Adams Theatre
28 Branford Place,
Newark,
NJ
07102
28 Branford Place,
Newark,
NJ
07102
12 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 60 comments
Will this theatre ever see a rebirth?
Two 2019 photos added credit James Kralovich‎. The Adams Theatre mocked up for the filming of “The Many Saints of Newark”, 1967 Newark riots scenes. To be released in 2020. The previous photo added by LUISMEL in July 2019, is also from the filming. Not a 1967 photo as written.
Non sportsnut… Many years ago I worked with an old timer who was an usher at the Proctors. He noted how the stooges played there and some would send him across the street to Bamburgers to get him a pint of whisky!
Trying to confirm dates of a personal appearance of the Three Stooges Moe Howard. Larry Fine and Joe DeRita, and Rick Sapphire, sometime in 1964. My email is: Thanks,
Frank Reighter
How in the world can a theatre like this end up in this deplorable condition? Didn’t the locals realize what they had?
Matt how did you manage to get permission to photograph the theatre>
Matt, I work around the block at the arena. As a former projectionist, I would have loved to get inside and see this place, along with the Paramount and Proctors. Keep up the good work.
The “two Greek immigrant brothers”, are my ancestors… Peter (Panayiotis) and Adam, Adamopoulos, where born in a small village in Greece in 1885-1887 respectively, emigrated in New York in the early 1900’s (around 1901-1903, and were in the theater business all their lives. They had wonderful families. Peter returned to Greece where he died in 1973 and Adam died in New Jersey. The Newark theater marquee was still there until a couple of years ago, but no idea how things are now… Very nostalgic photos, very empowering to see how people can do anything, overcome any obstacle (they didn’t even speak english when they arrived in the U.S), survive any difficulty (world war I and II drafts), and live a creative and prosperous life, surrounded by friends and family.
Yes it would njhistorychic. And the Paramount on Market Street too.
I passed this building a lot over the years it would be nice if it was restored and reopened.
This has quite a long lobby back to the auditorium which stretches from Halsey Street to Treat Place. The lobby looks like it has a clothing store.
tisloews: You are welcome. I pride myself on the theatre related stories that I find through different sources and being able to share them with fellow cinema treasures members.
Good story Patsy.
This theatre and the Paramount in NYC are mentioned in the history of the legendary musical group, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/four_seasons.htm
[=stillimage&orderby=title&numresults=10&key=NJDH&&numresults=1&start=6]http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/search/results.php?q1=Newark&q1field=fulltext&q1bool=AND&q2field=fulltext&rtype[]=stillimage&orderby=title&numresults=10&key=NJDH&&numresults=1&start=6](http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/search/results.php?q1=Newark&q1field=fulltext&q1bool=AND&q2field=fulltext&rtype[)
There’s some nice photos of the Adams Theater on this website called NJ Digital Highway…
perhaps the victoria theater ad references an old name for congress theate? /theaters/13122/ http://caprioconnections.com/pictures/statue1.html “Victoria Theatre, 257 S. Ornage Ave. Newark, the home of refined Italian Vaudeville and the best Italian features, every Saturday and Sunday, Week days English and best Photo Plays” here is pic of ad for vaudeville and high quality photo plays on back wall of adams
View link
I’m reading the autobiography of my favorite singer, Vic Damone, and he mentions having performed here early in his career while he was doing radio, records, & clubs.
stage door??? View link looking at google earth it seems like this stage door on treat place must be the Adams, which runs from halsey to treat? and the branford side is just the lobby? but what to make of the signage for victoria theater on the back in the other picture?
Here is a 1981 photo of the Adams:
http://tinyurl.com/cztybz
The theater was presenting burlesque shows in the early 1950s, according to some litigation at that time.
CWalczak, I apologize for the comment about Cleveland. I did hesitate before adding it to the list because I do know that Cleveland is in better shape than the other cities that I mentioned. I know that they have made some strides in preserving theaters in the Playhouse Square area and are trying hard to get back on its feet, but Cleveland still has major problems throughout the city as a whole. The credit crisis has hit the city incredibly hard and I believe Cleveland has one of the country’s largest forclosure rates (maybe the highest for a major city).
I do wish this theatre, along with the Paramount a few blocks away could be revived, but I dont know…
I have to disagree about Cleveland – while it certainly has not erased grittiness throughout the city, it certainly has done an incredible job of preserving most of its downtown movie palace treasures, something that New York City cannot claim. It may not be what it was in the past, but it is hardly a city in ruins.
Hi Cypress, Do you currently live in one of Newark’s gritty wards? Do you look over your shoulder when you walk down the street at night. Do you worry about being burglarized while you sleep? Are your neighborhood stores just Dollar Stores, check cashing vendors and bodegas? Oh, I forgot the store front churches! Do you have to go to a whole other neighborhood to shop at real department stores or go to a supermarket or feel comfortable sitting in a park? Who wants to live like that? I’m so grateful that New York has been able to wipe most of that away throughout the entire city to the betterment of almost all of its residents.
The cities who have been unable to do this; Detroit, Gary, East St. Louis, Cleveland, Compton, Camden sit in ruins.
Hi LuisV. I guess I am misguided. What one person considers ‘gritty’ another considers an eyesore. I was pretty lost around that time and I found in that old Times Square something that resonated with me: neglect, abandoned, but still a diamond in the rough that needed TLC.