Did anyone notice the name of the theater in the Mercedes add shown during the Oscars last night? It said El Portal, but it didn’t look like this theater (it had a vertical marquee). Perhaps just a fictional theater.
Found this interesting fact on the web: The Annual Meeting of stockholders of The American Tobacco Company was held at the Hunterdon Theatre on April 2, 1958. This was a New York based company. Perhaps someone on the board of directors had ties with Flemington.
Interesting article from today’s Star Ledger. I will paste the entire test as they aricle’s tend to disappear rather quickly:
At old vaudeville houses, curtains rise on renewal
Sunday, February 27, 2005
BY RALPH R. ORTEGA
Star-Ledger Staff
Audiences and the elements were brutal on the palatial theaters that brought vaudeville and the first motion pictures to towns across the state nearly a century ago.
A legacy of sticky floors, leaking roofs, broken-down heating and cooling systems and structural problems was left behind, making the old theaters unwanted and in many cases unusable.
An extreme case of the destructive force of nature came in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd brought flood waters up to the halfway mark on the screen of the 78-year-old theater in Bound Brook. More than 900 seats were destroyed inside an auditorium that smelled damp even before the disaster.
However, the Brook Theater and others haven’t been written off for good.
Non-profit theater companies in search of homes have breathed new life into venues that once would have had a date with the wrecking ball.
And with the economy improving, hopes are high that donations will pay for repairs needed by the theaters and for ambitious plans that would redesign them for multiple productions that keep the seats filled.
“Our purpose is to make sure it’s not dark very often. We have to keep the place running, keep people coming through the doors,” said Gerry Appel, executive director of the Brook Arts Center, which purchased the Brook two years ago with plans to build two stages inside the 1927 vaudeville house.
Theater companies that have made similar moves include the Growing Stage, which took over the 86-year-old Palace Theater in Netcong nine years ago. Most recently, the 12 Miles West Theatre Company moved into the 92-year-old Center Theater in Bloomfield.
Both were converted for multiple uses and re-opened with enough repairs completed to make audiences comfortable.
“We’ve made it look pretty cool, but we don’t want to make it look too good because we’re trying to raise money,” said Lenny Bart, artistic director of 12 Miles West, which has appealed to supporters for $2.3 million for major structural repairs to its theater.
The owners of the Brook, one of eight vaudeville houses left in the state, are seeking funds for its reopening some time later this year. The theater will host a wine tasting in town on Wednesday to attract donors, and potential contributors will be taken on a tour of the Brook to see its current state.
What they’ll see isn’t pretty.
The theater’s auditorium, originally a vaudeville stage that was converted into a movie house and also used for rock concerts, has not been used since the flood.
Until two weeks ago, the 45-foot domed interior was gutted and a 1925 Wurlitzer organ remained in pieces behind the stage. Plaster fell from the ceiling, and columns were missing sections. An empty Goobers box was stuck to a wall that sorely needed a fresh coat of paint.
But after some sprucing up, Appel expects the Brook “will be more than presentable,” thanks to a $2.6 million federal grant and $200,000 from the Somerset County Freeholders that is paying for the reconstruction of the lobby, restrooms and concession stand.
The theater also will construct a 16-foot wall surrounding 375 new seats in front of the stage, with the idea that it will be easier to fill the smaller venue than the entire auditorium.
“In some sense, the theater will be a surprise for people who see it the first time. It’s not a restored theater. It’s a new theater — the room within a room,” said Charles Gifford, the Manhattan architect responsible for the design.
There are plans for an even smaller venue with seating for 75 in the rear of the auditorium, known as a “black box” for experimental productions and readings.
Such drastic changes are possible because the Brook doesn’t fall under historic preservation guidelines. And with a need for more revenue, theaters have been split up into multiple stages with little protest.
“As long as it’s done tastefully, from an economic standpoint, I think it’s very smart,” said John McEwen, executive director of the New Jersey Theater Alliance, a statewide coalition of theaters.
Dorothy Stratford also was willing to go along with the quick fix at the Brook, even though it didn’t bring back the beauty of the theater she knew as a child watching Shirley Temple dance across its silver screen.
