RobertR, I’m sorry to say, but as a projectionist of 33 years, I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, but nothing like what is happening now. The movie business is going down the drain as far as I’m concerned. That’s why I am actively switching careers and going into stagehand work. It really hurts to see whats happening.
Is William Appenzeller the GM of Towne 16 the same William Appenzeller who worked as a projectionist in the New Brunswick-Edison N.J. area in the late 1990’s ???
Another of the many theatres I was a projectionist. Worked here at various times between 1988 thru 1994. Huge twin, had almost 700 seats in each house. Nice big Cinemascope screens, even after twinning. I remember the summer of 1994 when “Forrest Gump” played in twin 1 to sold out shows for weeks. Theatre was equipped with 2 Simplex X-L projectors and 2 Christie Autowind 2 platters.
I was a projectionist here in the late 80’s until May 1995. The theatre was originally twinned in 1978. After a change in ownership in 1985, the theatre was quaded. In 1989, a 5th screen was added by splitting one of the splits (theatre 4). Was very run down in its final years, and closed for good in 1998 I think.
So sad to see these pictures. Looks like something out of a horror movie ( no pun intended ). Unfortunately, this is just something we see over and over again. I remember when they tore down the State Theatre in Woodbridge, N.J. where my dad was a projectionist for many years. It was where I had seen my first movie. I cried for days. But lets face it folks, except for us, nobody else cares. Now if it were a condo, office building or shopping center, that’s a different story….
I was in Wildwood this past summer (aug 2007) and could not believe my eyes!!! Where once the hugh and beautiful Shore theatre stood is now nothing more than an empty dirt field. I guess Wildwood is going to join all the other shore towns up and down the Jersey coast by letting all the grand palaces of yesterday be swallowed up by ugly sheetrock condo’s!!!!! What a shame.
Something special for its 40th anniversary? Not as long as Jimmy Dolan and his cablevision dummies are running the show. I’m surprised the Ziegfeld hasn’t been run into the ground like everything else they have.
What a beauty!!! We haven’t had one of these here in Jersey for over 20 years. Hope it gets saved from the wrecking ball. As for the comment by a_projectionist, I feel your pain. I’ve been a projectionist for over 30 years, and I say the same thing, man I was born in the wrong era too! (1959)
Just as Love movies-hate going put it, the experience of going to the movies today is not what it was in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s. Today we get slides, commercials, sheetrock palaces (as I like to call them). Why go out, when you can get so much more in the comfort of your own home? Money money money and idiots who only know how to push pencils, instead of film cans ruined the entire industry. As a projectionist of over 30 years, all I can say is wait until digital cinema comes along in a year or two. Talk about the final nail in the coffin…
Hey Ed, I thought maybe I was the only person on earth who saw of or knew about “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t”. I first seen it at age 7 in Nov. 1966 at the State Theatre in Woodbridge, N.J. where my dad was projectionist. I also remember the re-releases in 1974 and again in 1979. As far as “Close Encounters” goes, I remember when we ran it at the Menlo Park Twin in Edison, N.J. for 6 months, preceded by a 6 month run of “Star Wars”, and followed by a 6 month run of “Grease”. Great movies in a great time in life.
Nice to see someone besides me who loved these places, especially Menlo Park. I was an usher in Menlo Park when Star Wars first started. At the same time I joined IATSE Local 379 (now 534) to join my dad as a projectionist. I remember the fall of ‘76 when the wall went down the middle of Menlo. My dad was a relief projectionist there from 1982 until it closed in Dec.1991. I became one of the main projectionists there in April 1989, and stayed till the end. Ironically, I ended up as the main projectionist at Blue Star in March 1992. I left there in June 1994, seeing that Blue Star’s attendance was in decline, to work a newly opened 10-plex in Ocean Twp. N.J. The thing I’ll always rember about Menlo was the lines of people. We always played exclusive, and movies would run 4, 5, maybe 6 months at a time. We’ll never see that again.
This theatre, as well as the Ritz around the corner on East Jersey Street, were part of the RKO Stanley Warner corporation, playing mostly action/kung-fu movies up until they ceased operations in the early 1980’s.
I had the pleasure to visit this theatre in June 1993, when a buddy of mine from Shamokin was getting married. He was friends with the owner at that time. Jurrasic Park was playing. Went to the projection room and still had the old peerless carbon arc lamphouses burning bright behind the old simplex e-7 projectors. What a loss.
