The theatre closed without much fanfare. The entire plaza where it was located is being leveled and built up again. I don’t know if the theatre will be demolished or kept standing but the theatre is no longer listed on Bow Tie’s website,and no listing at all in the local newspaper. The inside walls have been stripped of their poster frames and it looks pretty barren from the street.
Having been in the trenches with Nelson and Pete, I know they went out of their way to put together seasons of famous and not so famous films. We got Maltese Falcon, White Heat, Red River, Scarface, and we also got The Red Shoes, Bedford Incident, The Stranger and many others. I know Pete knocked himself out to find the best 35mm prints he could find and many Friday nights would be spent inspecting and cleaning the prints to insure the best quality show he could present. I know Pete would sweat over what exit music to play from his vast collection of soundtracks.
The last 2 seasons with Nelson & Pete were starting to show a downturn. Perhaps the seniors were aging out, maybe people just got bored with it. The line-up from the last 2 years is just a very pale shadow of it’s former glory. Instead of programming an interesting and eclectic season, they went for the obvious and common. Casablanca, 1925 Phantom, It’s A Wonderful Life are all good films but they are tired. Some selections just were all wrong. Taxi Driver?? At 11:30 in the morning with a bunch of seniors?? You just don’t do that! Wrong audience entirely! The seniors want to see what THEY saw when they were younger, not what the current owners want to see themselves.
Unless the new management can turn things around, the Lafayette may fade away forever.
The Rosebud closed for good this past Saturday, May 8. It lasted a little over 1 year. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Secret Agent” was it’s last film. The theatre was smallish, about 90 theatre seats, on a flat floor. The films were shown on a Epson projector onto a screen about 8 feet long by about 5 feet wide. The theatre’s closing was simply – money. Not enough people attended to keep the theatre open and viable. Which, unfortunately, goes to show that unless the theatre is in NYC, showing older films exclusively on a semi-daily basis is financial suicide.
????? What’s that suppose to mean? You’re living in a world of your own making and it’s very weird, man.
I still stand by my comments. At least until it gets deleted by Peter Pan or whoever. Merde!!
Cholera! What’s a troll to do? I simply took movieguy to task for acting like he was the manager when he clearly wasn’t and now it’s all this? Does Disney run this site? Any dissenting view, other than the nice, calm, squeaky clean kind is dealt with by deletion?? What a joke. And Jeff, I too miss the days of Nelson & Co. And, movieguy, why don’t you just answer the question instead of side stepping it? Cachu!
Yes, I would say so. The admission is certainly cheaper than the Paramus gigaplex where I think it’s $11.00 to walk through the door. Nice reclining seats, plenty of legroom, yes it’s worth it to try it at least once.
Phil, don’t you think if you listed the classics in a larger paper like The Record you would get a better turnout? The Journal may be good but The Record is better. How many people do you think listen to WRCR on a daily basis and do you really think the ads will draw people into the theatre? And where exactly did you put up posters for this past “classic” series? And I’m not talking about those dismal, smeared 8x11 flyers. I’m talking about the larger 11x17 posters that somebody made for you guys. You never put up one single copy in town; not even on the front door! Why were they made if you never intended to use them? Filling the theatre with seniors, who pay nothing to get in, and only getting 10 – 20 paid admissions is not a sustainable business plan is it?
Phil, I have been going to the Lafayette since 2006. I don’t understand why you continually try to make everything sound “special” when it really isn’t. 99% of the people who read this will never go to the theatre because they don’t live in the area. Most of the paying public know nothing about this site, so you are just spinning your wheels. Just like the “classics” you run on Saturday mornings; you don’t advertise them, never mention them in newspaper listings. Did you even bother to put up the mini-posters someone made for you around town? It’s just sad to see all of Nelson & Pete’s hard work slowly degrade like it ’s been doing ever since they left.
I don’t understand why you call it a “special” Thursday night opening when the movie opens all over on Thursday night?? What’s so “special” about yours, other than it’s showing in a “iconic 1920’s movie palace”, as you like to remind us so very often??
