Washington Theatres
165 E. Washington Avenue,
Washington,
NJ
07882
165 E. Washington Avenue,
Washington,
NJ
07882
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 54 comments
Well, looks like I can answer my own question. Yesterday while driving by I noticed a side door open and some activity, so I stopped to take a quick peek. Well, I met Marco, the owner, who invited me in to look around. He and a couple of friends were there doing some upgrades and they were kind enough to give me a complete tour, including the booth and behind the screens.
You can still see the ceiling dome above the suspended ceiling in places and thankfully the beautiful two-color marble that graces various parts of the auditorium is all intact.
I didn’t count seats, but I’d say it’s 350 or so per side, with some being originals from the opening with a ribbed velvet cover. Other seats are rockers from somewhat later that were very comfortable. The rear loge area is “stadium seating” that was around long before the major chains act like they invented it! Each row in the loge is surrounded by iron railing.
In the booth were a pair of nice, clean RCA projection and sound heads along with Xetron lamphouses and a platter(sorry, didn’t notice the maker). The projectors are mounted on a pair of really nice vintage Simplex bases, I would guess that they could easily be the originals.
Behind the screens is a huge stage with tons of flyspace. As usual in an old twin, that area is full of odd items such as seats, organ bits and pieces and the oringinal Breckart lamphouses. Below the stage there are varouus storage rooms, dressing rooms from the vaudville days, heating equipment, etc.
I was very impressed with the owners enthusiasm about his theatre. He plans on some day restoring it to a single in all of its original splendor. At this point he is steadily working on improving the theatre. One side has a nice, fairly new sound system and he was woring on a digital projection system while I was there.
I was very honored that he would take time from his busy day to chat with an old theatre junky and I plan on visiting again soon. If you read this Marco, your place is looking nice and thanks again!
How is this place doing? I haven’t had a chance to visit yet, but hope to stop in to see 007 sometime.
Passed by this large movie house last weekend. The marquee is huge and it says it has been entertaining crowds since 1926? I could’ve sworn it said Lyons, not Lions. The building looks exactly like the one in Newton, NJ.
Marco, and his team are doing a great job!!
He’s very passionate about the place, and very willing to talk to his customers! I’ll be seeing all my movies here from now on. It’s great to have the old girl open again.
went to a show the 2nd day of opening with my 2 kids…to see “over the hedge”. what a pleasant time. comfortable seating, looks of splendor, fair pricing, and great staff. i live in washington, and could not remember any time in my life where i was able to walk to the local movie theater. good luck.
Please change status to OPEN!!
I attended the 5:30pm show yesterday. The staff is very enthusiastic, although some still appear to be in training. Theater 1 has stadium seating. Each row in the stadium section is a separate “box” separated by iron railing. Excellent leg room, which can’t be taken away by someone in front of you leaning back. If you are tall, don’t lean too far back or you’ll get a bit of iron to the back of the head like I did! Fresh paint and good sound. The drop ceiling hides any splendor of the past. Ample free parking 1 block west of the theater. Overall a very pleasant experience. I wish them the best of luck.
Remaking a classic after 8 decades
A vintage theater makes debuts again
Sunday, May 28, 2006
BY MIKE FRASSINELLI
Star-Ledger Staff
Paying 15 cents for orchestra seats, 20 cents more for the loge, patrons sporting bowler hats and English umbrellas could experience anything from a silent film to a vaudeville act to a midget circus featuring a trio of jumbo elephants.
The 20s were still roaring when the Washington Theatre opened on Route 57 in Warren County, operated by a husband-and-wife team who previously traveled by horse and carriage to exhibit their films.
Like many 79-year-olds, the Washington has had to reinvent it self to survive nearly eight decades of changes in America.
By the time Marco Matteo was growing up in the 1980s, the Washington had become a twin movie theater and a popular venue for 3-D films. Matteo taped the plastic glasses onto his own spectacles when watching such thrillers as “Jaws 3-D” in the downtown Washington Borough theater with dated red carpets and floors sticky from Milk Duds.
By the summer of 2001, the one time theatrical crown jewel with the 32-foot-wide dome ceiling was shuttered.
