Menlo Park Twin Cinema

390 Menlo Park Mall,
Edison, NJ 08837

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Cineplex Odeon, General Cinema Corp.

Architects: Elliot Willensky

Previous Names: Menlo Cinema

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News About This Theater

Menlo Park Cinema Box Office Lobby - 1991

Opened October 12, 1961 with Kirk Douglas in “Spartacus”. This large theatre sat at the corner of US Route 1 and Parsonage Road in Edison, outside the Menlo Park Mall. It was one of Northern New Jersey’s large, prestigious theatres. It played exclusive engagements of both “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”, the latter in 70mm. It was twinned November 2, 1976. It was closed on November 30, 1991.

It was demolished after Cineplex Odeon opened a 12-screen multiplex theatre in the newly rebuilt Menlo Park Mall around late-1991.

Contributed by Tim Quan

Recent comments (view all 90 comments)

markp
markp on February 10, 2019 at 1:39 pm

Closed on Nov 30,1991. I was there the night it closed. I was one of the two projectionists that worked there.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on May 5, 2019 at 6:11 am

Opened as a twin with on screen 1 with “The front” and screen 2 with “A clockwork orange”. Markp, do you remember what movies were playing on tne last day of operation of this cinema?

markp
markp on May 5, 2019 at 12:16 pm

davidcoppock, I seem to remember in Cinema 1 The Five Heartbeats. That seems to ring a bell. Cant seem to recall what was in Cinema 2.

markp
markp on June 16, 2020 at 12:47 pm

42 years ago today “Grease” opened here in Cinema 1. What a crazy busy summer that was. “Heaven Can Wait” was the Cinema 2 attraction.

moviebuff82
moviebuff82 on June 16, 2020 at 1:13 pm

Jaws 2 also came out that weekend and dominated the box office by a hair that weekend but Grease won the box office for the year.

mhvbear
mhvbear on June 16, 2020 at 7:58 pm

According to NY Times TimeMachine, 42 years ago Grease was playing in Cinema 1 and An Unmarried Woman was showing in Cinema 2.

markp
markp on June 17, 2020 at 12:25 am

sounds about right. I think a week or two later we got Heaven Can Wait. An Unmarried Woman was there since late winter. When we got movies at Menlo Park they stayed a looong time

Guodone
Guodone on September 24, 2020 at 7:07 pm

The Menlo Park Theater was the big one in central Jersey for the General Cinema Corporation. A beautiful theater with a nice contemporary look. I saw a few movies there (All the President’s Men, Shampoo, Harry and Walter Go to New York) but Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were the big ones. I sat in the fourth row on the first night of Star Wars, blown away by the opening scene.

markp
markp on May 21, 2021 at 9:24 pm

42 years ago today The Empire Strikes Back opened in 70mm in Cinema 1.

MSC77
MSC77 on May 5, 2023 at 7:37 pm

A chronology of 70mm presentations in Northern New Jersey has been published. Menlo Park gets several mentions in the article.

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