I stopped by the theatre this past weekend and the place is jumping. The parking lot and garage is fuller than it’s been in years. Inside, the video games are gone as well as the downstairs coffee stand/information desk/junk storage spot. The candy stand upstairs is still there but not in use, like before. The 1-sheet displays downstairs
and upstairs are now digital. Regular paper 1-sheets are still used upstairs, but way in the back by the last 2 theatres. The upstairs lobby still looks barren but going up and down the escalators the walls now have large 40x60’s for new films. The theatres now have less seats, but do have large cushy recliners with lots of legroom. Overall, a very nice and much improved theatre.
Bolorkay, the entire series will be shown on video because that’s all Paramount has available. All the titles are now handled thru Paramount with no 35mm available. Welcome to the new reality. Wake up!
Breaking news – This theatre suddenly closed it’s doors on May 10. Loews could'nt come to an agreement with the landlord on a new lease, so Loews just shut it down with no warning. HOWEVER, good news! The theatre was purchased, not leased, by Starplex Cinemas of Dallas, Texas. It will be their first theatre in this area. They are planning big changes like a $5 million dollar renovation which includes leather reclining seats, floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall screens, surround sound, and possibly a bar. It was also mentioned that they might reduce the number of screens from 12 to 10; the largest screen would probably be upstairs, possibly restoring it to the way it used to be – the largest movie screen in Bergen County. Ticket prices have'nt been set yet but they may be in the $8.50 range for an adult after 6:00 pm.
Sorry to be cynical, but some of these folks just burn me up. I know it’s very bad for Cedar lane, it looks terrible, and will negatively affect other businesses around them. But let’s get realistic. Nelson tried like hell to keep the place running while trying to get funding for the digital equipment, but he could'nt make it happen. If the folks in Teaneck can make something happen, great! But as a functioning movie theatre, I think it’s done. Even if only one theatre can be upgraded, what are you going to do with the rest of the place? Removing one wall downstairs and partially restoring it as one larger theatre is possible, but who’s going to pay for the construction? And what would you play in the theatre? First run movies are expensive to book, with the studios taking approximately a 80/20 split of the first weeks gross. You would have to charge first run theatre prices; forget about the $5.75 admission. You gotta sell a whole lot of popcorn to make a decent profit. Showing “classic” films is possible but would the town support this? After all the drum-beating and calling for committees to form to save the theatre, people will realize that only one thing will reopen the place, MONEY, and a continuous supply of it.
This “grassroots effort” makes me laugh. Where were these people when the theatre needed them? When was the last time any of them attend a show there? Or were they sitting on their thrones at home carping about how the manager was rude, why are the bathrooms upstairs, the films are out of focus, etc? These people should be glad the place is gone; now they don’t have to deal with it. They took the place for granted. Now that it’s gone, the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing begins. “What? It’s GONE?? Oh my God!! This is terrible!! We’ve got to DO SOMETHING!!” All this will fade away when these right-minded folks realize that the only way to bring the theatre back is with a king-sized infusion of MONEY. $500,000 will do it. Think there will be any takers? Clearview does'nt want it; they are on the brink of collapse and are looking to sell off their assets. Nelson tried for 1 year to get funding and could'nt do it so he, regretfully, pulled the plug. Nobody in their right mind will sink half a million dollars into the place knowing they will never see a return on their investment.
The theatre was located on the south side facing Spring Valley Ave. As you can see in the Boxoffice article, that’s how it looked on the outside. There was never a traditional marquee telling patrons what was playing anywhere outside the theatre. If I’m remembering correctly, the theatre closed sometime between 1987 and 1990.
It sounds like Mr. Walsh wants to try something similar to what used to be the Rosebud Theatre in Ridgewood. It was a tiny little place with about 30 seats that ran 16mm prints. But that was 25+ years ago when the studios were not as vigilant as today. If he plans to run a DVD or BluRay, you have to clear it with the studios first. The price of a one time showing for a film can go anywhere from $400. and up. And forget about anything fron Disney. They are EXTREMELY tight with their film rentals and if they find out something of theirs is being shown illegally, their lawyers will shut him down and sue him within 24 hrs. If Mr. Walsh is reading this, I really do wish you would reconsider your plan because it’s a money-losing proposition. You WILL lose your shirt in the end.
