A lot of the heading is in contradiction to material in the files of the Amityville Historical Society. They say that in the late 1920’s it was sold to the Prudential chain. The new owners installed new equipment for talkies and changed the name to Amityville. Then in the 1930’s it was deemed obsolete and suffering from competition by neighboring village theatres which had smoking loges and AC.
The theatre closed on Sunday, January 26, 1936 with the promise that a new theatre, “the finest of its type on Long Island” would open in ten weeks. The final film was a “Tale of Two Cities” with Ronald Coleman and Elizabeth Allen.
And on May 6, 1936 the new theatre opened. Since that 1936 theatre doesn’t exist on CT I will create it.
My company had a satellite office in nearby St. George. Wandering around at lunch one day, in the 1970’s, I came upon the theatre which, as I recall was an empty space for rent with trees and bushes making it look like a real relic. Better a reused space rather than an abandoned one or one that has been demolished.
Good to hear, Victor. I’ve avoided the place because the shopping center is so sleezy. The only time I ventured onto the premises was to get the seating capacities of the seven auditoriums.
I was surprised when this theatre opened because the area had such a poor history of theatre support for the Ronkonkoma, Jerry Lewis (later Lakeside Cinema) and College Plaza twins. And it’s exterior has to be the most unattractive of all the multiplexes.
If memory serves me correctly, this was the drive-in of choice when I was stationed in Ft. Dix, 1960-61. I remember one night we went to see a nudie film in 3D called “Paradiso”. It was billed as “The Boldest Look You Ever Took”. I remember nothing about this feature but the second movie was one about a nudest resort. It was ho hum. But the interesting thing was that as we left, not to far into the movie, there was a sequence of a naked woman on a trampoline. When we got out to the highway you could see her naked image bouncing over the low shrubs and trees. Needless to say traffic was just at about a standstill.
As I recall in later years there were restrictions about new drive-ins being built so that the screens would not face the highways. Also, I believe, they were trying to restrict the “product” which was playing at drive-ins, particularly ones like the Dix, whose screen was visible from the highway.
Contrary to the heading on this site the pylon is still there. It has now been covered by a fabric banner advertising Olney Vineyards developments. At 55 MPH that was all I could glean.
It’s interesting that of the 17 Newburgh theatres listed on CT only two are open; both are single screen. One goes back to the beginning of the 20th century the other is in the beginning of the 21st.
Before the illuminated sign was erected atop the concrete slab marquee there was a sign announcing the Elmont Theatre. It didn’t say Century. As a rule Century had it’s name out there on any project which they initiated. This was probably a lease that Century bought into late in the contruction phase. And the name Argo is strange since the Argo Village section of Elmont was no where near the theatre. Guess the name Elmont wasn’t as desirable.
And past it’s closing it was the site of some really big Flea Markets each Sunday. I was local and just called it the 110 Drive-In. In that immediate area were also the Massapequa, Hempstead Tpke (in Bethpage/Plainedge) and Johnny All Weather in Copiague.
Great photos. I concur that it’s unlikely that any of the original architecture is likely to exist with all the exposure to the elements. I was only in the Westbury once, before it was twinned. As I recall there was no balcony. Just sort of a stadium seating along the lines of the Plainview. Hence, no exterior fire escape stairs.
Long time since we’ve heard about these renovations. Also the Paramount in Huntington. They seemed to have stopped work on the Suffolk in Riverhead. The Islip plan fell through as did the Patchogue Plaza with the latter rumored to be demolished in May.
And what has happened to this project. The Islip deal fell through, the Patchogue Plaza deal fell through, work seems have stopped on the Suffolk in Riverhead and I haven’t heard any more about the Westbury.
It seems as all the plans to revitalize theatres on Long Island are falling through. There were plans for the Islip. A recent newspaper article says they’re going to tear down the Patchogue Plaza rather than going for for the Media Arts Center. Work seems to have stalled on the Suffolk in Riverhead. Haven’t heard any more about the Westbury or the Paramount in Huntington.
I signed up to get program alerts from you guys at one of those Alive After Five evenings in Patchogue. I have yet to attend a screening but, if the stars are in perfect allignment and you’re showing something I’d like to see……In the meantime keep up the battle. I don’t see what’s announced as being related to the efforts you have been making. Now, a couple of years ago, demolition would have been the preferred option.
I thought that the original building was going to be used rather than tearing it down and rebuilding. When you look at the artist’s rendering of the PlazaMAC exterior it just looks like a renovation of the old building.
Interestingly, if you look at the CT listing for the Cambria in Cambria Heights, there is some discussion about the Cameo being known as the Cambria for a period of time. No reference to that here though even in the AKA portion.
I noticed that, too, the other day. What always surprised me about the pylon was that it just said Whitman Theatre. Century was never shy about identifying their properties, particularly on the facades of their later theatres. Perhaps a zoning thing. The simple design may be the reason for it’s survival; it’s innocuous.
In theory the last name standing is the CT rule (not always observed) and as you note problematic. As a Long Islander I know the new name and access it as such. It could also be argued that one would look up the name of the community and try the entries there hoping a specific AKA would appear.
A lot of the heading is in contradiction to material in the files of the Amityville Historical Society. They say that in the late 1920’s it was sold to the Prudential chain. The new owners installed new equipment for talkies and changed the name to Amityville. Then in the 1930’s it was deemed obsolete and suffering from competition by neighboring village theatres which had smoking loges and AC.