The Fox Theatre was a single screen right up to the day it closed, Feb 2, 1979. Last picture to show was “Meteor” with Sean Connery. It was a shame to see this one go. Huge Cinemascope curved screen. My dad, Joe Pusillo, a projectionist for many area theatres took me here to see exclusive engagements of MAS*H and Deliverance. As a side note, the Levitz is going out of business.
My father Joe Pusillo was a projectionist for years at many of the downtown Perth Amboy theatres, including the Majestic and Royal. He mentioned the Ditmas to me, as I recall he worked there briefly after returning from WWII. As a side note, I was the last projectionist to work at the Royal when it closed in August 1988.
I have been saying for the past year, if they want people to come back to Newark, you need something for them to come back to. Bringing the Adams, and its companion a few blocks away, the Paramount would be a great start. Lets not find them being turned into offices or condos, like so many other great palaces have.
It saddens me to read over and over about all the great theatres being lost to the wrecking ball. But, as someone who has been a projectionist for almost 33 years now, the sad reality is, money talks, and condo’s and office towers rule. I myself am trying to get an old palace back up and running here in N.J. So far the owners have been renovating and hopefully soon we can get some old time movies going. But this is the exception, rather than the rule. And another thing that gets my goat is all this talk of “digital cinema”. Movies have been on FILM forever, leave it on FILM.
Another of the many theatres in the central N.J. area that I was a projectionist at. I moved to this theatre after Menlo Park closed. This theatre was basically a dump off house for the movies that played at the Bridgewater Commons about a mile away. I worked here about a year before moving over to the Blue Star Quad in late 1992.
Up until the mid 1970’s the indoor was a single and there was the huge drive-in around it. They would show double features, the same ones inside and out. After the indoor was split in 2 around 1977, they started showing seperate movies in each indoor and a seperate double bill at the drive-in. The whole complex sat atop a hill and you could see the drive-in screen from 2-3 miles away. UA also had a sister complex to this in East Brunswick,N.J. called the Turnpike, which was run identically and twinned at the same time.
RobertR, I’m sorry to say, but as a projectionist of 33 years, I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, but nothing like what is happening now. The movie business is going down the drain as far as I’m concerned. That’s why I am actively switching careers and going into stagehand work. It really hurts to see whats happening.
A theatre where a number of projectionists from my local worked. Each theatre seated 150 people. It actually became a Game Room store after closing.
Is William Appenzeller the GM of Towne 16 the same William Appenzeller who worked as a projectionist in the New Brunswick-Edison N.J. area in the late 1990’s ???
Another of the many theatres I was a projectionist. Worked here at various times between 1988 thru 1994. Huge twin, had almost 700 seats in each house. Nice big Cinemascope screens, even after twinning. I remember the summer of 1994 when “Forrest Gump” played in twin 1 to sold out shows for weeks. Theatre was equipped with 2 Simplex X-L projectors and 2 Christie Autowind 2 platters.
I was a projectionist here in the late 80’s until May 1995. The theatre was originally twinned in 1978. After a change in ownership in 1985, the theatre was quaded. In 1989, a 5th screen was added by splitting one of the splits (theatre 4). Was very run down in its final years, and closed for good in 1998 I think.
What a sin to see that big empty dirt lot where once a grand and glorious theatre once stood.
So sad to see these pictures. Looks like something out of a horror movie ( no pun intended ). Unfortunately, this is just something we see over and over again. I remember when they tore down the State Theatre in Woodbridge, N.J. where my dad was a projectionist for many years. It was where I had seen my first movie. I cried for days. But lets face it folks, except for us, nobody else cares. Now if it were a condo, office building or shopping center, that’s a different story….
I was in Wildwood this past summer (aug 2007) and could not believe my eyes!!! Where once the hugh and beautiful Shore theatre stood is now nothing more than an empty dirt field. I guess Wildwood is going to join all the other shore towns up and down the Jersey coast by letting all the grand palaces of yesterday be swallowed up by ugly sheetrock condo’s!!!!! What a shame.
Sure wish we could figure out a way to get drive-ins back here in central New Jersey.
Something special for its 40th anniversary? Not as long as Jimmy Dolan and his cablevision dummies are running the show. I’m surprised the Ziegfeld hasn’t been run into the ground like everything else they have.