I just read the article and, sad to say, this man is dreaming. No matter where he tries to open this theatre he will learn that nobody will come out to see “old films” 4 nights a week. Plus, where is he going to get prints of them? Sure you can run a DVD of something but it will look just like what it is; a blown up DVD presentation that will look pixilated and blocky. If a pro operation like the Lafayette in Suffern has problems getting decent prints, how is this guy going to manage it? Run it in 16mm? I’m sure this man’s heart is in the right place but if he goes through with it, he’s gonna lose his shirt.
Larry is absolutely right. The 2 bottom theatres would stink of dampness & mildew after a rain. Many of the auditorium lights were blown out, leaving it to feel truly like a big, dark cave. The outside metalwork was largely left to rust. My main gripe with this place was the seats were all positioned to have patrons facing the center of the screen, which was fine when it was one screen. As soon as the wall went up the seats remained the same, leaving you to twist yourself into uncomfortable positions to watch the film. The upper balcony was the best of all 3 screens, as it was mostly left untouched and you got a sense of how big the place originally was.
I went by the theatre this past Saturday and from the outside, it look like the inside is completely gutted, with a large hole where the entrance and arcade used to be, and another hole in the back far wall. There is a huge mound of dirt piled up behind the theatre which is visible from the back road. The whole site is fenced off for safety reasons. I does'nt look like it’s going to be razed; more like what happened to the Town theatre in Emerson. The structure will probably remain and be chopped up and converted into who knows what.
The Fox was closed for a number of years; I seem to recall it did open, but only for one night only closed-circuit sporting events, like fights, etc. After Jaws 2, I don’t recall it being open on a consistent basis. The theatre was to be torn down and another building was to be put up, but there were many delays and the theatre just began to rot away. Today there is absolutely no trace there was ever a theatre there; same with the Oritani, which was across the street.
Proof positive that Nelson, Pete, & the whole crew will keep the Lafayette a viable entity for years to come. There was more life in the place during Saturday’s Angels With Dirty Faces show than at any time during last spring’s “classic festival”. Welcome back! You were sorely missed! Your previous concerns were, happily, unfounded!
The theatre closed without much fanfare. The entire plaza where it was located is being leveled and built up again. I don’t know if the theatre will be demolished or kept standing but the theatre is no longer listed on Bow Tie’s website,and no listing at all in the local newspaper. The inside walls have been stripped of their poster frames and it looks pretty barren from the street.
Having been in the trenches with Nelson and Pete, I know they went out of their way to put together seasons of famous and not so famous films. We got Maltese Falcon, White Heat, Red River, Scarface, and we also got The Red Shoes, Bedford Incident, The Stranger and many others. I know Pete knocked himself out to find the best 35mm prints he could find and many Friday nights would be spent inspecting and cleaning the prints to insure the best quality show he could present. I know Pete would sweat over what exit music to play from his vast collection of soundtracks.
The last 2 seasons with Nelson & Pete were starting to show a downturn. Perhaps the seniors were aging out, maybe people just got bored with it. The line-up from the last 2 years is just a very pale shadow of it’s former glory. Instead of programming an interesting and eclectic season, they went for the obvious and common. Casablanca, 1925 Phantom, It’s A Wonderful Life are all good films but they are tired. Some selections just were all wrong. Taxi Driver?? At 11:30 in the morning with a bunch of seniors?? You just don’t do that! Wrong audience entirely! The seniors want to see what THEY saw when they were younger, not what the current owners want to see themselves.
Unless the new management can turn things around, the Lafayette may fade away forever.
The Rosebud closed for good this past Saturday, May 8. It lasted a little over 1 year. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Secret Agent” was it’s last film. The theatre was smallish, about 90 theatre seats, on a flat floor. The films were shown on a Epson projector onto a screen about 8 feet long by about 5 feet wide. The theatre’s closing was simply – money. Not enough people attended to keep the theatre open and viable. Which, unfortunately, goes to show that unless the theatre is in NYC, showing older films exclusively on a semi-daily basis is financial suicide.
????? What’s that suppose to mean? You’re living in a world of your own making and it’s very weird, man. I still stand by my comments. At least until it gets deleted by Peter Pan or whoever. Merde!!
Cholera! What’s a troll to do? I simply took movieguy to task for acting like he was the manager when he clearly wasn’t and now it’s all this? Does Disney run this site? Any dissenting view, other than the nice, calm, squeaky clean kind is dealt with by deletion?? What a joke. And Jeff, I too miss the days of Nelson & Co. And, movieguy, why don’t you just answer the question instead of side stepping it? Cachu!
