Bay Shore Theatre

Did this become a YMCA?

Yes, the Bolton's recently modernized the Regent with 290 seats in the stadium style. In hindsight, the Regent should have been the YMCA and the Bayshore should have been saved. But then, Bayshore closed in 1982 and the Regent was thriving as a X-rated house until 1990. Bayshore 1925-1982. Regent 1914-1990. The Regent has just recieved a new ultra sleek marquee and grand opened last month. The Bayshore opened as a Ward & Glynne theatre along with the Patchogue Theatre. Ward & Glynne also ran the Alhambra and Century Theatres in Brooklyn at that time. After the Crash of '29, Prudential Theatres
took over the twi L.I. houses. In 1968, United Artists and finally ALMI in 1980 and briefly until it closed Almi-Century and RKO-Century in quick succession. The manager of this theatre had a husband who worked the Bayshore Sunrise Drive-In and a daughter who worked the Lindenhurst Theatre for a while. She also fought to get the building landmarked but was thwarted by United Artists who did not want to. After staying empty for several years, the Bolton's plan for the Bayshore was to turn it into a YMCA. The theatre was totally gutted and only the ornate indoor box-office was saved to be used at a later date. The orchestra is now a basketball court and an extension to the south side of the building in a small part of the vast parking lot is an indoor pool. It is a nice spic and span facility. The theatre exterior walls, roof and enormous stagehouse are still evident.

Ward & Glynne also built the Astoria Theatre in Queens, with Thomas W. Lamb as architect. Who was the archtitect of the Bayshore? Its seating capacity has been variously reported in the range of 1,500 to 2,000.

The Bayshore was more than 1,500 but less than 2,000. When I find my ALmi-Century directory listing the circuit's movie houses I will post the exact seating capacity. The Patchogue seated about 1,300.

The Film Daily Year Book for 1935 claims 2,000 seats and also says that the population of Bayshore at that time was 4,080. The theatre must have been a big loser because the surrounding area was even less populated. The Regent, listed with 800 seats, was closed at the time, but this was during the worst depths of the Depression.

The audiences of the Bayshore and Patchogue were not solely from the Bayshore and Patchogue areas. In the 1920's, both were first run exclusive presentation theatres with vaudeville and orchestras. The Bayshore had a stagehouse where the Patchogue had backstage dressing rooms. The population of nearby Brightwaters were famous stars amongst others. They both had the stage and photoplay presentations that were popular in the five Wonder Theatres in New York City. The programs changed weekly. On the north shore, Century's Huntington held this honor. I don't believe these theatres had organs except for the Huntington, but I may be wrong.

This should be listed as the "Bay Shore", not "Bayshore". I couldn't find the theater so almost re-added it because it doesn't come up under "Bay Shore" (I got the "Ooops message") when I searched for it on the site.
Bay Shore is two words.
The entry should be changed to Bay Shore, along with the town entry.

The Regent is an open theatre? I cant find it listed on Moviephone?

I don't think the Regent is on this site. I tried both Bay Shore and Bayshore. What is the Regent called now? I am confused with the two Bay Shore theaters on Main St. Is this theater or the Regent the "Bolton Center" now?
Which one is the gym, and which one is still a theatere?

I don't see the Regent theater on here either. On Cinematour there is a Regent theater with an address of 35-41 W Main St in Bayshore and it is listed as closed. Also, I found an article that said the Regent was being renovated and isn't finished yet.
http://www.southbaynews.com/News/2003/0409/Community_News/highestimatefortheater.html

Okay, I figured it out. The Bolton Center is the Regent Theater. I will add it as the Bolton Center because that is the name on the marquee when I passen the other day.

The Bay Shore Theatre, in addition to having Bay Shore as two words instead of one should have "Ward & Glynne" as the secondary theater name, as that's what it opened with. In addition, if just like the Patchogue Theatre Ward & Glynne was what was accross the Marquee originally as built.

You are correct, Bay Shore is incorrect on this listing and the Bay Shore Drive In Theater, both are listed as Bayshore.

I see an old ad for a theatre in Bayshore called The Encore. Any one know anything about this place?

