Yes! The pencil thin mustache. I also miss Patchogue Stationary. Office Max, Staples, et al, just don’t compare. I know that Patchogue is struggling to come back; I hope it succeeds.
I asked my sister and this was her response:
I remember the guy….Have no idea which theatre. It wasn’t the Rialto, I don’t think it was. Had to be Patchogue theatre. I don’t know. Carl and Ethel were at the Rialto…an old German couple…Carl was short and round. Ethel was ugly as a mud fence and mean.
I am PRETTY sure it was Patchogue…but it could have been the Plaza. He always looked the same, right? Dark hair sort of slicked back, a kind of big nose??
I DO remember him….I have to ask my sister if she does….she may have known his name because she asst-managed the Rialto and had to deal with the other theaters. But I can picture him. When were you a movie goer there?
I don’t think the interior of the Plaza was typical at all. It certainly wasn’t an antique like the Patchogue Theater or the Rialto, but again, it had those sparkley walls and little nuances that made it “fancy.” Does anyone know exactly when the Plaza was built?
It was a very stage theater like, wasn’t it? Jazzy. Definitely a period piece. Too bad some retro thinking entrepreneur doesn’t go in and restore it…Easy for me to put someone else’s money to use recreating my memories!
I’m pretty sure this theater was always a twin. I remember when my boss told me they needed a cashier to fill in. I worked at the Rialto. I was sent to the Sunwave and hated it because I couldn’t believe that they had to coordinate tickets for TWO different theaters! I was so relieved to get back to the Rialto!!!
Wow…since we’re making connections…I’d love to learn whatever happened to Randy Lee, former Rialto projectionist, George Dipple, former usher, and Mark…um can’t remember his last name…but also a former Rialto usher!
From what I remember, the original plan was to build apartments there, and they were going to keep the look of the mill. I remember seeing the plans, and thinking that it was really cool. But when studies were done, toxins were found in the soil that ruled out apartments.
Here’s some history on the plant that I found on newsday.com:
So Patchogue it is, but no longer do villagers set their clocks by the noon whistle from the giant Patchogue-Plymouth Lace Mill, which closed in 1954. Most of the mills succumbed in the 1940s and ‘50s, outpaced by foreign competition and by the industry movement to the South and overseas for cheaper labor.
The lace works, now a burned-out hulk, was once known as “the Patchogue College because so many Patchogue kids went there when they finished high school,” says Marjorie Roe, president of the Greater Patchogue Historical Society. Workers also came by stagecoach from Sayville and other South Shore communities. The mill employed as many as 1,200 during World War II, when it manufactured camouflage netting and other war products.
Paradoxically, it may have been curtains for the lace mill because its products were too good for this modern, disposable world. “They lasted forever and never had to be replaced – I still use a lace tablecloth my mother bought in the ‘30s,” says Roe, a sixth-generation descendant of Capt. Austin Roe, a chief spy for Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
I went to school with the Sweezy’s, Karen Sweezy, anyway. Very nice girl. I guess I’m one of the few who actually misses the Lace Mill? I know it was a disaster area, but it was part of Patchogue’s charm. To be honest, my family was pretty poor and we shopped a lot more at John’s Bargain Store than Sweezy’s… ;–)
I found an essay on line called: Yaphank, the Depression Years, written by the Yaphank Historical Society. Judging from the article The Rialto had to be around since the 30’s! I had no idea the Rialto was that old!
The few young people who graduated from high school [Patchogue] had no local job options…Adults, other than farmers, included
some building trade craftsmen. These were carpenters, painters, electricians and masons. Work for trades people
was scarce as there was little construction, either new or remodeling. Some small jobs at the time included home
additions at Old Field and Belle Terre, the addition of sound equipment booths at the Rialto theater at Patchogue and the redecking of the bridge over the Long Island railroad
on what is now Sills Road
Phew…I’m glad someone else remembered the sparkly walls. You know how time has a way of playing tricks on you. I saw Funny Girl at The Plaza. I know. That REALLY dates me!
