Riverhead Theater

For what it’s worth, I bought a nice house a few years ago in Riverhead from the last of the local Rileys — it had been in the family since it was built in the 1920s. I can get in touch with the seller if anyone has any questions. She took all the remaining memorabilia (and her own memories) with her when she moved to another state, and she’d probably be delighted to share info and anecdotes. My own memories of the Riverhead Theater were that it had fallen on hard times by the late 1950s, and seemed to show mostly second-run double-features, B-movie westerns etc.. I think I may have gone there just once, probably in its last year or so. It was definitely located just past the bank, maybe right next door, around where the science place is now. The only colorful reminiscence I can offer is that a very cheerful madwoman used to dress up every day in a dark blue policewoman’s uniform, with a nice little hat, and stand on the corner outside the bank pretending to direct traffic, smiling and waving. She was always there, rain or shine, day after day, year and year, at least until 1960 or so. She wasn’t directly connected with the Rileys or their theater so far as I know, but she was a distinctive part of its environment.

The address for the Suffolk Theatre would appear to be wrong. It is listed as 11 West Main Street, but the Suffolk is on East Main Street on the even side of the street. Addresses for business around the Suffolk support this. 11 West Main is actually the address for the L.I. Science Center adjacent to the parking lot where I think the Riverhead Theatre stood. The street numbering is a bit strange in that it seems to skip a lot of numbers between lots, but works to support that assumption because the second store immediately to the right of the parking lot, Luisa’s Magic Scissors, has an address of 51 West Main Street.

I believe this is the correct site for two other reasons: The bend in the road just to the right side of the site is very similar to the one in the vintage photo posted earlier by Warren and the building to the left, visible in the American Classic Images pic from 1967, looks like it could be the same structure that currently houses the L.I. Science Center (except that there was siding on part of it in ‘67). It appears that the theater was set back a bit further than the adjacent building and that there was some sort of recessed entrance to that building behind the corner column – which has since been glassed in by the Science Center and extended a bit into the parking lot for an entrance vestibule. Just seems to make sense to my eye. The bend in the road is really what nails it for me. Of course, can’t be 100% sure, but I think the probability is very high.

As for the Suffolk Theatre, I think an address correction is in order.

I believe the location of this theater was where the parking lot is for the L.I. Science Center. In the current street view, which faces east down Main Street, if you swing around to the right (south) the parking lot will come into view. This matches up with the slight angular turn in the road that is evidenced to the right of the theater in the vintage image posted by Warren on July 27, 2008. Yet another street view in need of repair.

I remember seeing carrie there in late 70’s

It’s interesting that, as a kid I remembered the Riverhead exterior from my summers in the area. Now, as an adult I was trying to track it down. The library only had information on the Capitol, which it was previously, but no knowledge of it as the Riverhead. Even the little old lady at the desk drew a blank.

Here’s a new link to the vintage image of the Capitol Theatre:
View link

Yes, this was the Capitol Theater. A Robert-Morton theater organ size 2/4 was installed in the Capitol Theater in 1920.

I believe that this was originally called the Capitol Theatre. Here’s a 1921 image, with “One Arabian Night” as the current movie: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/capriv.jpg