Saw Woody Allen's (miserable) Interiors at this theater.
Also one night arrived to see a new film called Animal House (1978).
As I pulled into the parking lot behind the theater some guys who evidently knew me called my name. My solo moviegoing adventure shattered , I had to wait while they relieved themselves against the concrete wall behind the theater.
Inside the theater I was able to lose them in the crowd and enjoy the movie without my own personal Delta fraternity destroying it with their drunkenness.

One of the greats. The balcony was wonderful but it was an old house and if too many people came down the stairs at the same time, the balcony would actualy shake. That made "Battlestar Gallatica" and "Rollercoater" in Senssuround even more fun. In the 70's it was on the Universal track and I saw "The Sting" and "American Graffitti" there. Can't remember how long we stood in line for all the sold out showings of "Jaws" I saw there, but it was fun considering it was around the area the story took place. You knew the show was about to start when the tuxedoed usher came down along the wall to the front left of the house and went behind a curtain to dim the house lights. That's when the cheering would start.

My Wife and i frequented many of the theaters in Nassau & Suffolk Counties in the 1960s......and on one of our dates, before we were married we saw "Warlock" with Henry Fonda & Richard Widmark there.......We would make a day of it going to the movies and eating out........Joe From Florida---sasheegm

If the Regent was XXX and the Bay Shore closed in 1982, then where did I see the movie "Return of the Living Dead" back around 1985? I could swear it was this theater, located on Main Street in Bay Shore on a fairly major intersection. I vaguely recall it being a fairly large theater, but it might have been a twin when I attended. Am I totally off base on this?

Robert, your question about the Bay Shore, do you think that was another name for either the Bay Shore or the Regent?

I wonder if this was the theatre that was converted to the "HollyRock" nightclub in the mid 90's. It was amazing what they did with the place. It was an interesting 'new-life' for an old theatre. They kept the screen and projection booth and showed films in the day. At night it was a restaurant/nightclub. I never was in the theatre prior though.

According to John Reimnitz the architect that redid the building it was 10,000 sq feet and originally had 300 seats. Unfortunately I do not agree with this info. At 10,000 square feet and the fact the building retained it's balcony, I would say that the theatre was originally closer 800 seats rather than 300.

Does anyone else remember the Hollyrock club?

JG

Ahhh, here we go...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D61539F931A25757C0A964958260

I knew there was still something on Hollyrock floating around.

JG

JG... there is a seperate listing for the Regent Theater - which became the Hollyrock according to the Times article you linked.

My earliest memory of this theater (early-60's) is that you could park across the street when the parking lot was full. I saw "My Fair Lady" there, and it was really elegant. The lobby was mirrored, there were curtains and old-style glass doors. There was a chandelier above, and the seats were plush. The sound was good, and sometimes you enjoyed the sound in what may have been six-track stereo. I remember seeing really great films there like "You Only Live Twice," "Patton," "Planet of the Apes," "The Odd Couple," and many others. I recall "Patton" was in multi-track sound, and the planes seemed to fly past and above you, which was novel in those days. I also saw the "Battlestar Galactica" movie, but the Sensuround wasn't that impressive. One of the last films I saw there was "Star Wars" in a re-release in 1979 or 1980. I still miss going to that theater. It should have been saved and renovated. Does anyone have a picture of it? Why didn't I take one years ago??

In March, 1929, an "evil odor" drove patrons from the Bay Shore and Patchogue Theatres in the wake of a dispute between management and labor. Reading the full story may require a magnifying glass, but it's worth the effort:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/baypatch329.jpg

Does anyone have any info on where they took the old box office when they gutted the theatre?

Hopefully not the dumpster.....

All Film Daily Year Books, including the final one dated 1970, list this as the Bayshore Theatre. What is the evidence for displaying the name here as Bay Shore? It makes about as much sense to me as listing the Bayside Theatre (in Queens) as the Bay Side.

Because the town in which it is located is Bay Shore!

You can't re-write history to conform with present day spellings. If the theatre was called the Bayshore, it shouldn't be entered here as the Bay Shore. Can you produce an ad or photo showing the theatre's name as two words? If you can, then the name could stand, with Bayshore in an "also known as" line above it.

This is not conclusive (a shot of the marquee would be best) but this 1980 ad clearly advertises the theater as the single word "Bayshore" - even though the town is most definitely named Bay Shore.

