Bergenfield Cinema 5

The mayor of Bergenfield just announced a Korean BBQ restaurant will open where the theatre sits now. It will be called, of all things, Meat Palace, named in honor of the Palace Theatre. No I’m not making this up. The property sold in March for $1.9 million to a limited liability company. The new owners are supposedly going to renovate and restore the theatre. To what end I don’t know, are they going to show movies again? The restaurant is expected to be open by Thanksgiving of this year.

You are right, Washington Avenue has several large empty stores, some of which have been empty for 2+ years. I haven’t been to Teaneck in a while but Cedar Lane must be much busier since the same owners decided to focus on Teaneck and cut Bergenfield loose. Maybe the owners will try offering the theatre to new owners and not let it become what the theatre in Tenafly has become, a big, boarded up hulk of a building.

As of January 1, 2023 it appears the theatre has CLOSED. No films listed on Fandango, their website is useless, the marquee is totally blank and all the lights are off inside the theatre. Nothing is posted on the doors, so perhaps it’s only temporary?

5 screens as of May 19th, 1989. Grand opening ad in the photo section

I went to this theatre (The Palace) also known then as Pops Palace, as a kid in late 40’s and into early 50’s. Sat. Mat. kiddie shows. The regular attraction was always a double feature and if one or both of the regular films were “kid” appropriate then they were shown with 10 cartoons and an episode of a serial, Batman, Superman, Captain Video etc. Often one or both of the regular attractions were not shown and westerns, Huntz Hall comedies, Abbott and Costello comedies, etc. were substituted. The bookings then were from Wed. to Sat. and then another show from Sun. to Tues. I would often go back to the movies on Sun afternoon. There was no kid show on Sun, just the regular 2 features. The manager then was George Hollman. Mid 50’s I became an usher at the Fox Theatre in Hackensack and also Assistant Manager there and also at the Englewood Theatre in Englewood. Late 50’s I became Assistant Manager at this Palace Theatre along with Manager Ernest Mezey. Mon. and Tues. nights were dish nights to attract lady patrons. Along with your ticket you got a free plate or cup, etc each week a different item until you got the whole set, eventually. I was Assistant at the Palace during such films as Mary Poppins, West Side Story, Gypsy, South Pacific and many many other classics. Many, many memories.

1926 postcard:
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I worked at the palace from ‘73 to '76 as an usher while in high school. I had a lot of good times, ate a lot of popcorn, and saw “The Trial OF Billy Jack” 65 times! During my time there, the dressing rooms were still mostly intact below the stage, and behind the screen, aside from the huge refrigerater size “voice of the theater” speakers, it looked as though not much had changed since the vaudeville days. The organ was long gone but the loft where I’m told the organist played was there and so was the ladder that he used to get up to his perch. I remember having to run down to the screen and pull open the curtains on either side of the screen for movies that were in “scope” and pulling the curtains in close to the screen for “flat” movies. For me, working in the balcony was the best, the projectionists, Sam and Earl were always fun to hang around with, although they were my fathers age, we usually had a good laugh at someone elses expense while I always grubbed one of Sams unfiltered Chesterfield cigarettes a cup of coke from the candy stand and filled the pocket of my red ushers jacket with popcorn. From the balcony, you could go out onto the roof, and when there was snow, we would wing snowballs down on unsuspecting Bergenfield shoppers, but we had to be careful not to be seen doing that as it would have meant sudden termination. The manager, Mr Mezzy, an old Hungarian, accent and all, was a funny guy, during Saturday Matinees, while the mothers dropped off their little little brats so that they could spend a few hours shopping in downtown Bergenfield, old Mezzy would be at the door ripping tickets, and telling the kids how cute they were, such little darlings! he would say, but once the picture was over, and we were trying to empty out the theater, he would be thundering “get out!! get out you little @#$!!&*% ’s GET OUT!!! There were a lot of good times and some scary times too, there was a local group of youth that would frequent the Palace, chipping in their undoubted drug money to buy one ticket, while the rest of the gang went around to the fire door nearest the bathrooms and waited for their buddy to let them in. There wasn’t much that 2 130 Lb ushers could do, there were usually 8-10 of them and they were members of the Bergenfield Football, Wrestling, or just plain tear your head off from your shoulders team, we didn’t stand much of a chance. My coworkers from Bergenfield High wouldn’t get involved because they saw these goons on a regular basis in school, so long as they were quiet, did their drugs in the far corner of the auditorium and didn’t bother anyone, we didn’t call Bergenfields finest. A few cops used to frequent the Palace, mainly to stay warm and eat some popcorn during the winter while walking a beat on Washington Ave. one cop that I remember, we called him Le vitche, I never knew his first name, at the time, he was a rookie, for all I know he’s probably chief of police now! well, I could go on and on, but for now I’ll leave, and say that I’ve been in the 5 plex and sure do miss the "one plex” palace

Listed as a 2 screen independent theatre in the 1991 International Motion Picture Almanac.

1966 ad for the Palace courtesy of Bill Huelbig:
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The Palace Theater also had a very wide CinemaScope capable screen. CinemaScope was the first & widest of all the wide screen technologies. Beginning with “The Robe” in 1953, it literally doubled the width of the screen to a 3:8 ratio as opposed to the “normal” 3:4 “postage stamp” ratio of the day.
Not only was the screen wide enough to accomodate these (extra wide) movies, but it was slightly curved which was part of the whole CinemaScope thing in order to give the illusion of a little depth. (“You see it without glasses!”) This is not to be confused with the VERY curved/wrap around Cinerama screen which was a different process altogether.
I saw a re-release of “Lady & the Tramp” in CinemaScope in 1975 at the Palace.