Route 59 Theater

I believe this theatre is now an outlet for Off Track Betting. The lobby has been separated from the theatre, and one must drive around back to enter the OTB Parlor. When this was closed by UA, they renamed their twin up the street in the Kennedy Mall Plaza to "Cinema 59 Twin".

It was an OTB at one time but is now occupied by American General Financial. The high roof can still be seen in the rear but the facade is gone, blended into the rest of the complex.

There is a small photo of the Route 59 theater in 1969 before it was twinned at this link:
http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/images/70mm%20in%20New%20York/route59%20smaller.jpg

Very interesting. I wonder what movie was playing there at the time. The castle was not a permanent fixture and was probably a tie-in.

An excellent article on the Route 59 from Roland Lataille's Cinerama website:

http://cinerama.topcities.com/route59.htm

Here is an ad for its inaugural attraction, "West Side Story":

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/springvalley.jpg

12/18/68: The ad for "2001"'s exclusive Rockland/Bergen engagement at the Route 59. "A perfect gift for family or friend":

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/perfectgift.jpg

For some reason this link is better - the image grows bigger when you click on the bottom right corner:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/route59.jpg

I notice that there is no mention of Cinerama in the above ad for "2001: A Space Odyssey", even though an ad (further up the ladder) mentions the theatre is Cinerama-ready.

Don: I wondered about that too. When "2001" played the Clairidge Theater in Montclair, some of the ads have the Cinerama logo on display and some do not. This one only says Super Panavision:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/33rdweek.jpg

By the time "2001" came out, Cinerama was nothing more than a special lens. I doubt where anyone could tell the difference between "sper Panavision" and "Cinerama." Maybe the Route 59 and Clairidge didn't want to pay to use the Cinerama lens.

Don, you're probably right. That ad was from the picture's 33rd week but in this one from the first week, the Cinerama logo is there and the Cinerama lens was no doubt being used:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/2001Clairidge.jpg

By the time I was able to go to this theatre, the area was falling apart. I saw several movies here including "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" and "Sleepaway Camp." I think we also saw "The Seven Ups" here first run. I was very young, about seven. And I think that movie was rated R, too. I think I saw "The Towering Inferno" here too. This theatre was about a 10 minute drive from my house, and my dad would sometimes use the car wash in the same strip mall.

I would disagree that there's not much memorable aout this site. Yes, externally it may have been a typical 1960s cinderblock "Box", but I always thought the interior, albeit fairly "simple", was very nicely done, and the layout was such that the people in the theatre itself were never disturbed by anyone in the lobby (due to a wall and a "lounge" area separating the two. Most importantly is that the
PRESENTATION QUALITY at the Rt.59 theatre was always *IMPECCABLE* in every respect, at least back in the 60s - early 70s, no matter if they were doing a 70mm 'Roadshow' engagement or a normal 35mm run
(although quality was simply a matter of course even at most of the
"regular" neighborhood theatres back then).

I have many fond memories of going to see films at the Rt.59, especially their showing of "2001: A Space Odyssey", back in '68. It WAS a "Cinerama' theatre insofar as the screen was most definitely curved
but, to my recollection at least, the place was never designed or equipped to show the original true 3-Strip format. Still, the 59's
showing of "2001" was probably the single most powerful film presentation I have ever seen anywhere to this day. I saw it there 3 times and it was basically burned into my mind & senses, even now so many years later. When it was re-released in 70mm a few years later, I went to see it at the Ziegfeld in NYC. Coincidentally, the screen at the Zeigfeld was about the same size as the one at Rt.59, (50 feet) but the Zieg's was *flat* and its auditorium was more than TWICE the size of the '59's, so while the technial presentaion at the Ziegfeld was of its usual perfection, the *experience* of "2001"
(and other films) at the Rt.59 theatre just BLEW the Ziegfeld away, since one was so much more "enveloped" by the screen at the '59.


Anyway, the Rt.59 theatre retained its curved screen up until sometime in the late 70s. The theatre was never twinned (with respect to Lost Memory's post) and remained a single screen venue up until it closed in the late 80s -- although there was a noticable decline in presentation quality in ALL respects during the Rt.59 theatre's last years.

Sorry for going on so long, but I still very much miss this theatre, at least the way it was many years ago. I do have a recent photo of the exterior back wall (basically all that remains) if anyone's interested though. ;)

I was on a bicycle trip and passed by it yesterday. You can't miss it as it's on the main drag and the back of the screen is right there by the road, with 30 ft of clearance. (It's technically in Nanuet with the Spring Valley town line sign bordering the property). Behind it to the right, some tractor trailers park there. It's dirt and gravel on both sides into it and in the back you can see all the car speaker devices still there in rows. It seemed a bit small for a drive-in.

Shoeshoe14 -

You must be referring to the old *Rockland Drive-In* -- NOT the Route 59 theatre. The drive-in was/is a few miles west up the road from the former Rt.59 theatre we're talking about.
Best, Jeff D.

I know that one was on West Maple, but I was on Route 59.

Here is a 1963 ad for "How the West Was Won" in 3-strip Cinerama at the Route 59. Notice the date at the top. Most likely this big premiere never took place that night.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/htwww59.jpg

It's a good bet that all theater were closed that night, as well as in the rest of the country.

This site has some interior photos:
http://tinyurl.com/3dlgex

Anyone have access to microfilm of THE JOURNAL-NEWS or another Rockland County newspaper? I wish to verify the closing date of the ROUTE 59's run of "This Is Cinerama" and the title of the film that followed it. (I believe "This Is Cinerama" premiered there on Feb. 12, 1964.)

"This is Cinerama" closed here on 3/10/64. "Seven Wonders of the World" opened on 3/11/64:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/59cinerama1.jpg

Followed a month later by "Cinerama Holiday" on 4/8/64:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/59cinerama2.jpg

Less than a month after that, "South Seas Adventure" on 4/28/64:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/59cinerama3.jpg

By July 1964, the theater was showing the movie version of "McHale's Navy" - quite a comedown from the glories of Cinerama:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/59cinerama4.jpg

Thanks, Bill!