Lane Theater

The theatre ( club ) is currently for sale. Inside are "7,000 sq. ft. including lobby, private lounge, 2 baths, 3 bars, open dance floor or theatre, stage, seating are and private offices". ( As per Century 21 Sept. 2002 )

The Lane in Staten Island was designed by the noted theater architect John Eberson. The 1948/49 Theatre Catalog shows a photo of the Lane.

I worked for Mr.Moses back in the 1950s. Elias was a real old fashion showman. One of my jobs was changing the marquees at two of this theatres, The Lane and The Victory, and come rain or snow or wind or rain the marquees HAD to be changed. Mr Moses would then inspect the Lane marquee before I could put away my latter. Those were the good ole days of the downtown movie house.What I would give to see Mr. Moses standing in the lobby greeting the patrons and good ole Vic the projectionist running up the stairs at the last minute to start the show. Sometimes when we had a good crowd Mr. Moses would send me up to the booth to play records till Vic arrived to start the show. I sure miss The Lane.

What was the name of the old woman with the flashlight that used to chase the kids out the balcony? Loved this theater. Does anyone know how much they are asking for it?

I think her name was Josie

it never measured up to the st george or the paramount, and the sound was crummy.

The sound system at the Lane was a small 50 watt tube amplifier which today would be rather sub-standard, but in it's day was considered acceptable. Th Paramount sound system, which was upgraded in 1954 to include magnetic stereo sound, was far better than the Lane or St George. Another problem with the Lane was the introduction of Cinemascope, the stage area could not accomadate a larger screen, so Cinemascope was shown letterbox style on the same screen it had always had, with monophonic (optical) sound.

Hello Everybody;
I never was to the Lane, but we owned a business in the area around it. You may be wondering why I am writing this. As I worked the area I learned how important the theater is to the people of New Dorp. I know that it's a landmark for those people. I don't have the money, but I think someone should fix it and presents plays there. In other words, it should be restored and used for legitimate theater, like they did for the Patchogue Theater (Now the Patchogue Center for the Performing Arts) out here on Long Island. The Art Deco should be repaired. The store I worked, GW Hot Bagels and Deli was about two blocks up the street, and before finances forced our deli closed, I couldn't wait for the day I would deliver to the Lane, which never came.

My first movie date was at the Lane in 1967. Sidney Poitier in "To Sir With Love." It had a somewhat unique "balcony." Rather than a deck hanging over the orchestra section, it was a section that began at the back of the orchestra, and went up at a steep angle from the floor. By the way, the bagel shop in the picture used to be a barber shop, had many haircuts there.

That bagel show was not ours. Ours was located where Sleepy's is now.

Yup Larry, it was (is) what is refered to today as stadium seating.
I can remember carrying many a can of film down those stairs.
Anyone know what's going on with the Lane now?

There are no art movies being shown on SI, is this an area that would support a place like that?

Robert, I like that idea, perhaps even classic films as well.
The new owners of the St George have asked me to help launch a classic movie program next year. However I don't expect to be in NY after March. I hope someone else will get that started.

Has anything been going on here lately?

Is the Lane still for Sale?

to vito et al., i went to the Lane yesterday, there is a century21 sign on the marquee. does not indicate if site is for sale , lease , or rent. phone number 718-698-0100, or online www.domsgold.com .
will call tmow.

What about adding performing arts into the Kings, like community theater. Many old movie houses have been changed to community theaters.

the website didn't work, and the real estate firm said the person handling it wasn't in. gustav , as far as the community theatre idea goes, i think the ship has sailed on that. the st.george has cornered the market on it , and the way the city crucified the owners of that establishment does not bode well for any potential owners of the lane.

Does the St. George have amateur theater? I was never there. I want to go see it.

sorry gustav , i didn't realize you meant amateur theatre. as far as i know they don't have it at the st. george. i would question whether it would attract enough of an audience here to sustain the lane. in the village yes , but on s.i. i doubt it.

If we decide to move to Staten Island, I may look into that idea of starting a small, community theater there.

going there in the 60's and 70's as a youth it was much smaller than paramount and st george. the "stadium seating" effect of the balcony still paled in comparison to those other theatres. i also seem to recall the interior lighting being rather bright during screenings , which distracted from the movie showing. the ceiling motif , i recall , added to this effect. the square screen could not accomadate the "cinemascope" format of the day , and the sound was muffled as i recall.....