ALMI Theaters

ALMI?!!! Wow, age is a bitch. I would have sworn this old lady faded as a United Artist Theater. I have zero memory of it being anything but UA. It must not have lasted too much longer than that ad (Thanks ED!) because I would start working for UA only a few months later and I don't remember The Bayshore being open, as I know the Cinema and Regent were. I still remember like it was yesterday seeing "Young Frankenstein" here though, as Mel Brooks brings his film to life as a multi million dollar Broadway show. I immediately go back to that sold out Sunday matinée, orchestra, mid section, screen right side aisle seat and that was 33 years ago.

This was for sure an ALMI theater as i worked for them at the time and this was on the list a very short time.........

Did this theater survive into the RKO Century acquisition of ALMI? I'm still trying to ascertain if this theater was open in 1985. I'm pretty positive this is where I saw "Return of the Living Dead" - but as BobT noted, age is a bitch and the memory gets bitch-slapped around!

This closed somewere between 83 to 85 ...The last manager hear was Mary(cant remember her last name)she was here for years....

This is my guess on how they closed from that almi newspaper ad.....
Plaza
bayshore
farmingdale
brookhaven
amityville

I passed down Main Street in Bay Shore earlier today. This is definitely a theater where I caught at least one movie in 1985. It is on the southwest corner of West Main Street and South Clinton Avenue, directly across from St Patrick's Church and Catholic School and now a YMCA. The former Regent (now Boulton Center), which had been a XXX porn theater back in the '80's, is located further to the east mid-block and on the north side of West Main Street.

One thing that struck me is the size of this building. Much work has been done to the place and I had to stop and wonder for a bit if they didn't tear the old place down and start from scratch. However, it seems that the main building is definitely the old theater structure, though I believe they may have added to that structure near the corner of the inetersection.

A Moller theater organ opus 4719 size 2/8 was installed in the Bay Shore Theater in 1926 at a cost of $4500.

If anyone has pictures of the Bay Shore Cinema on Main Street (it is now a YMCA), please post here or email me at billjeanTRASH@whoever.com (take out the t*r*a*s*h). I have a large collection of photos of Bay Shore and Brightwaters, but I have never been able to find any pics of this theater. My album is here:

http://news.webshots.com/album/309685971nJUqJc

I would appreciate any photos. Thank you.

A 1986 picture
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c32%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=5&ProductID=30275

The Bay Shore sure looked shabby by that point. it was originally supposedly a real showplace in it's day.

Robert's posting clarifies the matter once and for all. The marquee reads BAY SHORE. When one sees the theatre for the first time you are struck by the lobby protruding a significant distance from the auditorium which runs parallel to the street. I know of some circumstances where this was done deliberately for monetary considerations. The street frontage cost more. There was certainly room for a large retail space between the lobby and the next intersecion. But Bay Shore built east of Fifth Avenue and this was never realized.

One good thing about the "Y" taking over - gone was the horrible pink color.

Back in late 1982 I believe, to the best of my knowledge, that I was the last person allowed into the Bay Shore Theatre with a camera. The theatre's last manager, Mary Costello, still had the keys and allowed me to take pictures for a short period of time. I then had an article published in the Console Magazine in June 1983. Although some have said that the Bay Shore was a twin to the Patchogue Theatre it was more of a more ornate sister. Having opened sometime in 1927, 4 years after the Patchogue, the Bay Shore was much more ornate in style. Both possessed 2-8 Moller organs although the Bay Shore's was voiced on 7" of wind rather than the 5" of Pathogue organ. In this writer's opinion the Bay Shore was the most ornate house east of Queens, NY. I have quite a few good color pictures of it and, aside from layers of dirt that were too difficult to clean and some plaster damage, the house was in decent shape for its years. It closed in August 1982 showing a re-run of Starwars. Century was the last operator leasing from RKO who had plans to triplex the house but the town refused to allow it. It remained closed for approx. 10 years during which time the entire interior fell apart. I believe they were attempting to sell off whatever was salable prior to renovation into the YMCA. Last I knew the YMCA had an area where the box office and other artifacts were housed commemorating the old theatre. I will try and scan my pictures and make some available. JEFF MORRELL