Garden Theatre
150 N. Broad Street,
Trenton,
NJ
08608
150 N. Broad Street,
Trenton,
NJ
08608
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Little Theatre, Little Cinema Theatre, New Garden Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Garden Theatre was located on Broad Street near Perry Street. It opened on June 13, 1913. On November 21 1930 it reopened as the Little Theatre, screening Lon Chaney in “The Unholy Three”. It then screened German language movies and was renamed the Little Cinema Theatre screening Italian, Yiddish, Hungarian language movies. The Danceland dance hall opened above the theatre and it shortened its name back to Little Theatre, which closed in 1936.
On October 18, 1937 it reopened as the New Garden Theatre, screening Vivian McGill in “Human Wreckage: They Must Be Told” (aka Sex Madness). It continues as an expoitation house until it became an African American theatre until 1960. It then became the Teatro Puerto Rio, screening Spanish language movies. By 2000 it was a live music venue. In the early-2020’s it became a nightclub.
Contributed by
RickB
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Listed on page 66 of the 1913 Trenton City Directory under “Amusements”.
Going north on Broad St., it was on the right hand side. Around 1972, It had Garden Theatre painted on the south side of the building but very faded. The name on the Marquee was hand lettered It said “Teatro Puerto Rico”. They were showing Spanish language films. The booth was one of my all time favorites. Very early Regular Simplex projecctors, Western Electric (Mirror-phonic?) sound heads. When you opened the soundhead door, you would loose the sound. The carbon arc lamps were called Strong Mogul’s. Instead of an electric change over behind the aperture, The had two sliding metal plates on tracks that were mounted on the wall and slid in front of port holes. The place had a large wooden balcony with windows ob the back wall.
I remember a live venue in the 1980s called City Gardens. Could this be the same building?
I found out that City Gardens was on Calhoun Street.
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d9n3rz
Back in the 50s, the Garden was a “Colored theater” catering to a Black clientele. It was fairly rundown and wasn’t showing anything close to a first run. My memory is of older “B” films.
EdM
The Garden Theatre, owned by Charles Hildinger and Milton Hirshfild reopened on April 27, 1925.
The building still exists. Here’s a link to a photo by Seth Gaines on Flickr.
View link
My grandmother immigrated to Trenton from England in 1910 at age 14. I recall her pointing out this theater, or another near this location, as being the “tin dump.” It apparently had a metal roof that made a great deal of noise when it was raining. It also had a balcony reserved for African Americans that was offensively known as N. Heaven.
The Garden Theatre opened on June 13, 1913 with sound accompanied films. It played films on a continuous, grind policy from 10 a.m. to midnight. Charles Hildinger and Milton Hirshfild - operators of city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Rialto, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, and the Strand - all in Trenton. The theatre was not wired for sound and is used rarely for live events.
New operators took on the venue on November 21, 1930 under the name of The Little Cinema with “The Unholy Tree.” The theater immediately switched to German language films. Diversifying under the name of The Little Cinema Theatre in 1931, it programmed Italian, Yiddish, German and Hungarian language films. The Danceland dance hall opened above the theater. The name was shortened to the Little Theatre closing in 1936.
On November 18, 1937, the “New” Garden Theatre opens under Mercer Entertainment Circuit with the exploitation film, “Human Wreckage.” It plays other exploitations titles including, “Lash of the Penitentes” and “Smashing the Vice Trust.” The theater became an African American venue into 1960 with an end date hard to pinpoint. It then became Teatro Puerto Rico showing Spanish language films. In the 21st Century, it was a live music hall with the theater intact in the 2020s with the Beach nameplate restore and replaced when it became a nightclub.