I think they need to fill sweezys. It’s too bad they moved and then went under, because Ocean Avenue was the perfect location for them.
Wow! What I wouldn’t give to have taken that photo…or any photos of the old theater for that matter. Everytime I see Cinema Paradiso it reminds me of the Rialto.
I was a cashier and worked concession at the Rialto from 1972 until I graduated from high school in 1974. The manager was Mrs. Carpenter, a nice old lady whose life was the Rialto. My sister was an assistant manager until 1971, so in a way, I felt as if I grew up there! I remember being terrified that a mouse would run across my shoes during Ben, so I sat with my feet folded under me. It’s true that the theater was run down, but in the dark, who could tell? When The Exorcist played there the crowds were so huge, that Mrs. Carpenter told me to just throw the money in the storage room behind the candy counter. By the time we got around to counting, the room was almost filled to the top with money! It’s odd how the features were so inconsistent. They’d go from Easy Rider to Kung Fu movies. I spent many fond hours up in that projectionist booth watching the projectionist, on whom I had a crush, change reels. The lot seems so small now that it’s empty, and yet the theater seemed so grand.
I used to work at the Rialto, and I filled in for a sick cashier at the Plaza one night. At that time it was a UA theater, just as the Rialto was. I remember that the interior, I think the walls, were like a blue or beige plaster with glitter mixed in. All I know is it was sparkley. It was an odd layout too, with that huge, long lobby. I believe it is true that it didn’t do as well as the Patchogue Theater or the Rialto. Remember back in the day, Patchogue was the only town around for shopping, food, and entertainment. I grew up in Sayville, but Patchogue was exotic by comparison! I hate to see the damage that malls and multi-plexes have done to the community.
There was nothing better than shopping at Sweezys, having lunch at Swankee’s, and then seeing a movie at the Rialto.
Yes! The pencil thin mustache. I also miss Patchogue Stationary. Office Max, Staples, et al, just don’t compare. I know that Patchogue is struggling to come back; I hope it succeeds.
I asked my sister and this was her response:
I remember the guy….Have no idea which theatre. It wasn’t the Rialto, I don’t think it was. Had to be Patchogue theatre. I don’t know. Carl and Ethel were at the Rialto…an old German couple…Carl was short and round. Ethel was ugly as a mud fence and mean.
I am PRETTY sure it was Patchogue…but it could have been the Plaza. He always looked the same, right? Dark hair sort of slicked back, a kind of big nose??
I DO remember him….I have to ask my sister if she does….she may have known his name because she asst-managed the Rialto and had to deal with the other theaters. But I can picture him. When were you a movie goer there?
I don’t think the interior of the Plaza was typical at all. It certainly wasn’t an antique like the Patchogue Theater or the Rialto, but again, it had those sparkley walls and little nuances that made it “fancy.” Does anyone know exactly when the Plaza was built?
It was a very stage theater like, wasn’t it? Jazzy. Definitely a period piece. Too bad some retro thinking entrepreneur doesn’t go in and restore it…Easy for me to put someone else’s money to use recreating my memories!
I’m pretty sure this theater was always a twin. I remember when my boss told me they needed a cashier to fill in. I worked at the Rialto. I was sent to the Sunwave and hated it because I couldn’t believe that they had to coordinate tickets for TWO different theaters! I was so relieved to get back to the Rialto!!!
Wow…since we’re making connections…I’d love to learn whatever happened to Randy Lee, former Rialto projectionist, George Dipple, former usher, and Mark…um can’t remember his last name…but also a former Rialto usher!
From what I remember, the original plan was to build apartments there, and they were going to keep the look of the mill. I remember seeing the plans, and thinking that it was really cool. But when studies were done, toxins were found in the soil that ruled out apartments.