Garth, allow me respond to your post.
Initially, the Moses brothers were resistant to install CinemaScope.
Cost was a big factor and the attitude was one of wait and see.
Finally in the summer of 1955 when it was clear CinemaScope was not going to go away and we were passing on a lot of films, The decsion was made to at least buy the lenses and upgrade the projectors to "Fox Sprocket". Because of the procedium restrictions, the screen would be only slightly larger in width, and we had to remove the title travelor curtain to allow for as much width as possible.
Basically what we had was a full CinemaScope ratio projected in a letterbox type image. It was called by some as SqueezeScope. Our first movie was "Love Me Or Leave Me". I can still remember the sandwich board outside the theatre reading "Coming Soon, CinemaScope"
THe lighting was at times distracting whenever the side light panels on each side of the screen were left on. A practice only appied when the house was full.I don't recall the ceiling motif of the planets being any cause of distraction. As for the sound, we never upgraded to mag stereo and the amplifier was only 50 about watts.

Is this in ready to open condition?

robert , if you mean ready as a movie theatre , i beleive a previous poster stated the orchestra seats were removed when it became a nightclub. the balcony is intact according to the poster. when i pass by i check if anyone's there ,to get a look but it is always closed.

robert , if you mean ready as a movie theatre , i believe a previous poster stated the orchestra seats were removed when it became a nightclub. the balcony is intact according to the poster. when i pass by i check if anyone's there ,to get a look but it is always closed.

I wrote about the seating and other conditions at the lane as it was on my last visit which was a few years ago. Much has no doubt changed since then. Perhaps someone familiar with the New Dorp area has more recent information.

Here's an image of John Eberson's intimate and modernistic auditorium. Hard to believe that this was the same architect who did the Chicago and Bronx Paradises (among many other atmospherics):
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/133-3363_IMG.jpg

What a shame another unique place sitting and rotting.

Oh Warren, seeing that interior again was brought back so many wonderfull memories. While I was going to high school, my very first job in theatres was as an usher/marguee changer at the Lane. Vic Lobello, the projectionist taught me how to run the projectors and became a good friend and mentor to me. I stayed in the projection, and then theatre management, game untill I retired. I owe my entire carrer to my beginings at the Lane. The picture you posted reminded me of those great days with Vic, owner Elias Moses, assistant manager Josie,and Grady the maintanence man who also taught me a lot. I also worked for Fabian at the Paramount for a while but it was not the same as the family atmosphere at the Lane.

Passed by the Lane earlier this month. The tower may no longer be rising above New Dorp, but the facade still hasn't lost its 1940s art deco splendor. Too bad I never saw the inside.

Sad news to report on this place. I was looking to buy this theater and return it to its former glory in the form of a revival house/dinner theater. The inside of this place is in shambles, the ceiling is coming down over the balcony and the smell from lack of ventilation is sickening. The walk up to the projectionist booth distrubed the pigeons that were living in it..getting through the broken window. It was a sad day for me seeing a childhood place left to such disrepair. This weas the place that introduced my generation to the Disney movies..so sad is all I can say...The realtor indicated that the place was going for over 1 million...it looked to me like it would take at least that to open it...may be less if someone is or knows a contractor....

MTota, that's very sad news indeed, The same thing happened to the Paramount. When I saw the Paramount after years of neglect I was very depressed, I have worried the same fate might fall upon the Lane. Did you go up to the booth? if so what did you find there?
Actually someone did try to operate as a nightclub, I believe a stage was erected in front of the old screen. It was not successful and closed shortly and left to deteriate. I hope someone will come along and save her.

It went down fast, I thought it was open in the late 90's?

Robert, the Lane served as a nightclub in the late 90's. Perhaps someone remembers when the last movies were shown.

My family wants to move to Staten Island, if a committee is formed to save the Lane, I will gladly join. I am on the committee to save several theaters already

Vito,

Yes, I did walk up to the booth. It was converted into an office..I imagine from the night club days. It is there that I saw the pigeons living in the ceiling. It also seemed apparent that some kids broke in and vandalized...broken walls etc.