The theatre closed on Sunday, January 26, 1936 with the promise that a new theatre, “the finest of its type on Long Island” would open in ten weeks. The final film was a “Tale of Two Cities” with Ronald Coleman and Elizabeth Allen.
And on May 6, 1936 the new theatre opened. Since that 1936 theatre doesn’t exist on CT I will create it.
My company had a satellite office in nearby St. George. Wandering around at lunch one day, in the 1970’s, I came upon the theatre which, as I recall was an empty space for rent with trees and bushes making it look like a real relic. Better a reused space rather than an abandoned one or one that has been demolished.
Good to hear, Victor. I’ve avoided the place because the shopping center is so sleezy. The only time I ventured onto the premises was to get the seating capacities of the seven auditoriums.
It’s not uncommon for services at movie theatres. I believe they’re still doing it in Mastic.
I was surprised when this theatre opened because the area had such a poor history of theatre support for the Ronkonkoma, Jerry Lewis (later Lakeside Cinema) and College Plaza twins. And it’s exterior has to be the most unattractive of all the multiplexes.
According to the Drive-Ins.com site this was a seasonal operation from April-September.
I’m impressed. That was really imbedded in Warren’s post.
Larry H – I’m confused. How did all of the above discussion on the Prospect lead to your revelation of where you were on August 12, 1949?
If memory serves me correctly, this was the drive-in of choice when I was stationed in Ft. Dix, 1960-61. I remember one night we went to see a nudie film in 3D called “Paradiso”. It was billed as “The Boldest Look You Ever Took”. I remember nothing about this feature but the second movie was one about a nudest resort. It was ho hum. But the interesting thing was that as we left, not to far into the movie, there was a sequence of a naked woman on a trampoline. When we got out to the highway you could see her naked image bouncing over the low shrubs and trees. Needless to say traffic was just at about a standstill.
As I recall in later years there were restrictions about new drive-ins being built so that the screens would not face the highways. Also, I believe, they were trying to restrict the “product” which was playing at drive-ins, particularly ones like the Dix, whose screen was visible from the highway.
Contrary to the heading on this site the pylon is still there. It has now been covered by a fabric banner advertising Olney Vineyards developments. At 55 MPH that was all I could glean.
Did they ever finish the conversion to a church. There was still construction on the facade when I was in the area at the end of the year.
It’s interesting that of the 17 Newburgh theatres listed on CT only two are open; both are single screen. One goes back to the beginning of the 20th century the other is in the beginning of the 21st.
It’s interesting that of the 17 theatres listed on CT for Newburgh only two are open, both single screen one from 2006 the other from the early 1900s.
Before the illuminated sign was erected atop the concrete slab marquee there was a sign announcing the Elmont Theatre. It didn’t say Century. As a rule Century had it’s name out there on any project which they initiated. This was probably a lease that Century bought into late in the contruction phase. And the name Argo is strange since the Argo Village section of Elmont was no where near the theatre. Guess the name Elmont wasn’t as desirable.
And past it’s closing it was the site of some really big Flea Markets each Sunday. I was local and just called it the 110 Drive-In. In that immediate area were also the Massapequa, Hempstead Tpke (in Bethpage/Plainedge) and Johnny All Weather in Copiague.
Great photos. I concur that it’s unlikely that any of the original architecture is likely to exist with all the exposure to the elements. I was only in the Westbury once, before it was twinned. As I recall there was no balcony. Just sort of a stadium seating along the lines of the Plainview. Hence, no exterior fire escape stairs.
Long time since we’ve heard about these renovations. Also the Paramount in Huntington. They seemed to have stopped work on the Suffolk in Riverhead. The Islip plan fell through as did the Patchogue Plaza with the latter rumored to be demolished in May.
And what has happened to this project. The Islip deal fell through, the Patchogue Plaza deal fell through, work seems have stopped on the Suffolk in Riverhead and I haven’t heard any more about the Westbury.
It seems as all the plans to revitalize theatres on Long Island are falling through. There were plans for the Islip. A recent newspaper article says they’re going to tear down the Patchogue Plaza rather than going for for the Media Arts Center. Work seems to have stalled on the Suffolk in Riverhead. Haven’t heard any more about the Westbury or the Paramount in Huntington.
I signed up to get program alerts from you guys at one of those Alive After Five evenings in Patchogue. I have yet to attend a screening but, if the stars are in perfect allignment and you’re showing something I’d like to see……In the meantime keep up the battle. I don’t see what’s announced as being related to the efforts you have been making. Now, a couple of years ago, demolition would have been the preferred option.
I thought that the original building was going to be used rather than tearing it down and rebuilding. When you look at the artist’s rendering of the PlazaMAC exterior it just looks like a renovation of the old building.
The theatre was purchased at auction for $100,000 according to a reference in Lost Broadway Theatres by Nicholas van Hoogstraten.
Interestingly, if you look at the CT listing for the Cambria in Cambria Heights, there is some discussion about the Cameo being known as the Cambria for a period of time. No reference to that here though even in the AKA portion.
I noticed that, too, the other day. What always surprised me about the pylon was that it just said Whitman Theatre. Century was never shy about identifying their properties, particularly on the facades of their later theatres. Perhaps a zoning thing. The simple design may be the reason for it’s survival; it’s innocuous.
In theory the last name standing is the CT rule (not always observed) and as you note problematic. As a Long Islander I know the new name and access it as such. It could also be argued that one would look up the name of the community and try the entries there hoping a specific AKA would appear.