Hempstead Theatre
310 Fulton Street,
Hempstead,
NY
11550
310 Fulton Street,
Hempstead,
NY
11550
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 48 of 48 comments
How the Hell the Hempstead kept going into the early 80’s is beyond me. By that time, Hempstead had completely hit rock bottom. I cannot imagine why anyone would go there to see a movie.
I have a question for all projectionists on this site both former and current that has always interested me. Is there a law or something that requires you to show a movie that is scheduled even if the theater is empty? If this is so (I think it is…) that must be one of the saddest sites around.
was this theater a RKO theater rather a century theater
The last time I worked the Calderone and Rivoli was in the late 70s, they did not last much longer. But the Hempstead was still going, or I should say limping along, until the early 80s.
That’s a shot of the Mineola Theater. I think it was torn down in the 70’s. If you go to the Hofstra archives they might still have some copies of the book for sale. It has a great deal of information and photos on the entire chain. Definitely worth the purchase.
Can someone please tell me what Calderone theater is featured on the cover of the book shown on this website:
View link
It looks AMAZING!
It wasn’t a very bad job multiplexing it. I did the re-install back in 1998. The theaters were still pretty big. The two balcony theaters had 800-1000 seats each with a full stereo set up. The other theaters were all mono. Of course it was all old, used equipment. A few breakdowns but not too many. The building was just to big to maintain and heat. The owners rented the two balcony theaters to an indian guy to run indian movies. The indian movies did amazing business. The problem was the guy never paid the owner so he got kicked out. The calderone eventually was leased to another indian guy. It just didn’t work out.
CConnolly
I never got to see the Calderone as a 7-plex. What was the layout like? I was suprised that a multi-plex there did not make it. Was it a cheapo plexing job that did it in?
The Hempstead was still open in 1983? Wow. I actually used to still go into Hempstead back then only to go to the long gone Abraham & Strauss department store, the only thing worth going there (thinking about it now, that beautiful department store in Hempstead was kind of anachronistic…)
I could be wrong but by 1983, The Calderone was long closed but still standing. When it reopened as a multiplex in the early 90’s, I went there. It was amazing how intact the place was but it was a tad seedy.
It was in 1983, which may have been the last year it ran as a movie theatre, when I worked the Hempstead. It was an independent owner who also had a security business. Century had sold it by then. I also ran relief at the Calderone and Rivoli, all of which sadly are gone.
Vito: fascinating info. What year was this around? I’m guessing it must’ve been around the late 60’s, early 70’s.
Hempstead’s decline was/is sad indeed for Long Island. My parents told me that when they moved to the Island in 1956, Hempstead was BEAUTIFUL and they went to the theaters there all the time especially The Calderone.
Hempstead was still OK even in 1972. One of my first memories of movie going was to The Calderone seeing “A Boy Named Charley Brown”. And my first dentist was there in this LUXURY(!!!!) apartment building right on Fulton in 1972. Over the course of six short years, the lobby of that grand apartment building went from opulent, to empty (all the lobby furniture was stolen) to run down. My dentist moved out in 1978. The apartment building is a HELL HOLE now.
I remember town officials made a big deal over revamping the Hempstead Theater into a DMV and it was a great place to go. If you’ve ever dealt with the lines at the DMV in Westbury, this place was heaven.
It’s use as a public place at least assured that people could see how grand it was.
Vito
Was that still under the Century’s management at that time?
I worked as a relief projectionist during the theatres last days.
I would arrive at 6:30 for the 7:00 show but usually the manager would arrive about 6:45. There was always a double bill but we had no schedule. The manager, on weekdays, would just ask the few patrons who should up, which of the two movies they wanted to see, and that is when I knew which movie to put on first. There were no house lights, just a large portable light on the stage. When the manager went up to the stage and took away the light I knew it was time to start the movie. The balcony was always closed and sometimes late in the night I honestly wondered if there was anyone left in the theatre but me.
The theatre is now owned and operated by DRC Fellowship Church. The gold dome is still there and DMV rents office space in the rear.
I,m not sure why it closed but first they cut the DMV space in half. Then a while later they kicked them out completely. Hopefully they saved the dome.
They closed the DMV? Why? That was a great place to go. It was cool looking with that awesome dome, great parking and hardly any lines. Another blow to once lovely Hempstead!
The dome was still intact well into the 90’s. Then when DMV closed in the late 90’s I think a church bought it. What a suprise, a church bying an old theater.
At least when this first opened as a DMV, they did a really, really nice job with this. The dome was still intact with a beautiful chandelier hanging from it. This was back in 1986 or so. I don’t know how it is now. You could also see where the balcony was.
My parents moved to LI in 1956 and said that Hempstead was THE place to live, shop and go for fun. They saw “Dr. No” here as well as a lot of other theaters. My Mother and Father said there were at least three great theaters in Hempstead. Decline really set in around 1970 but even in 1972, there were still very nice sections of the village. Not anymore.
Steven, I think your mixing up the calderone with the Hempstead. These were 2 different theaters even though they were only a couple blocks apart. The Calderone was on North Franklin street and only closed about 2 or 3 years ago.
I am from Port Washington and I remember seeing Patti Smith at the Calderone and the Ramones as well in 1977. The Good Rats opened for both shows as the drawing power of punk in Long Island was a risky venture.
I had seen both Patti Smith and the Ramones in N.Y.C. at C.B.G.B’s and at My Father’s Place in Roslyn as well and I was struck by the fact that Hempstead was a riskier place to visit than the Bowery.
I recall that the Calderone had elaborate carvings of fern fronds adorning the stage although they were marred by many dents and stained by nicotine.
Thank you for prompting this posting. I would definitely liketo hear from anyone who similiar recollections!
I remember seeing two stage shows at this theater in the early 70’s. One show featured Virgil Fox on organ (he was big at that time) and the other show featured a band called Dire Straits (they were just starting out).
I didn’t live in Hempstead and never attended this theater but this one memory has always stuck with me for some reason: Around 1970, I’m passing through town, probably on the LIRR, possibly on a suburban bus, and I can see the front of the theater. The rat-horror movie “Willard” is playing, and an enormous, crude, three-dimensional rat head is affixed to the front of the theater as an advertising gimmick.
This house made it open until the early 80’s if I remember right.
Late in it’s life wasent this a Centurys house? I think I rmemeber seeing a horror triple bill there once?