Regent Theatre

12 Veterans Place,
Paterson, NJ 07505

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Regent Theatre, Paterson, NJ – 1929

The first theatre in the county built exclusively for showing motion pictures was the Regent Theatre at 12 Union Street, Paterson, NJ (later renamed Veterans Place). This beautiful, modern amusement house was conceived and erected by Jacob Fabian of Paterson (his first theatre) who officially opened it to the public on August 24, 1914 with Robert Edeson in “The Call of the North”. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 2 manual 7 ranks organ. Believing that its huge cost would prove to be a great liability to Mr. Fabian, it was frequently referred to as “Fabian’s Folly” during the early days of its existence. In 1923 the Wurlitzer organ was replaced by a Griffith-Beach 3 manual organ. On March 27, 1926 this was replaced by a Wurlitzer 2 manual 7 ranks organ.

By 1941 the Regent Theatre was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. It was still open in early-1956, but was closed and almost immediately demolished on May 21, 1956. The site is now a parking lot.

Contributed by tc

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

teecee
teecee on March 2, 2006 at 5:23 am

Listed as part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook.

teecee
teecee on April 6, 2007 at 9:39 am

Images of America: Downtown Paterson has a photo on page 62. It states that the site is now a parking lot.

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on March 10, 2008 at 8:11 am

A Mighty WurliTzer Theater Pipe Organ, Opus 40, a 2 Manual/7 Rank was shipped to this theater on July 10, 1914. It is no know what happened to that organ.

A Griffith-Beach Pipe Organ 3 Manual, with echo. went to this theater in 1923. It is not know what happened to that organ.

Another WurliTzer, Opus 1304, another 2/7 was shipped to this theater on March 27, 1926. It is not know what happened to that organ.

If you know anything about any of these organs, please email us!

“Gee Dad, it was a WurliTzer/Griffith-Beach/WurliTzer!”

Brad Smith
Brad Smith on April 24, 2010 at 11:19 am

Click here for a photograph of the Regent Theatre taken in 1929 by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto & Mann.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on June 22, 2012 at 3:23 pm

The Union Street on which the Regent Theatre was located had its name changed to Veterans Place ages ago. Google Maps will not find this downtown location unless the street name Veterans Place is used in the address field.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on June 22, 2012 at 3:51 pm

Paterson, by Philip M. Read, attributes the design of the Regent Theatre to architect Fred W. Wentworth, who later designed several more theaters for Jacob Fabian.

LugosiResearch
LugosiResearch on December 29, 2012 at 6:15 pm

On Friday 9 February 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at the Regent. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!

rivest266
rivest266 on May 9, 2024 at 9:27 pm

This is the first theatre in what became the Fabian theatre chain.

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