Lafayette Theatre

The history of the Lafayette Theatre, named for the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette, began when the Suffern Amusement Company hired noted theater architect Eugene DeRosa to design a location on Lafayette Avenue in downtown Suffern, New York. DaRosa’s concept was a combination of French and Italian Renaissance influences, subtlety mixed in a “Beaux Arts” style. The theater was also equipped with a custom-designed Muller organ to accompany silent films and augment live performances.

The Lafayette Theatre opened its doors in 1924 with the silent film classic “Scaramouche,” and flourished through the rest of the 1920’s with live vaudeville shows and film presentations. A renovation in 1927 added the distinctive Opera Boxes along the side walls and, shortly thereafter, the projection equipment was updated to play the new miracle called “Talking Pictures.” During the mid-1930’s, an air-cooling system was installed which, unfortunately, forced the removal of the organ. It was during this renovation that the chandelier was also removed.

After World War II ended, movie-going habits changed with the advent of television. To keep pace with audience expectations, the Lafayette Theatre changed, too. Equipment to handle 3-D films was installed in early 1953 and, later that year, the Lafayette Theatre was the first theater in Rockland County to install CinemaScope to show widescreen, stereophonic sound movies. The premiere engagement was the Biblical epic “The Robe” and audiences flocked to the Lafayette Theatre to see it in the new widescreen process, modestly known as “The Miracle You See Without Glasses!”

The Lafayette’s star faded during the 1950’s and 1960’s as downtown populations moved further into the suburbs and television took hold as the popular entertainment medium of the day. Luckily, the Lafayette Theatre was spared both the wrecking ball and the multiplexing boom, where large single-screen auditoriums were divided up into several small theaters to accommodate playing several films at once. As part of a minor renovation in the late 1980s, the old stage was refurbished and the New York Theatre Organ Society installed a new pipe organ, the Ben Hall Memorial Mighty Wurlitzer.

In the late 1990’s, the Lafayette’s future as a single-screen neighborhood movie palace was uncertain until Robert Benmosche, a resident of Suffern and chairman of MetLife Insurance, saw the potential of the Lafayette and purchased the building the houses the theater, making necessary and immediate repairs to the roof and exterior in order to prevent any more serious damage from occurring.

Late in 2002, the Galaxy Theatre Corporation, under the leadership of Nelson Page, took a long-term lease to operate the 1,000-seat Lafayette Theatre as a single-screen movie house, erasing any lingering fears that the unique building would be converted to small auditoriums. Page and his team began immediately to refurbish the interior of the theater, bringing back its luxurious pre-war style while investing it with modern projection equipment and concession areas. In September of 2003, a chandelier was hoisted to the ceiling of the Lafayette Theatre, the first time an ornate lighting fixture had been there since the 1930’s, and it was a final signal of the rebirth and continued good health of Suffern’s downtown treasure.

The Lafayette Theatre thrives seven days a week as a first-run movie theater. From February 2003 to December 2008, a classic film series, especially on Saturday mornings, presented over 250 classic films. Boston Culinary Group became a partner of Page in 2007, and Page departed in January 2009, but later in 2009 Page bought out Boston Culinary Group’s interest and resumed control of the theatre.

Recent comments (view all 636 comments)

bolorkay on September 25, 2012 at 11:58 am

Hi Peter,

I know it was mentioned last Saturday, but what are the films for this year’s Horror-Thon ?

PeterApruzzese on September 25, 2012 at 12:14 pm

The Shining

The Wolf Man

Dracula’s Daughter

Drive-in Double Feature: Pit & the Pendulum PLUS The Premature Burial

Dr. Cyclops

The Black Room

The Mad Magician in Polarized Real-D 3-D – East Coast Premiere.

mdvoskin on September 25, 2012 at 12:40 pm

But can Dr. Cyclops watch The Mad Magician in 3D with only one eye? Inquiring minds want to know… :)

PeterApruzzese on October 19, 2012 at 9:26 am

The HorrorThon starts tonight! All prints & digital have arrived – prints look great.

HowardBHaas on February 17, 2013 at 10:16 am

I’m curious as what version of Gone with the Wind is being shown today? I’m guessing a 1.33 Academy ratio and likely 35mm. The 1998 restoration was said to have problems. Perhaps an older print?

DavidDymond on February 17, 2013 at 11:40 am

I believe this theatre was written up in the book called “American Theatres of Today”!!

PeterApruzzese on April 3, 2013 at 9:39 am

Spring Season of Big Screen Classics ready to announce:

4/27 – Judgment at Nuremberg – 1961, Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, 35mm

5/4 – Hans Christian Andersen – 1952, Danny Kaye, Farley Granger, 35mm

5/11 – The Vikings – 1958, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Ernest Borgnine, 35mm

5/18 – Sweet Smell of Success – 1957, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Martin Milner, DCP

5/25 – Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much – 1934, Peter Lorre, Leslie Banks, DCP

6/1 – The Stranger – 1946, Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, 35mm

bolorkay on May 7, 2013 at 4:38 pm

Hi Peter, As I’m sure you are aware, today is truly a sad day with the passing of a true hero to many of us, Ray Harryhausen. Not wishing to be too over-bearing but would it be possible for the Lafayette to mount a Harryhausen tribute as an extension of Big Screen Classics in honor of this film pioneer?

PeterApruzzese on May 10, 2013 at 1:18 pm

Perhaps at the next Horror-Thon, bolorkay.

bolorkay on May 17, 2013 at 5:58 am

Thanks Peter,

Seems like a logical addition to this year’s Horror-Thon. (“All Harryhausen, All The Time !!”) I hope something materializes.