, 1961 with Kirk Douglas in “Spartacus”. This large theatre sat at the corner of US Route 1 and Parsonage Road in Edison, outside the Menlo Park Mall. It was one of Northern New Jersey’s large, prestigious theatres. It played exclusive engagements of both “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”, the latter in 70mm. It was twinned November 2, 1976. It was closed on November 30, 1991.
It was demolished after Cineplex Odeon opened a 12-screen multiplex theatre in the newly rebuilt Menlo Park Mall around late-1991.
Contributed by
Tim Quan
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Recent comments (view all 90 comments)
Closed on Nov 30,1991. I was there the night it closed. I was one of the two projectionists that worked there.
Opened as a twin with on screen 1 with “The front” and screen 2 with “A clockwork orange”. Markp, do you remember what movies were playing on tne last day of operation of this cinema?
davidcoppock, I seem to remember in Cinema 1 The Five Heartbeats. That seems to ring a bell. Cant seem to recall what was in Cinema 2.
42 years ago today “Grease” opened here in Cinema 1. What a crazy busy summer that was. “Heaven Can Wait” was the Cinema 2 attraction.
Jaws 2 also came out that weekend and dominated the box office by a hair that weekend but Grease won the box office for the year.
According to NY Times TimeMachine, 42 years ago Grease was playing in Cinema 1 and An Unmarried Woman was showing in Cinema 2.
sounds about right. I think a week or two later we got Heaven Can Wait. An Unmarried Woman was there since late winter. When we got movies at Menlo Park they stayed a looong time
The Menlo Park Theater was the big one in central Jersey for the General Cinema Corporation. A beautiful theater with a nice contemporary look. I saw a few movies there (All the President’s Men, Shampoo, Harry and Walter Go to New York) but Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were the big ones. I sat in the fourth row on the first night of Star Wars, blown away by the opening scene.
42 years ago today The Empire Strikes Back opened in 70mm in Cinema 1.
A chronology of 70mm presentations in Northern New Jersey has been published. Menlo Park gets several mentions in the article.