Vail-Leavitt Music Hall
18 Peconic Avenue,
Riverhead,
NY
11901
18 Peconic Avenue,
Riverhead,
NY
11901
1 person
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This has only occasionally served as a movie theater in its 125-year history, but that history could hardly be more distinguished: Thomas Edison used the theater for early experiments in sound movies in 1914.
The main theater, upstairs, is an astonishing gem – a miniature opera house designed and embellished by J. W. Flack. It was abandoned and forgotten for decades. In the late 1970s, restoration efforts began, and they’ve been slowly continuing ever since. From 1984 to 1998 or so, old movies were shown on a small screen in a cramped downstairs space in an effort to raise funds and involve the community in the restoration crusade. The shows included live organ music and exhortations to volunteer.
See website:
http://vail-leavitt.org/history.htm
Contributed by
chelydra
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
If you love theaters this is a must you will not see this style oftheater in the country anymore.This is a MUST MUST TO SEE plan a trip……………..
Any theater historian,fan,should put this second floor theater on the must see list!
Vail-Leavitt Music Hall
18 Peconic Ave
Riverhead, NY 11901
(631) 727-5782
Here is a recent photo of the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall.
I remember when they had the Mini Cine downstairs and showed some great old films.
I never went to the Mini Cine myself, but I do remember looking every week in Newsday for the listings for this theatre, a sample below:
Mini-Cine: Top Hat Fri. Sat. 8
I remember how that single listing just stood out among the multi-listings of the multi-plexes, and how I said to myself “One day, I will go!” Sadly, one day never came for me….