Yes, I would say so. The admission is certainly cheaper than the Paramus gigaplex where I think it’s $11.00 to walk through the door. Nice reclining seats, plenty of legroom, yes it’s worth it to try it at least once.
Phil, don’t you think if you listed the classics in a larger paper like The Record you would get a better turnout? The Journal may be good but The Record is better. How many people do you think listen to WRCR on a daily basis and do you really think the ads will draw people into the theatre? And where exactly did you put up posters for this past “classic” series? And I’m not talking about those dismal, smeared 8x11 flyers. I’m talking about the larger 11x17 posters that somebody made for you guys. You never put up one single copy in town; not even on the front door! Why were they made if you never intended to use them? Filling the theatre with seniors, who pay nothing to get in, and only getting 10 – 20 paid admissions is not a sustainable business plan is it?
Phil, I have been going to the Lafayette since 2006. I don’t understand why you continually try to make everything sound “special” when it really isn’t. 99% of the people who read this will never go to the theatre because they don’t live in the area. Most of the paying public know nothing about this site, so you are just spinning your wheels. Just like the “classics” you run on Saturday mornings; you don’t advertise them, never mention them in newspaper listings. Did you even bother to put up the mini-posters someone made for you around town? It’s just sad to see all of Nelson & Pete’s hard work slowly degrade like it ’s been doing ever since they left.
I don’t understand why you call it a “special” Thursday night opening when the movie opens all over on Thursday night?? What’s so “special” about yours, other than it’s showing in a “iconic 1920’s movie palace”, as you like to remind us so very often??
I stopped by the theatre this past weekend and the place is jumping. The parking lot and garage is fuller than it’s been in years. Inside, the video games are gone as well as the downstairs coffee stand/information desk/junk storage spot. The candy stand upstairs is still there but not in use, like before. The 1-sheet displays downstairs and upstairs are now digital. Regular paper 1-sheets are still used upstairs, but way in the back by the last 2 theatres. The upstairs lobby still looks barren but going up and down the escalators the walls now have large 40x60’s for new films. The theatres now have less seats, but do have large cushy recliners with lots of legroom. Overall, a very nice and much improved theatre.
Well, I guess you would be the one to know then. Nice plug for Loews too, Mitch.
Bolorkay, the entire series will be shown on video because that’s all Paramount has available. All the titles are now handled thru Paramount with no 35mm available. Welcome to the new reality. Wake up!
Breaking news – This theatre suddenly closed it’s doors on May 10. Loews could'nt come to an agreement with the landlord on a new lease, so Loews just shut it down with no warning. HOWEVER, good news! The theatre was purchased, not leased, by Starplex Cinemas of Dallas, Texas. It will be their first theatre in this area. They are planning big changes like a $5 million dollar renovation which includes leather reclining seats, floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall screens, surround sound, and possibly a bar. It was also mentioned that they might reduce the number of screens from 12 to 10; the largest screen would probably be upstairs, possibly restoring it to the way it used to be – the largest movie screen in Bergen County. Ticket prices have'nt been set yet but they may be in the $8.50 range for an adult after 6:00 pm.
Huh?? Is it re-election time already?
Sorry to be cynical, but some of these folks just burn me up. I know it’s very bad for Cedar lane, it looks terrible, and will negatively affect other businesses around them. But let’s get realistic. Nelson tried like hell to keep the place running while trying to get funding for the digital equipment, but he could'nt make it happen. If the folks in Teaneck can make something happen, great! But as a functioning movie theatre, I think it’s done. Even if only one theatre can be upgraded, what are you going to do with the rest of the place? Removing one wall downstairs and partially restoring it as one larger theatre is possible, but who’s going to pay for the construction? And what would you play in the theatre? First run movies are expensive to book, with the studios taking approximately a 80/20 split of the first weeks gross. You would have to charge first run theatre prices; forget about the $5.75 admission. You gotta sell a whole lot of popcorn to make a decent profit. Showing “classic” films is possible but would the town support this? After all the drum-beating and calling for committees to form to save the theatre, people will realize that only one thing will reopen the place, MONEY, and a continuous supply of it.
