A search of Google street view puts the building at 586 Roosevelt. The photo is much nicer than that of the Ledger, leading one to believe that this building is in rapid decline.
FRENCHTOWN — In 1939 when the Barn Theater was being built, well-diggers struck water that flowed voluntarily to the surface and continues flowing to this day. For the next 50 years, the excess water came out of a metal pipe where it could be drunk or jugged by anyone who wanted it before it spilled into a ditch beside upper Twelfth Street.
The water was used to air condition the theater — until it showed its last movie in 1989 (“When Harry Met Sally”). Then an entrepreneur, who was trying in vain to get borough approval to turn the empty theater into a Country & Western dance hall, set up a coin-operated apparatus near the roadside to sell the water……..
Forgot this important link – the new home page for the theater
(from the print version of the article – can’t find this webpage via a Google search) http://wwww.thehbt.com/
Funny, caption of the photo in my above link, incidently from the same source as Ken Mc posted above, states photo is ca 1908. Don’t these editors cross check their own book?
“Another big event of 1909 was the disastrous fire at the armory. It was just past 8:00 PM on a sunday night when the first flames were spotted on the First Street side of the building. The department answered the alarm quickly, but felt that they could not save the building which streched from First to East Front Streets. About 9:00 PM help was summoned from Matawan H & L Co. All three companies arrived within the hour and did great work, helping Keyport to play at least nine streams of water on the blaze. At about 11:00 PM, the slate roof fell in, smothering as much of the fire. Eventually it was brought under control, however for secound time in this building, no cause of the fire was ever found. The Armony was later rebuilt, and renamed the Armory Theatre, eventualy becoming the Palace Theatre where a young Fred Astaire made his Vaudville Debute as a dancing Lobster in 1913. The building remained standing until 1973 at a which time it collapsed without warning into a pile of twisted beams and wires.” excerpt from http://www.keyportfd.org/historicalfires.htm
Went to see eat pray love last night. forgot my camera – I wanted to take some interior shots. can’t find any online. nice gold fabric walls, good lobby and concession stand. overall a nice place. hope they make it.
A search of Google street view puts the building at 586 Roosevelt. The photo is much nicer than that of the Ledger, leading one to believe that this building is in rapid decline.
Photo on the front page of today’s Star Ledger. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/poverty_rate_grows_in_njs_blue.html
Passed by today. They have begun to tear down the building, starting in the back where the DMV office once was.
A bit of quirky information from nj.com 7/11/11:
FRENCHTOWN — In 1939 when the Barn Theater was being built, well-diggers struck water that flowed voluntarily to the surface and continues flowing to this day. For the next 50 years, the excess water came out of a metal pipe where it could be drunk or jugged by anyone who wanted it before it spilled into a ditch beside upper Twelfth Street.
The water was used to air condition the theater — until it showed its last movie in 1989 (“When Harry Met Sally”). Then an entrepreneur, who was trying in vain to get borough approval to turn the empty theater into a Country & Western dance hall, set up a coin-operated apparatus near the roadside to sell the water……..
http://www.maguiregroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mcguiretheater-interior.jpg interior photo
This theater opened in 1955.
http://www.jointbasemdl.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123181098
www.hbt.com
Forgot this important link – the new home page for the theater
(from the print version of the article – can’t find this webpage via a Google search)
http://wwww.thehbt.com/
View link
Reopening on 5/13/11
small photo at this link:
http://www.northjerseymusic.com/venues/329
“Jersey City: In Vintage Postcards”, page 92, has an old postcard image. States that theater was built ca 1910 and became a church in ca 1960.
This theater now houses a funeral home. See picture bottom center and compare to the old photo in my link above:
http://www.cottonfuneralservice.com/home.php
Additional articles about the incident:
View link
View link
View link
There is a reference to the potential reopening of the Savoy in this article.
View link
New owners:
View link
The building currently houses the Bulkhead Bar & Grill.
Funny, caption of the photo in my above link, incidently from the same source as Ken Mc posted above, states photo is ca 1908. Don’t these editors cross check their own book?
Old photo:
View link
“Another big event of 1909 was the disastrous fire at the armory. It was just past 8:00 PM on a sunday night when the first flames were spotted on the First Street side of the building. The department answered the alarm quickly, but felt that they could not save the building which streched from First to East Front Streets. About 9:00 PM help was summoned from Matawan H & L Co. All three companies arrived within the hour and did great work, helping Keyport to play at least nine streams of water on the blaze. At about 11:00 PM, the slate roof fell in, smothering as much of the fire. Eventually it was brought under control, however for secound time in this building, no cause of the fire was ever found. The Armony was later rebuilt, and renamed the Armory Theatre, eventualy becoming the Palace Theatre where a young Fred Astaire made his Vaudville Debute as a dancing Lobster in 1913. The building remained standing until 1973 at a which time it collapsed without warning into a pile of twisted beams and wires.” excerpt from http://www.keyportfd.org/historicalfires.htm
this link has video of the demolition – so sad:
http://www.theshowroomap.com/
Listed as the Palace & closed in the 1944 Film Daily Yearbook with a capacity of 600.
View link
1928 postmark.
Thanks for posting this. I wasn’t sure that it was a movie theater. Not listed in the 1944 Film Daily Yearbook.
Went to see eat pray love last night. forgot my camera – I wanted to take some interior shots. can’t find any online. nice gold fabric walls, good lobby and concession stand. overall a nice place. hope they make it.
Appears in a few scenes of Hachi (2009).
I passed by twice last week while on vacation and the museum was not open. Movies are still showing but they appear to be first run only.