“When it first opened, it was top notch, as nice as anything people would see in Newark and other towns that have movie houses,” said Stratford, 80, who lives in town and is secretary for the Somerset County Historical Society.
Having grown up during the Depression, Stratford knew the realities of having little or no money, and was forgiving of the changes planned for the Brook and its rush to get back in business.
“I think if you wait to get a pocket full of money, sometimes you never get it,” she said. “So you make do with what you have and get the show going.”
George Andersen, the Brook’s chairman, expects to firm up an opening date during the tasting at Winemakers of Somerset on Wednesday. But he won’t be able to keep it if the theater doesn’t come up with roughly $300,000 in donations for new stage rigging and a sound and lighting system.
“Right at the moment, our budget doesn’t even include curtains,” said Andersen, who is confident donors will come forward to save one of the last classic theaters in the state.
“So many of them have been destroyed,” he said. “There were once hundreds in New Jersey, and they’ve been turned into parking lots.”
Ralph R. Ortega works in the Somerset County bureau. He can be reached at or at (908) 429-9925.
I am in NJ (no I am not offering!) but what I want to do is a similar thing for my boyhood theater. I’ll let you know how much of a pain in the neck microfilms are if I ever get to my hometown libray. Boy we sure do get spoiled by the internet.
PS I love the Florida online photo archives. Check out some of the theaters that I have posted.
I am in NJ (no I am not offering!) but what I want to do is a similar thing for my boyhood theater. I’ll let you know how much of a pain in the neck microfilms are if I ever get to my hometown libray. Boy we sure do get spoiled by the internet.
This person has a nice photo album of the Fox Theatre at this link:
http://community.webshots.com/user/fiftythree
Recent photos:
View link
View link
Recent photo here:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/98496886EWdCCa
recent photo here:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/60002249mcFULn
recent photo:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/34501306bYIfIo
yet more photos:
View link
View link
View link
good photo here:
View link
More recent photo here:
View link
Recent photo here:
View link
Recent photo here:
View link
I found this cool photo of the theater in the snow:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/63372735IUkZzC
Old photo here:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/48783021QVKIbR
Here is a better view of the side of the marquee:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/73970141jJDiAV
Recent photo at this link:
View link
Recent photo of exterior:
View link
Recent exterior photo:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/79013887tdyjbH
Recent online photos:
View link
View link
http://community.webshots.com/photo/85867744RuYnQK
http://community.webshots.com/photo/85868312CUfDnx
Recent photo at this link:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/80825459aEtwWi
Did anyone notice the name of the theater in the Mercedes add shown during the Oscars last night? It said El Portal, but it didn’t look like this theater (it had a vertical marquee). Perhaps just a fictional theater.
Great photo on page 97 of the CT book. Right under my nose all of this time!
This theater group performs at the Sheridan Opera House:
http://www.lizardheadtheatre.com/
Found this interesting fact on the web: The Annual Meeting of stockholders of The American Tobacco Company was held at the Hunterdon Theatre on April 2, 1958. This was a New York based company. Perhaps someone on the board of directors had ties with Flemington.
Interesting article from today’s Star Ledger. I will paste the entire test as they aricle’s tend to disappear rather quickly:
At old vaudeville houses, curtains rise on renewal
Sunday, February 27, 2005
BY RALPH R. ORTEGA
Star-Ledger Staff
Audiences and the elements were brutal on the palatial theaters that brought vaudeville and the first motion pictures to towns across the state nearly a century ago.
A legacy of sticky floors, leaking roofs, broken-down heating and cooling systems and structural problems was left behind, making the old theaters unwanted and in many cases unusable.
An extreme case of the destructive force of nature came in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd brought flood waters up to the halfway mark on the screen of the 78-year-old theater in Bound Brook. More than 900 seats were destroyed inside an auditorium that smelled damp even before the disaster.
However, the Brook Theater and others haven’t been written off for good.
Non-profit theater companies in search of homes have breathed new life into venues that once would have had a date with the wrecking ball.
And with the economy improving, hopes are high that donations will pay for repairs needed by the theaters and for ambitious plans that would redesign them for multiple productions that keep the seats filled.
