The Strand launched with “The Final Judgment” on February 7, 1916. It appears to have closed with “Jessica” and “Escape from Alcatraz"on January 6, 1963.
The City Square Theatre opened as an open-air venue and was demolished after the 1914 season to make way for the new-build hardtop venue, the City Square Theatre. It launched on August 28, 1915 with “The Unbroken Road.” Pearson H. Hume was at the helm. Charles Hildinger, operator of city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Rialto, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, the Garden, and the Strand - all in Trenton. It was offered for sale and doesn’t appear to have been converted for sound following its closure and sale ad in June of 1932.
The City Square Theatre opened as an open-air venue and was demolished after the 1914 season to make way for the new-build hardtop venue, the City Square Theatre. It launched on August 28, 1915 with “The Unbroken Road.” Pearson H. Hume was at the helm. Charles Hildinger, operator of city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Rialto, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, the Garden, and the Strand - all in Trenton.
The Centre Street Theatre opened October 24, 1913 as a southside neighborhood house showing third tier films for a nickel. It closed in 1929 unable to make the transition to sound. W.C. Hunt Theatre Circuit took on the venue as Hunt’s New Centre Theatre relaunching on July 10, 1931 with the independent Chesterfield Pictures film, “Lawless Woman.”
The theatre’s interior is gutted by a 1945 fire. It reopens twice as an African American theatre becore being repositioned as a church in 1959 likely to reduce its taxing liability. It is later converted for retail purposes.
The Park opened on June 9, 1911 by John W. Westell as an open air venue operating for two seasons. Charles Hildinger took on the Five Points venue building a permanent structure to the plans of William B. Thines. Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit also operated the city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, and the Strand - all in Trenton. The “new” Park Theatre opened on October 1, 1912 with “The Inter-State Fair.” This was Trenton’s first new-build neighborhood venue specifically designed for motion pictures and Hildinger would claim it as the entire City’s first new-build venue designed for the art of exhibiting movies.
The Park was totally refreshed including the installation of a Kimball Orchestral Pipe Organ in 1917. Hildinger changed names on December 24, 1917 from the Park to the Rialto with “Heir to the Ages” and “Gloria’s Romance.” The venue converted to sound to remain viable. In 1955, it upgraded to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles. The theatre closed in 1960 and became home to the Trenton Evangelistic Center in 1961 likely to substantially reduce the building’s tax liability.
Charles Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit built the city’s second Bijou Theatre. Joesph McClurg officially opened the venue here on April 18, 1909 with the Selig Polyscope film, “Brother Against Brother.” Hildinger would also operate the Berkley, the Rialto, the Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
The venue added sound to remain viable. The last ad for the Bijou appeared on January 13, 1952 showing “Lost Continent” and “Highly Dangerous. There’s a chance it continued in operation but the listed as vacant property was taken over by the City of Trenton in March of 1959.
Charles Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit built the city’s second Bijou Theatre. Joesph McClurg officially opened the venue here on April 18, 1909 with the Selig Polyscope film, “Brother Against Brother.” Hildinger would also operate the Berkley, the Rialto, the Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
The Paul Avenue Theatre launched at 72 East Paul Ave. New operators took it on renaming it the Berkley Theatre on June 7, 1916. The Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit too it on December 29, 1916. Hildinger would also operate the Bijou, the Rialto, Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
Hildinger, the third and final operator here, dropped the venue within short order. The location was converted to a stationery store followed by the K-City Laundry. The lot was offered in a tax auction for $250 by the City of Trenton. The diminutive Rossi Park marks the former silent theater venue. Status: demolished.
This was undoubtedly an African American theatre formally known as the Wilbur Palace to distinguish it from Trenton’s Palace Theatre. It should likely be an “also known as” the Palace Theatre - likely its more known name to the neighborhood. And its desultory nickname is provided above.
The Crescent Theatre opened in November of 1914 at 802 S. Chestnut. The theatre was sold by Crescent Theatre Corp. to Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit reopening with the more patriotic Victory Theatre moniker opening on May 30, 1919. Hildinger also operated the Bijou, the Rialto, and the Strand in Trenton. The Victory would add a Hope Jones Pipe Organ for an improved experience. The neighboring Doggie Stand and Confectionery was the venue’s de facto concession stand. A long-running pool hall was located in its basement from 1914 to 1930.
The Hope Jones organ was sold in 1931 as the venue switched to sound films to remain viable. The venue specialized in Polish and Yiddish films as well as exploitation films during various points in the 1930s struggling to remain viable. The Victory declared defeat following a vaudeville show on June 29, 1941. The property owners appear to have abandoned the building during a taxation squabble and is described as vacant in 1943 when a minor fire occurs.
Looking at daily listings, this venue was definitely at 802 S. Broad and was never the Majestic Theatre.
Like many small town theaters, the Fenway was reduced to weekend operation only. The venue closed with “The War Wagon” on March 3, 1968 likely at the end of a second 20-year leasing period. Plans to reopen it in the Fall of 1968 do not appear to have materialized and the venue’s 280 seats were sold off in 1970/1.
The National initially closed in 1930. Warner Brothers rewired the venue for Vitaphone sound playing German language films beginning on December 3, 1931. That turned out to be a dud closing after six weeks on January 19, 1932 playing the German film, “Die Lindenwirtin vom Rhein.” That is its final screening.
The last showing at the National Theatre was scheduled as a four-wall for April 1, 1933 of “Mad Moments of Youth.” That was halted by the local police. So the venue’s last call was in 1932. The venue was listed as “abandoned” before being used for storage.
