No matter what the format, if you plan on exhibiting the film theatrically the distributor holding the licensing rights to the film will charge you for the rental…
I still have a hard time believing it will reopen. If it does, hopefully it’ll remain just one screen upstairs. If it gets broken up, the divided theaters are bound to have odd, angular sightlines and keystoning as a result of the curved seating in the balcony section.
this was a fairly ornate theater with a very detailed ceiling dome and proscenium. There were also side boxes that remained intact after the twinning and could be seen but not accessed when viewing a movie in the downstairs auditorium. The boxes had been separated from the rest of the balcony by the wall installed for the twinning. Both houses had big screens and decent seat counts.
Does anybody out there know anything more about the Hicksville North/South? Were both houses set up for cinerama, what were the seat counts and when was it ‘plexed? I remember going to this place only after it had been broken up into a six-screen theater. Though I have no recollection of how they did the division, I do recall that a couple of the auditoriums were tiny.
Located at the corner of Raymond and Collegeview Ave, directly across the street from Vassar College. Opened with the film Tovarich on Jan 7, 1938 as a single screen, single floor house under the management of Netco Theatres Corporation. Converted to a quad in 1979. Closed in 1990 and gutted to become a pool hall. Building was purchased by Vassar College in 2003, future status TBD, still currently running as a pool hall.
I recall a theater on Pine Hollow Rd, might have even been called the Pine Hollow, that is now a BMW dealership. Would that be this listing or are you referring to the Lyric Theater that was on Audrey Avenue?
Hey Orlando, please do post the interior photos of the Westbury and any pending news on the new owner’s intented use. Sounds like an attempt to save this theater is too late. What a shame for such a unique structure. From my last visit there a few months back, I’d estimate that the cost to save the place would have easily exceed the $5 – $7 million dollar range. My hunch is that the new owner will try to demolish the theatre and put some type of senior housing/assisted living units and/or an office building. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong…
Another Westbury memory – anyone recall the annual recurrance of the following titles – Casablanca, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, La Traviata, Streetwise, Raiders of the Lost Ark? I’m assuming Corrine and Rod owned or conveniently held onto prints of these movies. Aside from Raiders, I could not picture them actually booking and paying for these same rep house titles over and over again. It seemed anytime Paramount was totally out of product, they’d play one of those films for as many weeks as necessary to fill the gaps. Who the world at Paramount was willing to even continue booking them all those years anyway?
No matter what the format, if you plan on exhibiting the film theatrically the distributor holding the licensing rights to the film will charge you for the rental…
If only they took this place and the UA Coram Multiplex that shut down two years back and converted them back into drive-ins…
I still have a hard time believing it will reopen. If it does, hopefully it’ll remain just one screen upstairs. If it gets broken up, the divided theaters are bound to have odd, angular sightlines and keystoning as a result of the curved seating in the balcony section.
this was a fairly ornate theater with a very detailed ceiling dome and proscenium. There were also side boxes that remained intact after the twinning and could be seen but not accessed when viewing a movie in the downstairs auditorium. The boxes had been separated from the rest of the balcony by the wall installed for the twinning. Both houses had big screens and decent seat counts.
Does anybody out there know anything more about the Hicksville North/South? Were both houses set up for cinerama, what were the seat counts and when was it ‘plexed? I remember going to this place only after it had been broken up into a six-screen theater. Though I have no recollection of how they did the division, I do recall that a couple of the auditoriums were tiny.
where was this located? does the building remain?
Located at the corner of Raymond and Collegeview Ave, directly across the street from Vassar College. Opened with the film Tovarich on Jan 7, 1938 as a single screen, single floor house under the management of Netco Theatres Corporation. Converted to a quad in 1979. Closed in 1990 and gutted to become a pool hall. Building was purchased by Vassar College in 2003, future status TBD, still currently running as a pool hall.
I recall a theater on Pine Hollow Rd, might have even been called the Pine Hollow, that is now a BMW dealership. Would that be this listing or are you referring to the Lyric Theater that was on Audrey Avenue?
Hey Orlando, please do post the interior photos of the Westbury and any pending news on the new owner’s intented use. Sounds like an attempt to save this theater is too late. What a shame for such a unique structure. From my last visit there a few months back, I’d estimate that the cost to save the place would have easily exceed the $5 – $7 million dollar range. My hunch is that the new owner will try to demolish the theatre and put some type of senior housing/assisted living units and/or an office building. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong…
Another Westbury memory – anyone recall the annual recurrance of the following titles – Casablanca, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, La Traviata, Streetwise, Raiders of the Lost Ark? I’m assuming Corrine and Rod owned or conveniently held onto prints of these movies. Aside from Raiders, I could not picture them actually booking and paying for these same rep house titles over and over again. It seemed anytime Paramount was totally out of product, they’d play one of those films for as many weeks as necessary to fill the gaps. Who the world at Paramount was willing to even continue booking them all those years anyway?