“Our purpose is to make sure it’s not dark very often. We have to keep the place running, keep people coming through the doors,” said Gerry Appel, executive director of the Brook Arts Center, which purchased the Brook two years ago with plans to build two stages inside the 1927 vaudeville house.
Theater companies that have made similar moves include the Growing Stage, which took over the 86-year-old Palace Theater in Netcong nine years ago. Most recently, the 12 Miles West Theatre Company moved into the 92-year-old Center Theater in Bloomfield.
Both were converted for multiple uses and re-opened with enough repairs completed to make audiences comfortable.
“We’ve made it look pretty cool, but we don’t want to make it look too good because we’re trying to raise money,” said Lenny Bart, artistic director of 12 Miles West, which has appealed to supporters for $2.3 million for major structural repairs to its theater.
The owners of the Brook, one of eight vaudeville houses left in the state, are seeking funds for its reopening some time later this year. The theater will host a wine tasting in town on Wednesday to attract donors, and potential contributors will be taken on a tour of the Brook to see its current state.
What they’ll see isn’t pretty.
The theater’s auditorium, originally a vaudeville stage that was converted into a movie house and also used for rock concerts, has not been used since the flood.
Until two weeks ago, the 45-foot domed interior was gutted and a 1925 Wurlitzer organ remained in pieces behind the stage. Plaster fell from the ceiling, and columns were missing sections. An empty Goobers box was stuck to a wall that sorely needed a fresh coat of paint.
But after some sprucing up, Appel expects the Brook “will be more than presentable,” thanks to a $2.6 million federal grant and $200,000 from the Somerset County Freeholders that is paying for the reconstruction of the lobby, restrooms and concession stand.
The theater also will construct a 16-foot wall surrounding 375 new seats in front of the stage, with the idea that it will be easier to fill the smaller venue than the entire auditorium.
“In some sense, the theater will be a surprise for people who see it the first time. It’s not a restored theater. It’s a new theater — the room within a room,” said Charles Gifford, the Manhattan architect responsible for the design.
There are plans for an even smaller venue with seating for 75 in the rear of the auditorium, known as a “black box” for experimental productions and readings.
Such drastic changes are possible because the Brook doesn’t fall under historic preservation guidelines. And with a need for more revenue, theaters have been split up into multiple stages with little protest.
“As long as it’s done tastefully, from an economic standpoint, I think it’s very smart,” said John McEwen, executive director of the New Jersey Theater Alliance, a statewide coalition of theaters.
Dorothy Stratford also was willing to go along with the quick fix at the Brook, even though it didn’t bring back the beauty of the theater she knew as a child watching Shirley Temple dance across its silver screen.
“When it first opened, it was top notch, as nice as anything people would see in Newark and other towns that have movie houses,” said Stratford, 80, who lives in town and is secretary for the Somerset County Historical Society.
Having grown up during the Depression, Stratford knew the realities of having little or no money, and was forgiving of the changes planned for the Brook and its rush to get back in business.
“I think if you wait to get a pocket full of money, sometimes you never get it,” she said. “So you make do with what you have and get the show going.”
George Andersen, the Brook’s chairman, expects to firm up an opening date during the tasting at Winemakers of Somerset on Wednesday. But he won’t be able to keep it if the theater doesn’t come up with roughly $300,000 in donations for new stage rigging and a sound and lighting system.
“Right at the moment, our budget doesn’t even include curtains,” said Andersen, who is confident donors will come forward to save one of the last classic theaters in the state.
“So many of them have been destroyed,” he said. “There were once hundreds in New Jersey, and they’ve been turned into parking lots.”
Ralph R. Ortega works in the Somerset County bureau. He can be reached at or at (908) 429-9925.
I am in NJ (no I am not offering!) but what I want to do is a similar thing for my boyhood theater. I’ll let you know how much of a pain in the neck microfilms are if I ever get to my hometown libray. Boy we sure do get spoiled by the internet.
PS I love the Florida online photo archives. Check out some of the theaters that I have posted.
I am in NJ (no I am not offering!) but what I want to do is a similar thing for my boyhood theater. I’ll let you know how much of a pain in the neck microfilms are if I ever get to my hometown libray. Boy we sure do get spoiled by the internet.