Elwood Theatre
642 Broadway,
Newark,
NJ
07104
642 Broadway,
Newark,
NJ
07104
1 person
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Situated in the Forest Hill section to the north of Newark, at the corner of Broadway and Elwood Avenue E. The Elwood Theatre first opened on September 19, 1931 with Walter Huston in “The Star Witness”, with a policy of second-run double features. It was the very first movie theatre that I ever attended. My parents took me there to see Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” during its first go-round. More than sixty years later, I still have occasional nightmares about the cackling witch and the poisoned apple.
The Elwood Theatre was closed in July 1967 due to the Newark riots that took place. A White Castle restaurant sands on the site today.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
I went to the Elwood several times in the late 1960s. I remember seeing “Born Free†there a couple of times, as well as “To Sir, with Love,†and “Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear!†I remember it as being a very modern-looking theatre, so I am surprised to see that it was built in the 1930s.
And yes, the 642 address is correct, because that is the corner of Washington and Elwood.
Actually the Elwood Theater was located at the corner of Elwood and Broadway which once you would cross into Belleville it becomes Washington.
The Elwood was used in 1954 as a case study by the local Altec service team for stereophonic sound: http://www.boxoffice.com/the_vault/issue_page?issue_id=1954-5-8&page_no=154#page_start
Harry Katz, the man in charge of the projection booth, was Jerry Lewis' uncle!
Luismel is correct. It is now a White Castle. It is near the Belleville border but not close enough to just cross over. It is about 5 blocks from border. Saw Texas Chain Saw Massacre & Exorcist there (originals).
The Elwood theater was built by my immigrant-grandfather, Simon Levin, and later owned by my father and his brothers. My brother worked here on Saturdays putting together the movie posters and stands. I remember going as a small child. The 3 things I remember are getting popcorn in a manila envelope because someone else ran the concession stand and the cardboard buckets were costly; our father and uncles had an office there and I remember being taken aback when I saw they kept a loaded gun in a holster attached to the arm of a chair in the office; they had a big red velvet curtain that retracted to reveal the screen. My grandfather also built the Palace and Pix theaters in Orange, NJ.
I remember the Elwood Theater as a kid in the mid 70’s. My parents would take us kids. By this time the theater was only showing Latin films and occasionally Puerto Rican comedian stars would come from NY, Mexico, and the Caribbean it was its last howrah. By 1978 the theater had fallen into disrepair and not being kept up and the neighborhood was by this time crime ridden where not many families were safe going into the area of North Newark. As the 80s came so did the demolition. Today a White Castle hamburger chain stands on the site of the Elwood Theater.
I lived in walking distance of the Elwood Theatre. I remember going there in the mid Sixties with other kids from the Forest Hill neighborhood. It was inexpensive and the weekend matinees played movie favorites such as the Beach Blanket series starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon along with horror movies such as The House on Haunted Hill and Brainstrom. In addition the Elwood showed several films in the Thief of Baghdad genre – in blazing color and with super size genies. I suspect that some of the movies were Italian imports that were dubbed. Many fond memories of a place where my love of this art form began.
Photos of the 1959 refresh by Eastern Theatres Circuit in photos.
Opened September 19th, 1931. Grand opening ad posted.