Union Theaters

990 Stuyvesant Avenue,
Union, NJ 07083

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Empire Cineplex Cinemas, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.

Previous Names: Union Theatre

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Union Center Theaters

Opened in 1926 as the Union Theatre. By 1941 it was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. It was listed in the 1951 Film Daily Yearbook as having 1,303 seats. It was twinned on March 17, 1978. In 1988 the owners managed to carve out seven theaters in the building. Believed to have been showing movies continuously since opening, the Union Theatres was closed in 2014.

In March 2015 it was taken over by Empire Cineplex Cinemas. It was closed by the city without advance notice on March 3, 2020. Poor maintenance was one of the reasons for closure. It was demolished on April 19, 2023.

Contributed by TC

Recent comments (view all 33 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on July 9, 2018 at 12:07 am

Remodeled Late 1968. Ad in the photo section.

rivest266
rivest266 on July 13, 2018 at 3:40 pm

This became a twin cinema on March 17th, 1978. Ad in the photo section.

baysider73
baysider73 on March 21, 2019 at 1:24 pm

This is now a second run discount theater still operated by Empire Cineplex. The only one in the NY Tri State Area since the South Hills 8 in Poughkeepsie, NY also operated by Empire Cineplex has closed in Feb. Tickets are now $3.50. You can’t get this price anywhere in this area.

markp
markp on March 22, 2019 at 9:17 am

Not gonna last long at those prices. They will be getting movies after pay per view.

Frankiecinemafan
Frankiecinemafan on March 15, 2020 at 9:34 am

The union theater closed on march 3, 2020. Fire, Health and Building Department violations and summonses, including non-working fire alarms, a failure to maintain in good working order all means of egress devices and safeguards, exposed pipes and a hole in the ceiling and not supplying adequate heat in the building.

Guodone
Guodone on September 25, 2020 at 7:16 am

I saw a sneak preview (remember those?) of Raiders of the Lost Ark here. The theater was only about 25% full, this may be due to the fact that Nightwing was the featured movie and maybe no one had heard of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Needless to say, once Raiders opened, sell out crowds followed for a several weeks.

br91975
br91975 on November 25, 2021 at 6:22 am

After purchase by the city, the Union is awaiting demolition: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/union/sections/business-and-finance/articles/union-theater-to-be-demolished-what-s-next?fbclid=IwAR1VqlUspwbCWyviaunn5PGnTmmG_A72Bws5gNAifRNWy7IsamLeCytS31E

misterrick
misterrick on March 11, 2022 at 1:29 am

The Township of Union, NEVER purchased or took ownership of the Union Theaters at least not according to the property records (See link below). Currently it is owned by a company called Stuyvesant Building LLC. out of Kings Point, New York (That’s Nassau County on Long Island) which purchased the property in 2015, previous to that it was owned by Mousa Kafash in 2014 and prior to 2014 it was owned by Spiros Papas of Westwood, NJ.

https://tax1.co.monmouth.nj.us/cgi-bin/m4.cgi?district=2019&l02=20190290300016_____M

and by the way the Tap Into Union article was wrong. I don’t know where they got their information but Monmouth County maintains an extensive records of every property tax record in almost every county (Ocean County being the only exception) so I would go by that and not some online website which has no formal standing as a member of the press community, its just a bunch of residents writing articles for their local towns.

markp
markp on April 21, 2023 at 9:57 am

Demolished as of 4/19/2023.

EsseXploreR
EsseXploreR on July 20, 2023 at 5:16 am

https://tfpnj.blogspot.com/2023/07/union-theater.html

Link to my blog which features photos from inside the building prior to demolition. I visited the building several times, hoping one day I would walk inside and all the interior partition walls would be gone. That never happened unfortunately.

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