Academy Theatre
82 Broadway,
Newburgh,
NY
82 Broadway,
Newburgh,
NY
2 people
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This was originally a concert hall and playhouse known as the Academy of Music. After conversion to a cinema, the name was shortened to Academy. Situated on the opposite side of Broadway from the Ritz, Cameo, and Broadway, the Academy catered to Newburgh’s large black community and was listed in Film Daily Year Books as a “Negro Theater”. It played the same movies as the other Newburgh theatres, but considerably later.
The Academy was eventually destroyed in a fire, and its remains demolished. More information about its history and the current status of the site is needed.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The Academy was probably Newburgh’s most imposing theatre building. In this 1950 image, the theatre was presenting “2 Technicolor Hits,” Danny Kaye’s “The Inspector General” and Maureen O'Hara’s “Comanche Territory.” The side marquee, which still had the original name of Academy of Music across the front, seems permanently changed to “Entrance on B'Way.” The original name also appears in stone on the front of the building, just below the center windows at the very top:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/academy.jpg
It must have been after the 1950’s, when the African-American population of Newburgh greatly surged, that the Academy became known in Show Biz as a “Negro Theater.” In the 1940’s, the Academy flourished as a second run house (along with the Cameo) with a low admission fee, and Dish and Banko Nights during the midweek. All races were welcome then, and all races attended the theatre. Their Saturday Afternoon kids' matinees were very popular, with double features usually consisting of a Republic or Monogram western Oater, a comedy (more often than not, a Laurel and Hardy or a Judy Canova feature), a Republic Serial, several cartoons, a newsreel and a long preview of coming attractions. These often ran to 5 hours long. Several years later, and before it closed up, Lester Scott, the Manager, took a dive from atop the Grand Street fire escape. I have very fond memories of the Academy in the late 1940’s. It was a great house…seedy, yes, by then, but still great.
My family and I lived in Newburgh from the 40s until the 90s. In the 50s, my father worked part-time at the Academy as an usher, ticket taker and marquee changer. My brother and I practically grew up at the Academy with the Saturday afternoon matinee being especially memorable—previews, cartoons, a serial and the double feature all for 10 cents. I never remember the Academy as being a “Negro Theater”. In fact, the black population in the City of Newburgh at that time was extremely small. There were no black neighborhoods. And to see a black person on the street was a rarity.
Ray – Actually, before the late 1950’s, there were two small concentrations of “Blacks” living in Newburgh. On the North Side, along both sides of Smith Street from First to South Streets, and on the South side, an even smaller concentration living on Ann and maybe Washington Streets, just West of Liberty Street, near a church with a Black congregation.
In Newburgh, I lived in the Colonial Terraces in the Northwest Quadrant, and was at West Street School from 1939 until 1946. During all the time I was there, there was not ONE Black student there. Not until I got to NJHS were there any Black kids enrolled.
One of the leading families in Newburgh as far back as the turn of the 20th Century (before even MY time) were the Alsdorfs, who operated a dance academy down on Liberty Street for many years.
Bob…Well, we basically agree that the black population was very small in Newburgh during the 40s and early 50s. I agree with you that during my elementary school days, there were no black students until I entered SJH in 1955 and NFA from ‘56 to '59. I never heard, however, the Academy being referred to as a “Negro Theater.” My brother and I and the local neighborhood gang of kids almost always attended the Saturday afternoon matinees at the Academy in the late 40s and early 50s and never recall seeing any black kids in attendance. The Alsdorfs were probably gone during this time as the name is not familiar.
Ray…up until late 1949, when my Dad was transferred to Delaware by the Fabby, I also was a fairly regular attendee at those interminable but enjoyable Saturday Matinees at the Academy, but I DO remember seeing a FEW black kids in attendance. But it was then in no way, shape or form, a “Negro Theater” then, either. It was just a theater. I failed to mention earlier that the Alsdorf’s were a ‘black’ family that had been in Orange County since the early 1700’s, and that the last surviving member of the family that I remember seeing was a very old man, and was a still a respected member of the Newburgh business community.
Bob…We do agree on the issue of the Academy being just a theater regardless if there were in attendance black kids or not. I do remember that era in Newburgh’s history as being a predominantly a non black one as far as the population is concerned. As I stated earlier, when one did see a black person, it was very uncommon thing. Not until the mid 50s when the first migrant workers arrived from the south to pick fruit in the area north of Newburgh did the black population begin to increase. Incidently, being a Wilson, do you still have relatives in the Newburgh area? I married a Wilson—just wondering if there is a connection? My email is
The Academy of Music in Newburgh is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. Fred Taylor was the Mgr. and the seating was 1,248. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. The house had both gas and electric illumination. The proscenium opening was 40 feet square, and the stage was 30 feet deep. The theatre was on the ground floor and there were 6 in the house orchestra. There were 3 daily newspapers and one weekly and there were 5 hotels in town. The 1897 population of Newburgh was 28,000.
Here’s a new link to an exterior view described above on 10/13/05:
View link
I just noticed that the Academy is listed here as being “closed”. More properly, it should be listed as “demolished”, since I know for a fact that as far back as 2001 and probably well before that, its site has been was a parking lot on the NW corner of Grand Street at Broadway.