Brookhaven Theater
Port Jefferson Station,
NY
11776
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Does ANYONE know: did this movie theatre plaster their old movie posters on the ceiling of the lobby ? I went out really far (we were from Huntington) with friends to see Mommie Dearest in the very early 1980s .This kinda looks like the theatre we went to . Only that once. If not DOES ANYONE remember a movie theatre in the Stony Brook / Port Jefferson area that did this : use their old movie posters as wallpaper ? Thanks
Photo uploaded toward the end.
I am remembering 1958-1961 range and always Saturday afternoon. It is strange the things that stick with us!
The only lady I remember in the ticket booth was when the theater first opened. My parents and I were summering in Rocky Point and went to see an Esther Williams movie. The cashier had been a decided blonde at some point and was letting it grow out. It looked like she was wearing a skull cap. An image which has stuck with me all these MANY years.
The theater was owned/managed by the Spector family, I think. I remember the lady at the ticket booth Ottilie Voboril (she always wore a name tag). You couldn’t put anything over on any of them.
Does anyone remember the , kid-hating , brother/sister team that managed the theater ? I remember that they wouldn’t allow me and my cousin in to see COLD TURKEY , a harmless Dick Van Dyke GP rated comedy , because we weren’t accomapnied by an adult ! They must’ve really hated those Saturday afternoon kiddie matinees !!
I’ve never seen either theater firsthand, so I couldn’t say anything about the interiors, but, judging from the photos, the exteriors (Brookhaven and Sayville) are quite similar.
Am I not correct in my presumption that the Sayville Theatre was virtually identical to the Brookhaven?
The Brookhaven Theatre was designed by architects John and Drew Eberson. Photos of it accompanied an article by John Eberson in the April 1, 1950, issue of Boxoffice. Prudential’s new Art Moderne house seated 872, with 668 in the orchestra nad 204 in the balcony.
During my summers in Rocky Point in the 1950’s one would go to Port Jeff for a movie. When the Brookhave opened you didn’t have to go as far. Always a packed house in the summer with the AC and vacationers. I remember one night seeing an Esther Williams movie. The next day at the beach people were trying to do an “adagio Lift”, an aquatic movement executed from a floating position with one leg elevated. Thru hand and arm motion you ‘gracefully’ submerge". Yeah, right!
Years later when I attended Queens College in Flushing, Miss William came to the new pool and did a special with the swim team. They, too, could not execute the “lift”.
To my recollection this house was identical to that of the Sayville. As with all of the theatres operated by Prudential there was a small smoking loge for which you paid a premium.
I was born (1951) & raised and still live in Port Jefferson Station.I remember this theatre well and remember it’s interior, very grand. Bill Ecca was the usher. He died some years ago. The earliest movies I saw were ‘Thirteen Ghost’(with 3D glasses), ‘Psycho’,‘The Birds’ & ‘Peppermint Twist. Saw the Beatles movies there. (we were able to dance in the isles).My girlfriend and I would sit upstairs. We would have the 'Battle of the Bands’ on Saturdays on the stage. I miss this theatre.(wish i have a pic. of it)
I remember seeing Pinnochio there sometime in the mid-80s…didn’t realize it had such a long history on LI!
Layout and seating count resemble those of other Prudential theaters designed by Maurice Sornick. Could he have been the architect?
If this is the theater on Route 112 that’s now the site of a Blockbuster, I remember lying about my age to go see Poltergeist there with my cousins!
It had a balcony, didn’t it? I think they closed the balcony by the time I was going there (in the 80’s.)
There’s some discussion on this theater under the Fox theater entry in East Setauket.
the theater was very pretty inside it was done in cranberry and gold. It had mosaic water fountain. My Mother used to work behind the candy counter, and I used to tag alone I saw Davy Crockett 5 times. I remember Bill that use to work there. It was a sad day in town when the theatre was torn down. Linda Dawson Port jefferson Station
very Nice theater, I knew joe, keith, and tommy that used to do the cleaning there.
I worked at Brookhaven part hours and the giant screen with three speaker systems behind created a fine presentation. Frank Cunning.
Brookhaven Theater in Port Jefferson Station was closed and probably demolished before the Brookhaven Multiplex in Medford was opened. These are two separate venues.
i think this theater is listed twice
This was a reduced price house
yes
Did Century’s run this at the end?