Babylon Cinemas

It’s rather amazing how many years they got out of those Heywood-Wakefield seats that were in those auditoriums. When UA sold that theater in the mid-nineties, it still had those old HW seats, though I know they were re-covered and painted many times. I really liked the “finger” design that HW used on the seat pans: it made them really easy to remove from the floor standard for service (didn’t need a wrench). The HW achilles' heel was the use of springs below the cushions for support, and the use of springs for the pan riser function (the better seats of today are “gravity risers”, hence no springs to break). The riser springs would fatigue and break, and the seat pan would then flop down; but I guess that was better than a malfunctioning cushion spring that would pop through the seat upholstery and snag a patron’s clothes. An argument could be made that if the seats weren’t used in excess of their normal service life (I don’t know, perhaps 20 years or so?), these malfunctions probably wouldn’t happen. All this being said, when you look at old pictures of auditoriums from the 50’s and 60’s, chances have it that the seats were Heywood-Wakefield. I can’t even imagine what HW’s market share was in their peak years!

The mid-1950s rebuilding of the Babylon Theatre was designed by architect Maurice D. Sornick. A few photos appeared in an ad for Heywood-Wakefield seats in Boxoffice of January 7, 1956.

A photo of the auditorium was on the cover of Boxoffice, June 2, 1956. The Babylon was operated by Associated Prudential Theatres.

Also, somebody mentioned the last theatre with a vertical. What about the Fantasy. And, in recent years they added one to the Greeport when they split up the old auditorium into a handful of theatres. As far as the simple neon style I believe the old Cambria and Laurelton had these. The big guns of, course were the Queens, Floral, Triboro, Valencia, Astoria, etc.etc,

I appreciate this website, but they have to work on running correct initial desciptions of the buildings. This was a UA Theater before Clearview took it over in the mid-90’s.
When Lee was the manager here in the 80’s, you could quite literally eat off the floors. It’s was one of the cleanest theatres I’ve ever worked in. Her husband Joe was also an incredible theater manager. Real theater people like that are tough to find today.

I,d like to repeat a question I asked about two years ago. Perhaps new visitors to this site might remember. Does anyone remember radio broadcasts coming from the lobby some afternoons in the mid 50’s? Thanks.

also suffolk theatre in riverhead..now in danger..

Big giant screen unfortunately cut up into three. The seats upstairs were better than the orchestra section. The balcony theater is huge. We had to sit front row balcony, always front row center, even if it meant getting there extra early and waiting up in the restroom/loge area. On the MGM “Red Carpet” circuit. Saw “Carrie”, Woody Allen’s “Sleeper”. Saw “Hair” here the second time after seeing at The Ziegfeld opening night. Sorry about the problem John R had with “ET”, but the film was a sold out, lines around the corner, huge burst of applause finale smash here. The traffic and parking was ridiculous, but they just came and came. I even relief managed a few nights after it was tripled and “Dune” was playing in the empty balcony theater.

Perhaps they knew the Islip Theater was closing?

I know it’s a little late to ask now, but what exactly was a “Theater tour”?

4/30/79 newspaper ad listing this theater:
View link

Does anyone remember a very tall, handsome and disinguished gentleman who broadcast a radio program from the lobby of the Babylon theatre in the mid-fifties? Maybe I imagined it. Thanks.

I have a 1925 photograph of the exterior of the Babylon Theatre. It was certainly named the Babylon then, and not Capitol. The architect was J.H. Phillips and the seating capacity was 1,050. It was designed in a Colonial style. In the descriptive article I have (written by the architect) there are also photographs of the auditorium and lobby taken in 1925.