Matteo, now 35, is trying to rescue the theater at the intersection of Routes 31 and 57 by mixing a little of the old with a little of the new.
A former manager with Regal Cinemas, who as a projectionist used roller blades to hurry from screen to screen, he is bringing first-run movies to the refurbished downtown theater where he en joyed so many days of his youth. (“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Natural” were favorites).
But in homage to the past, he is trying to keep as many of the old fixtures as possible, from the organ pipes, to the vaudeville dressing rooms, to the plaque cards for old acts such as “Baboona” and “The Showboat Minstrel Follies.”
The theater reopened Friday with a matinee showing of animated family flick “Over the Hedge,” and films will run every day at 3:30, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. in Warren County’s only downtown theater still used for movies.
An added Memorial Day weekend showing of “Over the Hedge” is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today and tomorrow.
Next month, movies will be added to a second screen, and a game room will be built.
Movie prices are $5 for all matinee seats (before 6 p.m.), $6.50 for high school students after 6 p.m. and $7.50 for adults after 6 p.m. Candy prices range between $1.50 and $2.50.
Matteo considers himself a “caretaker” of the building.
“As humans, we die, we have a life expectancy,” he said. “But buildings like this are immortal.”
Matteo wrote a business plan at Warren County Community College and won approval of a $150,000 loan from the Skylands Small Business Development Center.
He couldn’t believe how badly the building, erected four months before Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop Trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris, had fallen into disrepair.
The roof was leaking. The plas ter walls were crumbling onto the theater seats.
“I felt like the theater was cry ing inside,” Matteo said. “I felt it reaching out to me when I walked through here.”
Matteo had to spend $20,000 to get the fire alarm system up to code. Best friend Todd Harrington, his main contractor, and electrician Hank Pfister have gotten the place in shape to open.
“My job is to continue this legacy this theater has held,” Matteo said during a harried afternoon last week, as artists Victoria Eveleth and Shawn Geiger painted theater doors and Chris Felici hurried to get the building ready for an inspection.
The legacy began on Jan. 24, 1927, by John and Clara Howell of Dover, who previously traveled by horse and carriage to show their films to a public hungry to see moving images.
Opening night, which featured four vaudeville acts, attracted 1,500 people — 500 had to be turned away. The first silent film shown was “The Music Master” by David Belasco.
Clara Howell helped decorate the building. John Howell, who bought the second automobile ever delivered to Dover, died of heart complications just a year and a half after the theater opened.
Matteo, who took an interest in Howell’s life, visiting his grave at Locust Hill Cemetery in Dover, said, “I feel like his whole story went untold.”
So did that of the late George Miller, the original projectionist, who once had Matteo to his home for a two-hour show about vaudevillians.
“I sat there for two hours and I was transfixed into this time period of the 1920s,” Matteo recalled. “At that moment, I felt like I was brought back into the past. Ever since I saw that, I always felt differently about the theater. I feel like I’ve been handed a torch that I can carry on.”
Eventually, Matteo hopes to build a temporary stage for concerts by local musical acts and comedy shows.
Alvin Sloan wishes him luck.
A 95-year-old Washington Borough institution who was town mayor in the 1930s and has had a road named after him, Sloan was manager of the Washington in 1928.
He remembered the popular vaudeville shows on Saturdays and chuckled over the bad timing of the old Washington Theatre.
“That theater never had the right picture at the right time,” he said. “Every other theater in the country had it before we got it.”
Sloan, a show-business-crazy Montclair native who went on to run 14 theaters in Hunterdon, Sus sex and Warren counties, said Mat teo faces the same problem today that other proprietors have: A lack of on-site parking.
But he is rooting for Matteo. “I’d like the theater to be successful,” he said.
Standing inside the red-brick structure, designed by architect James Lyons, Matteo thought of the possibilities for the place where he watched slashers Freddy Krueger and Jason, where he memorized lines from “City Slickers,” where he stayed in his seat for the more than three hours of “Dances With Wolves.”
“When this place closed, I realized at that moment that I have as much say-so about the future of that place as the next guy,” he said. “It’s our theater. It’s the people’s theater.”
