Whitestone Multiplex Cinemas
2505 Bruckner Boulevard,
Bronx,
NY
10469
2505 Bruckner Boulevard,
Bronx,
NY
10469
1 person
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The Whitestone Multiplex Cinemas were built on the site of the Whitestone Drive-In.
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
It opened as 10 plex and was successful enough that 2 more screens were added soon after.
It is written up in Sumner Redstone’s biography in regard to him being the only corporate member favoring construction of this theater due to silly fears about the entire borough’s leftover 1970’s urban blight reputation. This theater did very, very well to the surprise of many in National Amusements.
Several years later General Cinema also woke up about the money to
made in the Bronx and opened it’s Bay Plaza complex at Co-Op City just up the road.
Did they actually build more auditoriums, or did they cut bigger ones in half to make the 14? I know at the NA Brookhaven Multiplex (now demolished), they cut a few larger auditoriums in half to create the 14 theaters it had at it’s end. They never built on to the existing building.
same with this theater,they spilt up their larger theaters to make into narrow shoebox theaters.
I believe they constructed additional auditoriums.
This wouldn’t be the first time National Amusements added on to an existing multiplex; they did the same after the success of their originally six-screened multiplex on the site of the old Sunrise Drive-In Theater in Valley Stream, NY. Of course, even after they added on to that building, they later proceeded to carve up existing rooms to create even more screens over the years. The same pattern might have been followed here.
Most of the standard NA multiplexes were built similarly. They had larger theaters (which were like double-smaller theaters). After some years, many of the larger theaters were cut in half to form more smaller ones.
If you picture the typical NA auditorium, you will notice that to get into the auditoriums, you have a little alcove, and on your left will be the door to one theater, and on your right will be the door to to another theater. The original large auditoriums had the same alcove and two doors on either side, except both sets of course led into the same large theater. When they added more theaters, they just cut many of those larger ones in half.
I lived in the neighborhood when this place opened as a ten-plex. It was actually very nice and had 4 large (500 seat) auditoriums and 6 small, single aisle auditoriums. It went to 12 by splitting two of the big houses and then to 14 by splitting the remaining two big houses. I happened by there recently and it is not pretty…
Anyone know how the Bay Plaza is these days? THAT was a GREAT thater when it had just 10 screens…
I was their projection technician, as with all theaters in New Jersey and New York, until I got enough sense to quit. Theaters were split and added. It was running good when I left.
A few multiplexs I know increased the amount of screens they had by cutting larger ones in half.
First film I saw here was “All of Me” in 1984 and last was “Mr. Magoo” in 1997. Also remember seeing here such epics as Titanic, Amistad, Dances with Wolves and the Postman, the last 2 starring Kevin Costner. Moved out of the Bronx in 98.