What a beauty!!! We haven’t had one of these here in Jersey for over 20 years. Hope it gets saved from the wrecking ball. As for the comment by a_projectionist, I feel your pain. I’ve been a projectionist for over 30 years, and I say the same thing, man I was born in the wrong era too! (1959)
Just as Love movies-hate going put it, the experience of going to the movies today is not what it was in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s. Today we get slides, commercials, sheetrock palaces (as I like to call them). Why go out, when you can get so much more in the comfort of your own home? Money money money and idiots who only know how to push pencils, instead of film cans ruined the entire industry. As a projectionist of over 30 years, all I can say is wait until digital cinema comes along in a year or two. Talk about the final nail in the coffin…
Hey Ed, I thought maybe I was the only person on earth who saw of or knew about “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t”. I first seen it at age 7 in Nov. 1966 at the State Theatre in Woodbridge, N.J. where my dad was projectionist. I also remember the re-releases in 1974 and again in 1979. As far as “Close Encounters” goes, I remember when we ran it at the Menlo Park Twin in Edison, N.J. for 6 months, preceded by a 6 month run of “Star Wars”, and followed by a 6 month run of “Grease”. Great movies in a great time in life.
Nice to see someone besides me who loved these places, especially Menlo Park. I was an usher in Menlo Park when Star Wars first started. At the same time I joined IATSE Local 379 (now 534) to join my dad as a projectionist. I remember the fall of ‘76 when the wall went down the middle of Menlo. My dad was a relief projectionist there from 1982 until it closed in Dec.1991. I became one of the main projectionists there in April 1989, and stayed till the end. Ironically, I ended up as the main projectionist at Blue Star in March 1992. I left there in June 1994, seeing that Blue Star’s attendance was in decline, to work a newly opened 10-plex in Ocean Twp. N.J. The thing I’ll always rember about Menlo was the lines of people. We always played exclusive, and movies would run 4, 5, maybe 6 months at a time. We’ll never see that again.
You may want to look into the Forum Theatre, 314 Main St, Metuchen, N.J. 08840. Worked there in the early 80’s, was a beautiful 600 seater.
This theatre, as well as the Ritz around the corner on East Jersey Street, were part of the RKO Stanley Warner corporation, playing mostly action/kung-fu movies up until they ceased operations in the early 1980’s.
I had the pleasure to visit this theatre in June 1993, when a buddy of mine from Shamokin was getting married. He was friends with the owner at that time. Jurrasic Park was playing. Went to the projection room and still had the old peerless carbon arc lamphouses burning bright behind the old simplex e-7 projectors. What a loss.
I was one of those union projectionists who picketed this theatre. I believe it was spring of 1991.
The Fox Theatre was a single screen right up to the day it closed, Feb 2, 1979. Last picture to show was “Meteor” with Sean Connery. It was a shame to see this one go. Huge Cinemascope curved screen. My dad, Joe Pusillo, a projectionist for many area theatres took me here to see exclusive engagements of MAS*H and Deliverance. As a side note, the Levitz is going out of business.
My father Joe Pusillo was a projectionist for years at many of the downtown Perth Amboy theatres, including the Majestic and Royal. He mentioned the Ditmas to me, as I recall he worked there briefly after returning from WWII. As a side note, I was the last projectionist to work at the Royal when it closed in August 1988.
The theatre is closed, but not demolished. As you drive by Newark airport the theatre building is still clearly visible from the Turnpike.
I have been saying for the past year, if they want people to come back to Newark, you need something for them to come back to. Bringing the Adams, and its companion a few blocks away, the Paramount would be a great start. Lets not find them being turned into offices or condos, like so many other great palaces have.
It saddens me to read over and over about all the great theatres being lost to the wrecking ball. But, as someone who has been a projectionist for almost 33 years now, the sad reality is, money talks, and condo’s and office towers rule. I myself am trying to get an old palace back up and running here in N.J. So far the owners have been renovating and hopefully soon we can get some old time movies going. But this is the exception, rather than the rule. And another thing that gets my goat is all this talk of “digital cinema”. Movies have been on FILM forever, leave it on FILM.
Another of the many theatres in the central N.J. area that I was a projectionist at. I moved to this theatre after Menlo Park closed. This theatre was basically a dump off house for the movies that played at the Bridgewater Commons about a mile away. I worked here about a year before moving over to the Blue Star Quad in late 1992.
Up until the mid 1970’s the indoor was a single and there was the huge drive-in around it. They would show double features, the same ones inside and out. After the indoor was split in 2 around 1977, they started showing seperate movies in each indoor and a seperate double bill at the drive-in. The whole complex sat atop a hill and you could see the drive-in screen from 2-3 miles away. UA also had a sister complex to this in East Brunswick,N.J. called the Turnpike, which was run identically and twinned at the same time.