For more information, visit the washingtontheatre.com or phone (908) 689-0899.
Mike Frassinelli covers Warren County. He may be reached at mfras or (908) 475-1218.
1961 lobby card:
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It looks like there was an appliance store on the other side.
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I can’t hardly wait for the WASHINGTON to reopen!
I see on Dick Harpster’s photos that there was a luncheonette on one side of the theater, anybody know what was on the other side? As long as I can remember, the two spaces were empty and boarded up (but I’m only 28 yrs. old). Any background on these 2 places of business? Also, any plans out there to convert them back to businesses again?
Aeriel view in the left center of this photo:
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Listed as a Brandt Theater in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac.
Some facts for those who care.
There has been only one owner since 1984, although it has seen Richard Nathan and Nelson Page as operators. Nelson didn’t abandon the theatre because of inappropriate fines or failure to secure building permits. He decided to focus his efforts on venues that seemed more interested in helping him keep history alive. Now, after 5 years of vacancy, the theatre is finally leased and under renovation.
Marco Matteo, the new operator, has a passion and drive that should help make this an amazing success. The town is behind his effort 100%, and has been very cooperative with him. It’s really nice to see the town recognize the importance of the theatre in its community. We knew the need, and that’s why it wasn’t rented to any of the more than 15 people who wanted to change its use.
Keep your eyes peeled for the New Washington Theatre. You’re sure to be impressed. More importantly, spread the word, and attend showings. If you really want to make it successful, it takes money, and that comes from patrons. So, be sure to patronize the theatre and give it the respect it has earned.
Oh, to answer the question, I know all about this because I am one of the owners, and have been since December 31, 1984.
Looks like the Washington Theatre is going to re-open once again.
The current website is www.thewashingtontheatre.com
I’ve seen lots of activity recently and its great to see the old building being utilized again.
Locals may appreciate this one. The present corner of the theater was once a traffic circle:
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Nice history in photos. See photos 45-48:
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The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), Oct 7, 1998 p041
Small-town theater lover revives Washington cinema. (COUNTY NEWS)
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1998 The Star-Ledger. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of The Star-Ledger by the Gale Group, Inc.
Byline: David VanHorn
Nelson Page has never given up hope that small-town movie houses can compete against multiplex cinemas.
His latest revival is the twin cinema in Washington Borough, Warren County, which was saved by a local volunteer group before Page stepped in to undertake a $150,000 restoration.
‘'I always take the distressed locations,“ the 44-year-old Bergen County resident said. "I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy the work.”
The scheduled Oct. 16 reopening gives Page a head start in the competition for local movie fans. His will be the only operating movie house in Warren County until a 12-screen facility opens later this year in Pohatcong. Meanwhile, a 15-screen theater is under construction inside the former Jamesway store in Mansfield. The previous operator of the twin cinema, Richard Nathan, was so concerned about competition from multiplexes that he closed the theaters he ran in Washington Borough, Newton and Sparta in September 1997.
Page is not so worried. He predicts success in Washington, partly because business has been strong since he took over the two Sussex County theaters. He believes the Washington theater can offer what movie-goers want – a comfortable, convenient location with competitive prices for first-run flicks.
‘'It’s a matter of making sure it is pleasing to the eye. The difference is you’ve got to spend money to make money,“ said Page, who also runs a triple-screen theater in Guttenberg, Hudson County.
Exterior work on the Washington theater includes repairs to the leaky roof, marquee renovations, new windows and poster cases – and plenty of paint. A new neon sign proclaiming the theater as “the showplace of northwest New Jersey” will hang over the front doors, he said.
In the lobby, there will be new flooring and carpeting, renovations to the bathrooms and concession stand, more neon, new paint and wallpaper and a brass chandelier, Page said.
The two theaters will have new 18-by-45-foot screens, lighting, acoustical curtains and reupholstered seats. The walls, of Italian white marble with Indiana pink marble baseboards, show the 72- year-old building “was an opulent theater for its day,” he said.
Garbage removal was also a big part of the cleanup. Three large containers were needed to haul away trash from the upstairs and backstage offices and the theaters.