Yes, there was a small stage there, but actually this space is not suitable for plays. There isn't any wing space and one cannot extend beyond the exits in the front..so there isn't much space for plays...but it would be perfect for a revial house/cafe..I would certainly be a part of any committee as well..

Believe it or not..the last movie I saw there was Gone With the Wind in the mid-90's...it was a revival lhouse for a short time

Thank you MTota, So all the projection equipment is gone. Sad, I cut my teeth as a projectionist in that booth. Pigeons seem to like old movie theatres, the Paramount was full of them as well, they had made a home in the projection booth. As to the stage, no the Lane never had wing space, or a stage for that matter. It was a very limited space, When we installed a slightly wider screen for CinemaScope the exits prohibited us from doing any reconstruction of the proscenium, we removed the traveler curtain and went as wide as we could. Just so I may visualise the old booth, when you reached the top of the stairs was there a small bathroom just to the left, with a large generator next to it? As you turn left at the stairs you reached a small room which was the rewind room, followed by the main booth and then a door at the end which lead to the air conditioning storage room.

In this 1969 ad the Lane is listed as a UA?
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Ads/DaringYoungMeninJauntyJalopies.jpg

Robert, I remember UA ran the Paramount for a while but don't recall the Lane under that banner. I was woking for UA at the Syosset on Long Island at that time. I hadn't worked the Lane after 1965 buy I suppose anything is possible.

i passed by over the weekend, new signs have been posted pushing for a sale of the premise. i would like to mention to vito , the glass doors visible behind the front gate look like the same ones from when it was a functioning theatre. i wouldn't be too hopeful of a sale, after noticeing that many of the other businesses in the area are either closed or moving to a new location....

Garth, I heard someone was looking for partners to open the Lane for
independent (art house)film showings. Too bad about New Dorp Lane, I hope it does not go the way of Stapelton.

I don't think Staten Island can support an 'art house' type movie theater. Even in Manhattan the smaller 'art' and 'revival' houses are mostly gone. The DVD has replaced those kinds of movie houses. What's hurting New Dorp Lane are the high property taxes on the commercial buildings. Landlords have to raise their rents to cover increased costs.

i have to agree that an art house would not last on s.i. Before the UA 14 closed they tried booking a few art or foreign films . I went to a couple of screenings and you could count the patrons on one hand. The high rents that dfc spoke of would be tough to meet for any business opening there. Also , i was in the area last saturday , it was practically a ghost town. I recall years ago it would take a half hour to drive down new dorp lane on a weekend due to high traffic...

I remember seeing "The Return Of The Living Dead" at the Lane in 1985.

The Lane is for sale - again. This time a different realty company's sign is attached to the marquee. The landmarked interior makes the Lane a difficult sell.

Asking $1.8 Million! No one will buy it at that price and the property taxes are $19000/year.

http://www.masseyknakal.com/buildingphotos/168newdorp.pdf

Four recent(June 2006) photographs I took of the Lane Theater:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/188047075/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/188047319/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/188047628/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/188047907/

This is a 1991 NY Times article about the Lane Theater.

POSTINGS: New Dorp's Lane; Landmark Theater to Disco?

Published: December 8, 1991

"The Lane theater in the New Dorp section of Staten Island, renowned for its intergalactic, Buck Rogers motif, may soon become a disco under a proposal now before the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The theater, at 168 New Dorp Lane, is one of the borough's oldest; it was built in 1938 by John Eberson and closed in 1989, when it was Staten Island's last single-screen movie house. A designated landmark since 1988, it is also contains one of the city's few largely intact examples of a Depression-era, Art Moderne-style theater interior.

The theater's owner since 1986, Henry Picciurro, has proposed a plan by Ronald Vittorio, a Staten Island architect, that would level the auditorium floor and cover balcony areas with removable panels to create a restaurant, a dance floor and a sound system.

The plan is opposed by many preservationists and local residents, who note, among other things, that the ceiling, which is painted like a sky bursting with astral explosions, would be perforated with sprinklers.

Mr. Picciurro countered that the Lane can no longer operate as a theater because of a deed restriction and economic realities. "There isn't much else it can be used for," he said.

