Center Cinema
504B Main Street,
Center Moriches,
NY
11934
504B Main Street,
Center Moriches,
NY
11934
1 person
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I saw the movie “Carnal Knowledge” there in the spring of 1972 as a high school senior.Then in 1976 my band “Triad” was hired to play a “young persons” concert there in the fall of 1976. Theater managers at the time were the Barbetta family. They hired a bandmate and me to build a stage at the front of the theater to accommodate live bands. It was a bit of a challenge for a pair of inexperienced carpenters to build a level stage on a sloping floor but we got the job done, with mixed results, in time for the show. The interior walls of the theater were originally lined with deep red curtains which had, over time, been hacked up pretty good by bored teenagers. The Barbettas hired us to replace the bottom 48" of the curtains with T1-11 plywood siding which ultimately just provided a new surface into which vandals could carve their initials and pithy sayings. The concert was well-attended but it was the only one we did there. Not sure if they ever hosted any other concerts. For the record, Triad consisted of: Pete Jespersen, keyboards Kevin Skarka, Guitar, bass and vocals Grant Werner, drums and vocals. All members were from Eastport and later formed the nucleus of LI rock club band “The Bridge Gang”
GW
Any rememberances about the interior of the theatre Eastport HomeBoy?
I was about 14 when they ran the Beatles “Let It Be” on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon matinee. I seem to remember there may have been only one other person there watching with me. I was an aspiring musician and huge Beatle fan and was happy that my mom let me go alone. It was a rainy afternoon and while I was waiting for my mother to pick me up after the movie the manager was kind enough to keep me company. I must have told him that I was a big Beatle fan and he opened up the showcase that had four lobby cards for the movie and gave them to me. That was the very first addition to my vast Beatles collection of memorabilia that I will never part with (and they’re worth quite a bit now!). A very fond memory…
remember seeing the klansman in this theater starring o j simpson and richard burton in 1974 this theater was located on the east end of the center in the woolworth shopping center and also had a liggett (spell) drug store in there. on montauk highway across the street from a school and funeral home. I belive a suffolk county police officer was also badly wounded in his face from a shotgun blast years later in that same shopping center.
just realized I never identified JL as Jerry Lewis in my first reference altho most people would know that. Heading should, therefore, be changed to Center Cinema previously known as the Jerry Lewis Theatre.
Firstly, the name should be corrected to Center Cinema since that’s how it spent most of it’s short life.
Contrary to my 4/22/09 posting, the theatre was not part of the original Moriches Shopping Town altho' there had been much discussion about it. Rather, on February 9, 1972 the former Hale’s was retrofitted to provide the sloping floor. Presumably the roof line was also lowered to conform to the JL look. Seating capacity was 350. Adults $1.50; children 50 cents. Altho as a JL it wouldn’t show “X” rated films ads strangely indicated “This is an adult theatre”.
As with many mom and pop JL’s it didn’t last long. After being shuttered for some time it reopened at the Center Cinema on November 28, 1973.
The shopping center in which the Center Theatre was located opened in 1962. Presumably the theatre did also.
Most of the Suffolk County houses, with the exception of the Century monopoly in Huntington, were Prudential. One exception immediately comes to mind was the Larkfield in East Northport. Most had small smoking loges and were single feature before the norm. They had unusual schedules, I thought. Matinees Sat & Sun (and in summer RAINY DAYS), evenings at 7 and 9.
Wow, thanks for that memory – I’d forgotten about the one on Railroad Ave. ! I think it’s just a bit before my time but I do remember passing by it when I was really young. Perhaps the theater I mention above was run by Prudential?
The old, wooden Center Moriches theatre on Railroad av just north of Montauk Highway is now a dry cleaners. One can actually see the openings from the projection booth inside.
Now somebody please confirm that Prudential also had a theatre in Moriches. I seem to remember this in their old guide. I wish I’s retained it. I tried at the Moriches Library but not the Center Moriches one.
The Center Theatre was located in the King Kullen shopping center on Montauk highway (or Main St.) in Center Moriches. I believe a bank now occupies the space it was in.
I think it started out as a first run theater (I saw “Godfather II” there in ‘74) but later became a discount house. They also hosted occasional rock concerts throughout the years, mostly local bands. Nearby Shirley Twin would sometimes do this also.