‘'We’ve tried to eradicate years and years and years of neglect,“ he said. "Old theaters like this need constant maintenance. They’re like senior citizens – you have to treat them with respect and care.”
Page credits the building’s salvation to Save The Area’s Regional Theater, or START, a grassroots group that stepped forward to run the theater after Nathan bowed out. START ended its operations in mid-August – the same time Page signed a 10-year lease – so the group could concentrate on raising money to turn the building into a regional arts center.
Besides working with START on future projects, Page wants to revive a piece of the theater’s history by installing an antique pipe organ backstage for live performances on Fridays and Saturdays.
‘'In order to be competitive with all the new theaters that are opening, you have to create a niche. You gotta do something a little different to make the people want to come and see your place,“ he said.
Page has a pipe organ in his theater in Guttenberg, while another to be installed next year in Newton to commemorate that theater’s 75th anniversary is being restored in the backstage area of the Washington building. The machine, made in California in 1925, has hundreds of metal and wooden pipes ranging in length from three-quarters of an inch to 16 feet, he said.
‘'Imagine 740 playing at the same time,“ Page said after blowing into one of the pipes. "You get a mighty roar.”
CAPTION(S):
Alan Pacheco, manager of the soon to reopen twin cinema in Washington, gets the popcorn machine ready for movie patrons. <par>
PHOTO BY ROBERT EBERLE
Article CJ81663124
If I hear anything, I’ll post it here.
If anyone has info on this theater please send an email to me (it’s in my profile). I’m looking for people who have interest in saving this and the theater in Flemington, the Hunterdon Theater.
Tom C
Listed in the 1/17/91 edition of the Star Ledger as a “Nathan” theater.
The Washington Theatre also had a huge Robert Morton organ installed on the left side originally. Never found out what happened to it and the beautiful gold organ grills and pillars were destroyed when it was twinned.
Hey JJ,
I see that you work in film, very interesting, pass along your e:mail address and I will follow up with you.
Hi there,
The construction of the Washington Theatre began in April of 1926, under the supervision of architect James Lyons of Morristown. He sold the half finished building to film pioneer John Taylor Howell of Dover, who had ran the Bon-Ton theatre and Dover playhouse as well. He used to traveled by horse and carriage with his wife Clara, showing movies he bought from the companies at that time. They finally settled at “The Washington” as it was called back then and opened it on January 24th 1927.
Films were projected by Simplex motors and Brenkert carbon-arc housings, it was known to seat 1000 and reports state that many attended the opening night festivities with lines reaching two blocks away. The interior design was done by Mrs Howell, and the first silent film shown was the “Music Master” by David Belasco. The original “silver screen” was painted on the back wall behind the stage.
Other noted events were “Wings” and “Ben-Hur” accompanied by a big New York City orchestra. The “Washingon” started showing talkies in 1929, wired for sound by George Miller, who was the sole mechanic. He laughed, recalling how the theatre booked the 30 piece “Singer” Midget Circus, complete with a jazz band and 3 jumbo elephants, back in 1935. Many vaudeville acts appeared, about 4 acts per night and admission was 15 cents for the orchestra and 35 cents for the loge.
The original marquee was a “french curve” design that changed to an aluminum neon-style sometime in the later 30s or the early 40s. By the mid-70s, it was changed to the “Washington Twin Cinema” and the 32 foot wide dome ceiling and orante plasterwork and decorative frieze was covered up. This era became viable for many years, and many (3D) films appeared in the 80s. By 1997 the business closed and George Miller was still there after 70 years of dedicated service.
Soon after, a local community arts group came together to reopen the building for films and shows, with the intent to restore it. Their plans fell short by not securing enough funds needed for a long term purchase.
It was taken over by “Galaxy Theatres” who renovated and re-opened the building in the fall of 1998 showing “Practical Magic and "Bride of Chucky” Soon after, they converted the two storefronts into small screening rooms and eventually recieved heavy fines for working without permits and failure to meet codes. The theatre closed again in 2001 and now sits vacant with a legacy of entertainment waiting inside.