Here’s some history on the plant that I found on newsday.com:
So Patchogue it is, but no longer do villagers set their clocks by the noon whistle from the giant Patchogue-Plymouth Lace Mill, which closed in 1954. Most of the mills succumbed in the 1940s and ‘50s, outpaced by foreign competition and by the industry movement to the South and overseas for cheaper labor.
The lace works, now a burned-out hulk, was once known as “the Patchogue College because so many Patchogue kids went there when they finished high school,” says Marjorie Roe, president of the Greater Patchogue Historical Society. Workers also came by stagecoach from Sayville and other South Shore communities. The mill employed as many as 1,200 during World War II, when it manufactured camouflage netting and other war products.
Paradoxically, it may have been curtains for the lace mill because its products were too good for this modern, disposable world. “They lasted forever and never had to be replaced – I still use a lace tablecloth my mother bought in the ‘30s,” says Roe, a sixth-generation descendant of Capt. Austin Roe, a chief spy for Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
I went to school with the Sweezy’s, Karen Sweezy, anyway. Very nice girl. I guess I’m one of the few who actually misses the Lace Mill? I know it was a disaster area, but it was part of Patchogue’s charm. To be honest, my family was pretty poor and we shopped a lot more at John’s Bargain Store than Sweezy’s… ;–)
I found an essay on line called: Yaphank, the Depression Years, written by the Yaphank Historical Society. Judging from the article The Rialto had to be around since the 30’s! I had no idea the Rialto was that old!
The few young people who graduated from high school [Patchogue] had no local job options…Adults, other than farmers, included
some building trade craftsmen. These were carpenters, painters, electricians and masons. Work for trades people
was scarce as there was little construction, either new or remodeling. Some small jobs at the time included home
additions at Old Field and Belle Terre, the addition of sound equipment booths at the Rialto theater at Patchogue and the redecking of the bridge over the Long Island railroad
on what is now Sills Road
I worked at the Rialto too! And before me, my sister was an assistant manager. That put one or the other of us there from around 1968/69 until 1974.
Phew…I’m glad someone else remembered the sparkly walls. You know how time has a way of playing tricks on you. I saw Funny Girl at The Plaza. I know. That REALLY dates me!
I think they need to fill sweezys. It’s too bad they moved and then went under, because Ocean Avenue was the perfect location for them.
Wow! What I wouldn’t give to have taken that photo…or any photos of the old theater for that matter. Everytime I see Cinema Paradiso it reminds me of the Rialto.
I was a cashier and worked concession at the Rialto from 1972 until I graduated from high school in 1974. The manager was Mrs. Carpenter, a nice old lady whose life was the Rialto. My sister was an assistant manager until 1971, so in a way, I felt as if I grew up there! I remember being terrified that a mouse would run across my shoes during Ben, so I sat with my feet folded under me. It’s true that the theater was run down, but in the dark, who could tell? When The Exorcist played there the crowds were so huge, that Mrs. Carpenter told me to just throw the money in the storage room behind the candy counter. By the time we got around to counting, the room was almost filled to the top with money! It’s odd how the features were so inconsistent. They’d go from Easy Rider to Kung Fu movies. I spent many fond hours up in that projectionist booth watching the projectionist, on whom I had a crush, change reels. The lot seems so small now that it’s empty, and yet the theater seemed so grand.
I used to work at the Rialto, and I filled in for a sick cashier at the Plaza one night. At that time it was a UA theater, just as the Rialto was. I remember that the interior, I think the walls, were like a blue or beige plaster with glitter mixed in. All I know is it was sparkley. It was an odd layout too, with that huge, long lobby. I believe it is true that it didn’t do as well as the Patchogue Theater or the Rialto. Remember back in the day, Patchogue was the only town around for shopping, food, and entertainment. I grew up in Sayville, but Patchogue was exotic by comparison! I hate to see the damage that malls and multi-plexes have done to the community.
There was nothing better than shopping at Sweezys, having lunch at Swankee’s, and then seeing a movie at the Rialto.