General Cinema Essex Green I-III
5 Rooney Circle,
West Orange,
NJ
07052
5 Rooney Circle,
West Orange,
NJ
07052
3 people
favorited this theater
Located behind the Essex Green shoping center, off Prospect Avenue in West Orange, the cinema had three screens.
A standard General Cinema style design, its main auditorium featured THX and an enormous screen (in the “picture screen” style). Two other theatres (Which, I presume were add-ons) were directly to the right of the large house. The roof proudly displayed the ‘CINEMA’ sign that was GC’s signature.
The location closed a day before their all new location, up the hill, actually in the center of the outdoor shoping center opened, the Essex Green 9.
Contributed by
John J. Fink
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
Correcting my comment above: The 1966 issue of Boxoffice used a variant spelling of the architect’s name. It should read Maurice D. Sornik.
I was employed by the GCC Essex Green Cinemas from September 1987 to September 1988 and enjoyed working with a lot of the people there. BTW does anyone happen to know what became of our two projectionists Jimmy Heckle and George (I can’t remember his last name).
Right across from where Essex Green was (now a shop-rite) its successor will become a fork and screen theater.
thanks Bill Great 2001 ad.My friend Nick in Tampa sent me a copy like that from the Tampa paper.don’t see ads like that anymore,Heck don’t see ads much at all and quite frankly most movies stink today anyways.
Just a where are they now moment, John Monsport the longtime manager of the Essex Green I-II-III and his wife who was the manager at the Rusty Scupper restaurant (now a Courtyard by Marriott hotel) now run the AmericanPlace Movies on Route 202 in Flemington.
and BTW the Essex Green I-II-III address was not Rooney Circle, at least when I worked there all our mail came to a Prospect Avenue address.
Head projectionist Jimmy Heckel, opened up the booth at the new location. I worked with him for about the first year. I don’t know where Jimmy went to after that. I opened that theater as a manager and stayed until after AMC took over.
Was this General Cinema’s flagship theater in NJ at the time?
Their so-called flagship theatre, ( you must remember we are talking about the 60’s and 70’s) was the Menlo Park Cinema in Edison NJ (one screen ‘60 –'76, two screens '76 –'91)
One wouldn’t think that Flagship and West Orange would ever be used in the same sentence.
Now East Orange? now that’s a different bushel of apples
SeewhatIdid there