Farmingdale Theater
360 N. Main Street,
Farmingdale,
NY
11735
360 N. Main Street,
Farmingdale,
NY
11735
2 people
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To George Strum, Lenny Lopes and Orlando Lopes are one in the same. Lenny was nickname. Think of the parties that I didn’t know about at the time, but the staff were great, Patty A., James C. projectionist, and many others. It was so long ago, I worked here for UA in 1977 with a 77 cents policy. I returned in 1981 when ALMI was formed to take over 5 UA theatres. The price was 80 cents for the decade. I had them raise the price to $1. shortly after. The patrons of this theatre were strictly low class due to the price. When Almi took over Century, I asked to go to the Century’s Morton Village. The theatre closed in 1984. The other 4 theatres Almi took from UA were the Amityville, Bayshore (Main St.), Plaza and the Brookhaven (the best grosser of the group). By the way when I went to Plainview reguarding my switch to Morton Village, the manager, Ed, came up with the jingle “We’re in the Almi now, etc. etc.. I worked for Century before the Almi takeover at the Whitman, York and Shore Theatres. All gone but not forgotten.
Photo added of the theater in the day. Toward the end of its days a crude sign was placed atop the marquee indicating films which were playing.
According to the Historical Society, the Farmingdale was built next door to a building which had housed an earlier theater, the Strand. It opened in 1942 a few weeks after Pearl Harbor. After a fire in 1950 it reopened and lasted until 1984.
Orlando was Lenny any relation to you?
John and Drew Eberson had a project listed as Theatre Building for Farmingdale Theatre Inc with a date of 1941.
This is a pretty large building, I hadn’t realized this was a theater. When did it close?
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The main floor now houses a law office among other things. I’ve been told that the balcony is still intact including the seats. This was another theatre that didn’t have a signboard marquee – the alan and lindenhurst are two others which come to mind.
I remember both Mrs Burns, Mr Lopes & Mrs Vitale, who was one of my favorites. There was also a ditzy woman manager named Yvonne there for awhile who I could go on about for several paragraphs. She was married to one of the UA “big-wigs”. And to Jason W: Yes, I knew stuff went on there after hours. I could tell that light switches etc were not the way I left them the night before when I’d come in somtimes. I wasn’t trying to trip anyone up. I just had a “system” in the way I did things and I could tell when things were not the way I had left hem. But you guys never caused me any problems so I never said anything or complained. The staff at the theater I’m at now unplugs cables or TOTALLY screws up my sound & light settings sometimes and that kinda pisses me off now that I’m getting old & cranky! hahahaha
Mrs Burns has passes away and Mr Lopes is now the head of NY theater
Historical society.
I worked at the Farmingdale Movie Theater in ‘81. Lenny Lopes and Mrs. Burns were the managers then. Fondest teenage memories working there…
No. Mrs Vitale was in 80 and then Mr Lopes 81.
Jason was MRS Burns the manager then…..
I was an usher there from 1980 to 81. My friends all worked there at the same time. We had the best time of our lives there. We used to leave the upstairs balcony door unlocked and come back into the theater with all our friends after it closed for the night!! We had major parties with music (from the house sound system) and free popcorn. Surprise Jim! Bernie, Scott, Phil, Jeff, me and sometimes the ticket girls (Patty, Debbie). So many memories from that old building. I hope one day someone has the money to restore it to its old glory…..
I hope someone can help me or give me an idea where to look. I am trying to find Joseph Clark, an usher at the Farmingdale Movie Theater on Main Street around late 1956 and early 1957. At that time he would have been in his early 20’s. There is an urgent matter I must discuss with him. Feel free to reply to
.edu
Thanks!
This was a terrific, large Art Deco theater where I saw many films growing up. In the mid 70s it was for sale and I found out the asking price was $120K.
As I was only 15 I couldn’t afford it.
What became of the space or building which formerly housed this theater?
WAS Katty Burns the manager here for years before going to the Whitman .
Say JimC just in case my email is Do you remember Maurene Fullam? George? The assistant manager for a short while Rhonda? The police car that landed in the emergency exit? There is so much more. So many stories attached to this theater. All happy memories all good times. We won UA’s award for the best maintained and improved theater in the circuit while I was there, distributed the prize money with the whole (theater) family.. Are there any other family members out there? It would be cool to have a reunion know where we all moved on to… I live in Virginia now just outside Charlottesville. Write soon!
Hey Jim getting old now 61 but did we work it at the same time? Tom Kelly I was the Manager about that it was a family theater in the truest sense. The staff of the theater came to my home when my son Robert was born. Everyone worked together. I remember one night the inevitable happened the movie on screen upside down. Hey we had the best lenses and focus outside of Syosset. PS: Lets remember Harry our infamous doorman….
I was the projectionist at The Farmingdale theatre from 1974 through 1982. The booth had Simplex E-7’s with Ashcraft lamps powered by a motor generator set. It had an RCA sound system, and it also had an old rack of AMEPX amplifers left over from a 1950’s stereo magnetic sound system that I was used as a back up sound system. Despite the age of the equipment it had been very well maintained. The Farmingdale had a very interseting air conditioning system. There was a huge air chamber in back above the stage in back of the screen. Huge blowers moved air over a network of pipes that contained cold water pumped from an underground well that was located under the theatre. The water then went to a very scary room located in the sub-basement of the theatre where it drained into what looked like a swimming pool. The there was no bottom in the pool (just dirt) so the water would eventually seep back underground to the well.
The auditorium ceiling was very high. The light bulbs in the fixtures above the auditorum were changed “from above” by accessing them from a network of catwalks. A lot of bats lived up in that ceiling! I was often the first one to arrive at for work at the theatre, and when I’d first go in and turn on the lights, the bats would fly out of the auditorum and back into the ceiling. In all the years I worked there, I only saw one fly out into the audience once during a show. They’d occasionally surprise me by unexpectedly flying around the projection booth. Never caused me any problem. I didn’t bother them, and they didn’t bother me.
“JimC”
just a nice local house
Would you have taken Mae West there like you did at the RKO Madison?
Too bad this theatre had to go it was a great date theatre not much else to do on Long Island anyway
Well, the count is a 150 seat difference. Not much when you consider the overall count. I remember this one as being very large, fairly but not overly ornate. What was cute about the place was where it was located. The village area was very nice and this theater had a prime location in the heart of it.
This theatre first appears in 1946 with seating as 850 and later at 1000. Possible expansion or an error in the listing.