A decision by the commmission is expected by next month".

What can be done to bring it back? Does anyone know?

Last time I visited, which was about a year ago, the building had begun to deteriate, some walls in the upper balcony area and lower lobby had some crumbling, also there was a terrible stench, pidgeons have made it home now. there is no orchestra seats and the booth is gone. As Lost Memory has pointed out, I recall a few years ago a provision in the deed which prohibits showing of movies, perhaps that can be overturned. It will take a lot of money, and with movie attendance on the decline, even for classic films, It may be a struggle to find investors. Howver it does have a better shot than the poor ole Paramount had.

Then, maybe it can be done. I now live on Long Island, but my family wants to move to S.I. Every so often I visit Staten Island, and my family once had a store there. I would pass and think this would be a great place for concerts or old movies.

gustave i hate to be a pessimest but i think you are whistling past the graveyard , as they used to say. another thing sounding the death knell , in addition to the buildings' condition as vito described , is the severe lack of parking in the area. there is a municipal lot , but you must pay to park there . new dorp lane has meters and the surrounding residential streets , where each house has 2,3 or 4 cars , is very limited.

There's a concert venue out here in Patchogue and the town took the liberty of placing signs marked "no theater parking" in many of the lots. However, people still park there. The place is an old vaudeville house.

Still asking $1.8M! Figured with the real estate slump they'd drop the price by 25% to to $1.35M. And even that would be way too high.

Link - http://www.masseyknakal.com/search/search_start_area1.cfm?Borough=Staten%20Island (select all, press find)

168 New Dorp Lane, Staten Island, NY (The south side of New Dorp Lane between 8th & 9th Streets)
Commercial Buildings,Development/Conversion Sites,Outer Boroughs
The Lane Theater: formerly a historic 550 seat movie theater. The Lane offers 1,000 square feet of 1 story prime New Dorp Lane retail space. The space then opens up into 6,000 square feet of 3 story high open space, offering many possibilities for development/use. Located on one of the island's premier commercial strips. Walking distance from the New Dorp train station & municipal parking. Marquee & ceiling land marked by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Property will be delivered vacant. Asking Price: $1,800,000

Don't know how much things have changed in the past year, but the possibility of a revival house might not be that far-fetched. Stapleton Heights (I think) basically along/near Van Duzer St. has become more artsy. With the right promotion, it might be feasible. Parking near the theater does suck, but it is fairly accessable by public transit, with the bus that runs from the ferry to New Dorp Lane, bus routes on both Hylan Blvd. and Richmond Rd., and the train.
I'm not really a businessman, so I don't know enough about a project like this. I just wanted to point out the possibility.

The Lane theater is still for sale, with a different realtor. It's back to being listed with Century 21. No info on their websites http://www.c21papp.com/ and http://www.domsold.com/ regarding the theater.

This architect's sketch of the futuristic auditorium makes an interesting contrast to the photo that I posted here two years ago:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/ebersonsi.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/133-3363_IMG.jpg

If you could see closely the design and patterns of the walls immediately adjacent to the proscenium and the ceiling, you would see that they bear a striking resemblance to the design and patterns of the Auburn Schine Theater, a once-remarkable outer space atmospheric from John Eberson. It was almost as if Eberson "practiced" on the walls of the Lane before taking the designs to the full stage of the Auburn.

Still for sale, but with a different realtor. Just a phone number, no realty company listed on the sign.

Here are new links to images described above on 10/26/07:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/ebersonsi.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/133-3363_IMG.jpg

I walked by the Lane Theater this morning and the roll gate was up. Someone was inside doing something. It's listed with a new realtor who doesn't show a name, only the phone number 718-234-0052, on a sign attached to the building. The Lane has been for sale since 2002.

This is a NY Times article dated September 25, 1988. It gives the opening date for this theater as February 10, 1938.

1.8 million for sale $10,000 a month to lease

Landmark information can be found here.

This is a recent photo.

Ah that marquee, they seem to have kept it pretty much intact.
Missing now, or covered up, is the hardware for attaching the letters.
As a teenager I spent many a cold winter evening changing that marquee.
As Mr. Moses told me when i was hired, "the marquee must be changed every time we change movies, which is usually three times a week,
no matter what the weather"
Yes sir Mr. Moses, I am on it.

