Montauk Theatre
715 Main Avenue,
Passaic,
NJ
07055
715 Main Avenue,
Passaic,
NJ
07055
8 people
favorited this theater
Located on Main Avenue in Passaic, the New Montauk Theatre opened on January 30, 1924 with Mary Pickford in “Rosita”. There was a full orchestra, and George Emmans from Washington DC was at the console of the $50,000 organ. It was operated by the Fabian Theatres chain.
Later operated by Warner Theatres and Stanley-Warner. It had a great Art Deco style marquee. Independently operated in its final years as an adult theater, the Montauk Theatre was closed in May 2005.
This once proud theatre was in good condition, but sat empty and unused for several years awaiting its fate. Taken over by the city of Passaic, the theatre along with several other buildings on the block were demolished in May 2011, and a new school is proposed for the site.
Contributed by
Marc Zurge
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Recent comments (view all 185 comments)
I don’t imagine much was left of the Ritz Ballroom after its conversion to a disco?
I recently read a comment on-line from a “long time resident of Passaic.” They said the theater was the site of prostitution and other sexual activities, therefore it is an “eyesore and should be torn down.” That’s the kind of mentality you’re facing and it would have made a grassroots campaign to save it VERY difficult. And need I mention the corruption in the cities politics? I believe the last mayor (maybe the one who signed off on the demolition) was brought up on some charges.
You could see the original ceiling through holes in the drop ceiling and some of the original windows, which I believe were covered over from the exterior. It was so filled with garbage, you would’ve thought you were in a landfill. That place was horrid and smelled awful… the hotel that is, not the theater. Perhaps my weekend project will to be adding those pictures to the other album.
I also mentioned above, that the State agency in charge of building the school had the option of adaptive use for the theater (a community and school theater, a place to hold the HS graduation, etc) but the city demanded it torn down. Probably no amount of campaigning could have saved it.
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I took these pix yesterday … I don’t know how far this demolition is going but clearly the theater is gone … maybe the Hotel will be saved? Who knows? Well, I hope you enjoy these pictures … I did not know that a Droid camera was this good!
The city demanded the theater be torn down?
Something VERY shady about that!
Isnt there always something shady in these deals???
Here’s a blog post and some photographs taken during the demolition.
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I decided to swing by the Montauk this morning while the crew was there. I met a worker at the entrance gate and had an interesting conversation.
He told me that everything of value (light fixtures, marble, stained glass, etc) was taken by “The State” before demolition began. The crew working now has salvage rights to anything left in the building and that’s why they’re stripping anything and everything that can be sold. I asked who I should contact about buying a light fixture. He said to call the governors office.
I then asked what was to happen to the name on the marquee. He said that somebody already asked about that and anything of value would be removed before getting destroyed.
Here’s where it gets weird. I showed him the article about the organ and he said it was against the back wall on the stage! He said they ripped anything of value out of it and the rest got smashed when the back wall was demolished.
The piano in the pit was still there too and that was pounded to rubble when the roof came down.
At one point, he said all the chandeliers were removed and then later said they were all smashed when the roof went down.
I wonder which story is accurate?
So, now that the theatre and flea-bag hotel are gone, I’m sure the neighborhood is a much safer and pleasant place to be for the junkies, dealers, gang-bangers and school children of Passaic. What these pathetic small-minded city officials should have done was restore the theatre as a performing arts center and bulldoze the rest of the town.