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 621 comments)

bolorkay on March 18, 2012 at 10:55 am

Peter, Has a date in April been set yet for the Spring Season opener for Big Screen Classics?

PeterApruzzese on March 22, 2012 at 1:18 pm

Yes, we’re starting on April 7 – the first show will be PRIDE OF THE YANKEES.

4/7 – PRIDE OF THE YANKEES

4/14 – awaiting confirmation

4/21 – MOULIN ROUGE (1952)

4/28 – awaiting confirmation

5/5 – VERA CRUZ

5/12 – WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

All in 35mm. Just waiting for paperwork on the 4/14 and 4/28 titles.

mdvoskin on March 22, 2012 at 2:03 pm

Wow, “Awaiting Confirmation” must be a great film since you are running it twice in one season!

Seriously, I’m looking forward to the return of Big Screen Classics.

PeterApruzzese on March 22, 2012 at 7:04 pm

Funny :) . Just got the final dates confirmed, here we go:

4/7 – PRIDE OF THE YANKEES

4/14 – WHAT’S NEW, PUSSYCAT

4/21 – MOULIN ROUGE (1952)

4/28 – DEAD END (1937)

5/5 – VERA CRUZ

5/12 – WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

All in 35mm.

PeterApruzzese on April 6, 2012 at 6:04 pm

Just finished inspecting and setting up the 35mm print for THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES tomorrow morning. Absolutely mint, no scratches or wear that I could detect. Looks like it’s been run no more than a handful of times. It will look spectacular on-screen.

bolorkay on April 8, 2012 at 1:22 am

Hi Peter, Great line up for the Spring season of BSC. Always great to have a Peter Sellers/Woody Allen film in the line up. Are fine 35mm prints getting hard to come buy? I notice there six films for the Spring season as compared to the usual 12 or 13. Will BSC classics be relying more on digital presentations as time goes by ?

PeterApruzzese on April 9, 2012 at 2:57 pm

Yes, prints are getting scarcer. I would prefer to run prints whenever possible, but if the studios make good digital versions of titles that do not have prints available, I’ll use them (like we did with Bye Bye Birdie, African Queen, etc.).

bolorkay on May 13, 2012 at 12:48 pm

Hi Peter, Great way to end the Spring season. “The Woman In the Window”, interesting , low-key thriller. Thoroughly engrossing rarely-seen Edward G. Robinson. (Now, how about “Red House”?) Did Nelson happen to mention when the fall BSC season opener would be? Sept, Oct.? (I know too early too tell, but BSC always leaves you “clamoring for more”) As always, great job guys.

PeterApruzzese on May 14, 2012 at 9:14 pm

Thanks. The fall season will start on either September 15 or 22.

ChasSmith on May 14, 2012 at 10:47 pm

When I first saw the schedule, I knew I’d be missing “The Woman in the Window” because I’d be out of town then — and it killed me on Saturday morning, driving up I-71 in Ohio, thinking about the feature about to begin! Really sorry to miss it. Otherwise, it was an all too brief but really fine spring season, and I look forward to the fall one.