This “grassroots effort” makes me laugh. Where were these people when the theatre needed them? When was the last time any of them attend a show there? Or were they sitting on their thrones at home carping about how the manager was rude, why are the bathrooms upstairs, the films are out of focus, etc? These people should be glad the place is gone; now they don’t have to deal with it. They took the place for granted. Now that it’s gone, the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing begins. “What? It’s GONE?? Oh my God!! This is terrible!! We’ve got to DO SOMETHING!!” All this will fade away when these right-minded folks realize that the only way to bring the theatre back is with a king-sized infusion of MONEY. $500,000 will do it. Think there will be any takers? Clearview does'nt want it; they are on the brink of collapse and are looking to sell off their assets. Nelson tried for 1 year to get funding and could'nt do it so he, regretfully, pulled the plug. Nobody in their right mind will sink half a million dollars into the place knowing they will never see a return on their investment.
The theatre was located on the south side facing Spring Valley Ave. As you can see in the Boxoffice article, that’s how it looked on the outside. There was never a traditional marquee telling patrons what was playing anywhere outside the theatre. If I’m remembering correctly, the theatre closed sometime between 1987 and 1990.
It sounds like Mr. Walsh wants to try something similar to what used to be the Rosebud Theatre in Ridgewood. It was a tiny little place with about 30 seats that ran 16mm prints. But that was 25+ years ago when the studios were not as vigilant as today. If he plans to run a DVD or BluRay, you have to clear it with the studios first. The price of a one time showing for a film can go anywhere from $400. and up. And forget about anything fron Disney. They are EXTREMELY tight with their film rentals and if they find out something of theirs is being shown illegally, their lawyers will shut him down and sue him within 24 hrs. If Mr. Walsh is reading this, I really do wish you would reconsider your plan because it’s a money-losing proposition. You WILL lose your shirt in the end.
I just read the article and, sad to say, this man is dreaming. No matter where he tries to open this theatre he will learn that nobody will come out to see “old films” 4 nights a week. Plus, where is he going to get prints of them? Sure you can run a DVD of something but it will look just like what it is; a blown up DVD presentation that will look pixilated and blocky. If a pro operation like the Lafayette in Suffern has problems getting decent prints, how is this guy going to manage it? Run it in 16mm? I’m sure this man’s heart is in the right place but if he goes through with it, he’s gonna lose his shirt.
Larry is absolutely right. The 2 bottom theatres would stink of dampness & mildew after a rain. Many of the auditorium lights were blown out, leaving it to feel truly like a big, dark cave. The outside metalwork was largely left to rust. My main gripe with this place was the seats were all positioned to have patrons facing the center of the screen, which was fine when it was one screen. As soon as the wall went up the seats remained the same, leaving you to twist yourself into uncomfortable positions to watch the film. The upper balcony was the best of all 3 screens, as it was mostly left untouched and you got a sense of how big the place originally was.
Yes. It was a big white brick structure with the entrance facing Rt. 17. It was a stone’s throw away from the candy maker you mentioned.
I went by the theatre this past Saturday and from the outside, it look like the inside is completely gutted, with a large hole where the entrance and arcade used to be, and another hole in the back far wall. There is a huge mound of dirt piled up behind the theatre which is visible from the back road. The whole site is fenced off for safety reasons. I does'nt look like it’s going to be razed; more like what happened to the Town theatre in Emerson. The structure will probably remain and be chopped up and converted into who knows what.
The Fox was closed for a number of years; I seem to recall it did open, but only for one night only closed-circuit sporting events, like fights, etc. After Jaws 2, I don’t recall it being open on a consistent basis. The theatre was to be torn down and another building was to be put up, but there were many delays and the theatre just began to rot away. Today there is absolutely no trace there was ever a theatre there; same with the Oritani, which was across the street.
Proof positive that Nelson, Pete, & the whole crew will keep the Lafayette a viable entity for years to come. There was more life in the place during Saturday’s Angels With Dirty Faces show than at any time during last spring’s “classic festival”. Welcome back! You were sorely missed! Your previous concerns were, happily, unfounded!
Edgewater shows a “classic” film every Monday afternoon, but I have it on good authority the films are from public domain DVD’s, not 35mm.