The New Dorp Civic Assoc. reports there is interest in opening a comedy club at the location. Check out the New Dorp Civic's website for updates. They are having a speaker on the project.

http://www.ndcca.com/

I believe they tried that once.
The Lane never had a stage but I think a few years back someone built a small one in front of the original screen area.
Since movies are dead there I would like to see the theatre used as a comedy club.

I think the ship has sailed on that. "Grandpa" Al Lewis had one once on nearby New Dorp Plaza . It folded fairly quickly - and that was in a good economy. Now everyone is strapped except maybe teens - and it was a youthful clientele that helped bring down Club Element , the Lanes former night spot. Also the parking issue. Finally , the area's not doing so great -there's a lot of vacant storefronts in Kmart Plaza.....

Hi. The buyers for the Lane Theatre are really planning a comedy club...I will keep you posted...They also spoke at a Community Board Meeting.

Easy Money
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c32%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=161&ProductID=31258

HI. It's Uncle Vinnie's Comedy Club soon to open at the Lane Theatre- They are renovating. They have a existing business in Point Pleasant NJ. Check out their website in NJ.

http://www.unclevinniescomedyclub.com/about_us.html

Great to hear the buliding is going to be put to good use. Please let us know what is involved in the renovation.How will the space be modified etc.

Is there still a municipal lot nearby? If not they will face the same problem as the Paramount. Even as a drinking spot, anyone going there will drive,despite boozing. They will be too cheap to take a taxi in this economy . Grandpa Munster , are you out there?.....

When I worked the lane in the 50s and 60s we had a lot next door and street parking was free. For some I guess the SIRT would be an option, but New Dorp lane parking is not so easy anymore. But then of course whst is.

Was biking by there today and can vouch on the comedy club as there's a banner outside saying just that. This strip of the nabe has lots of retail and bars and restaurants with neighborhoods behind it.

I saw it yesterday as well , and all the other signage (for rent , etc.) has been removed from the marquee. I wish them well , this is a tough economy to start a business in...

Glad the marquee will stay.

YouTube has a tour of the ongoing renovation at ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP739ytw2pQ[/url]

If link doesn't work you can go to YouTube and type in Ryan Maher Lane Theatre.

That was aweful!
The guy taking the video spent most of the time showing us his big fat head and very little of the interior. What you do see is photographed so poorly it is difficult to view. A lot of panning jumping and swirling around. A 10 year old child could have done a better job. Too bad really.

The other day I had business on New Dorp Lane and while there I had a look around. I was stunned by the amount of shops that had gone out of business and had "For Rent" signs in the windows. The ones that have managed to survive didn't look like they had many customers. It will be interesting to see how Uncle Vinnie's does when it opens....

I may have been a bit rude with the guy who did the video. It was not good but I guess I was disappointed in what we actually go to see. I cut my teeth in this buisiness in that wonderful ole theatre and so it may have been a dificult for me to see the way it looks now. Like they say, If I may reverse the phraise,one mans treasure ia s another mans garbage. I just want it to be 1950 again and the Lane looking like it did then. Silly ole fool that I am.

The video was frustrating to watch but had a few good images. When I was there the theatre was locked up so I couldn't take a look. I also haven't seen any more activity or updates on the Paramount , the club was supposed to open by next month. The high rise project across the street is dead in the water , I was told...

Does anyone know how Vinnie's is doing? I read there's another comedy club at the old UA 14....

This April 2009 article includes a 1981 photo of the Lane.

The Lane Theater re-opens tonight as "Uncle Vinnie's Comedy Club." Gilbert Gottfried will be the first attraction. More http://www.silive.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/11/uncle_vinnies_comedy_club_set.html

Sure is bitter sweet to see the Lane today.
Bitter because I would have loved for the ole girl to remain a movie house.Sweet because I am happy the theatre did not end up like the Paramount in total disrepair and left to die.

Lppokong at that SILive article I was sad not to see any pictures of the front of the auditorium I would love to see what they did with the stage area. Anyone have any photos of that?
Also, anyone know what the old projection booth is being used for?