My grandfather, James Martina began operating the theater in 1923. During WW2 people would flock to the theater to watch the news reels which were delivered by train from NYC across the Hudson River to Hoboken NJ to board the Pheobe Snow passenger train on the DL&W RR on its way west thru Dansville. In 1951 he converted the screen to silver and modified the projectors so he could run occasional 3-D movies. In 1955 he moved the screen forward and went all across the stage with a curved Cinemascope screen and stereophonic sound. He was always proud that he was able to get the magnetic striped sound prints so that he could present the movie in stereo. Most small towns were not equipped for stereo. He had two oversized seats in the rear of the theater for anyone who was overweight and could not fit in the tight seats of the time. There may have been more but that’s all I remember. The family ran it after his death with the help of Bill Moose, a long time family friend and loyal employee. Bill would sell tickets, run the projectors and clean the theater. He even had a bedroom setup behind the screen where he could sleep. -Chuck Hughes, grandson
Vincenzo Martina (my Great Grandfather) moved from LeRoy to Mt. Morris to open a small movie theater called the Family Theater down the north part of Main Street. Later, after his death, all of his children built the New Family Theater in his honor. It was run by his daughter and her husband until it closed. In fact many of his six children had theaters around western New York which became part of the Martina Circuit: Dansville, Attica, Albion, Clyde, Naples, Nunda, Cuba and a few more at times.
My grandfather, James Martina began operating the theater in 1923. During WW2 people would flock to the theater to watch the news reels which were delivered by train from NYC across the Hudson River to Hoboken NJ to board the Pheobe Snow passenger train on the DL&W RR on its way west thru Dansville. In 1951 he converted the screen to silver and modified the projectors so he could run occasional 3-D movies. In 1955 he moved the screen forward and went all across the stage with a curved Cinemascope screen and stereophonic sound. He was always proud that he was able to get the magnetic striped sound prints so that he could present the movie in stereo. Most small towns were not equipped for stereo. He had two oversized seats in the rear of the theater for anyone who was overweight and could not fit in the tight seats of the time. There may have been more but that’s all I remember. The family ran it after his death with the help of Bill Moose, a long time family friend and loyal employee. Bill would sell tickets, run the projectors and clean the theater. He even had a bedroom setup behind the screen where he could sleep. -Chuck Hughes, grandson
Vincenzo Martina (my Great Grandfather) moved from LeRoy to Mt. Morris to open a small movie theater called the Family Theater down the north part of Main Street. Later, after his death, all of his children built the New Family Theater in his honor. It was run by his daughter and her husband until it closed. In fact many of his six children had theaters around western New York which became part of the Martina Circuit: Dansville, Attica, Albion, Clyde, Naples, Nunda, Cuba and a few more at times.