The Majestic Theatre closed on May 13, 1935 as a third-tier, sub-run house. It was allowed to sit empty for 10 years by the Fred Klein Estate and Jersey City Amusements. They sold the theatre outright. The venue then ends up on a delinquent tax roster. There’s no indication that it ever had a show past 1935.
The UA State Theatre 4 closed on December 2, 1990 with “Rocky V,” “Predator 2,” “Misery” and “Rescuers: Down Under” splitting a screen with “Child’s Play 2.”
Drive-Ins were often built by land speculators who wanted to lease land for low-risk ventures that could be demolished at any time, especially when the land value increased. The drive-in that led to the highest dollar project ever in the history of drive-in theater replacements is found right here on the waterfront of the Hackensack River: the Roosevelt Drive-In.
The exceedingly large - space for 2,000 cars - Roosevelt Drive-In Theatre came in on July 13, 1955 by Richard A. Smith’s Smith’s Management (later General Drive-In and, yet later, General Cinema Corp.) with “Strategic Air Command” & “Shotgun” playing in CinemaScope. In 1972, the Drive-In business had changed and it was raided in the porno chic era for showing “School Girls Growing Up” for alleged obscenity. The site was extensively photographed by the district attorney’s office at that point because underage folks were seen outside of the venue getting free looks - a concern for locals. It wasn’t the last time the drive-in would be heavily photographed.
The Roosevelt returned to R and PG exploitation double-feature fare going out of business following a shark-infested double-feature with “Tintorera” and “Shark’s Treasure” on August 27, 1978. The City bought the land to develop the property with a reboot as early as the start of the 1980s. A funny thing happened, however, when toxic waste housed in barrels was dumped on the site leading to a slight delay in the project - four decades - and a massive clean-up bill to remove the toxic hazard that was New Jersey’s Roosevelt Drive-In site.
The barrels turned out to be only a tiny fraction of the problem as toxic “hexavalent chromium” (in response to the question above) had seeped into the waterway turning it green. Two photographers captured the toxic green ooze that was the Hackensack River with the abandoned Roosevelt Drive-In prevalent in many of those shots (see photos). The dystopian art display made the art circuit rounds. Meanwhile, the question became, “Who would pay for this mess?” By the time the clean-up was ostensibly completed - to the best of anyone’s knowledge - the project had surpassed $500 million. That’s before any project could even be built on the property.
So the answer to the question, “What’s the highest dollar project ever at a former drive-in theatre?” It is clearly the Roosevelt Drive-In Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Bergen was built in 1937 in McGinley Square and opening February 26, 1938 with “Mayerling.” It closed under than name at the expiry of a 15-year leasing agreement on October 23, 1952 with a double-feature of “Mad Lover” and “Naughty Widow.”
Steinberg Circuit took on the venue noting that interest in television was “leveling off” yet placing a large screen TV in the venue’s second floor lounge. It relaunched as the Pix Theatre on February 27, 1953 with “Limelight” on a new 25-year lease.
In 1973, the venue - on a sublease to Pix Theatres, Inc. during the porno chic era - changed to X-rated films. That brought retaliation for local law enforcement led by John McLaughlin forcing the theater to change policies to double-feature chopsocky films. It made a shift to showing second-run double-features of Blaxploitation films in the mid-1970s. Its final showings at end of lease were July 25, 1978 with “Black Samurai” and “The Executioner.” Those titles remained on the marquee long after the theatre was boarded up.
A new lessee came in to refresh the space for a movie theater before giving up after a water pipe incident flooded the venue. The double feature of “The Executioner” and “Black Samurai” ended in 1981 when the venue was converted to a disco-influenced roller rink called Outer Skates.
Disco died and the skating craze ended in early 1983 with a lock-out for non-lease payment. It became a short-lived dance studio. It became a front for the manufacturing of counterfeit merchandising in 1992. It then became a church in 1993 to substantially reduce its tax liability. It was later chopped up into retail stores.
Sorry: This opened as the Harris Theatre and explains the Harris name atop the building. It may have also been a home to the Gaines Theatre for a brief period.
M.C. Hughes launched the Estill Theatre on July 10, 1941. The venue was a replacement for the Strand Theatre which had burned down in August of 1940. The Estill purportedly closed at the end of a 10-year lease on October 21, 1951 with “The Brave Bulls.” Weeks later it was sold off at auction to Mr. and Mrs. McClanahan who changed its name to the Mack Theatre at its reopening in December of 1951.
The Mac Drive-In Theatre was added as a summer-time venue. in January of 1955, the venue refreshed the auditorium with widescreen projection to show CinemaScope titles. The Mack closed on April 16, 1962 for the summer with the Mack Drive-In opening four days later. The Mack doesn’t appear to have reopened.
I think there’s some confusion on this entry by Chuck. Reporting of the day shows that Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. and Connie McClanahan took on Irvine’s hardtop Estill Theatre changing its name who to the Mack Theatre at its reopening in December of 1951. In January of 1955, they switched to widescreen projection. The McClanahans also built the Mack Drive-In in West Irvine to operate both seasonally. The Mack Drive-In was a new-build facility that could play widescreen films, as well, opening on August 4, 1955 with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster in “Vera Cruz.”
The hardtop Mack closed on April 16, 1962 for the summer with the Mack Drive-In reopening for the season four days later. The Mack hardtop doesn’t appear to have reopened. The Mack continued through the 1967 season under that name closing after the September 25, 1967 showings of “Kentucky Rebel” and “The Game Is Over.”
After inactivity, D. Baker took on the Mack renaming it as the Del Vue Drive-In at some point. As for a Palmer Drive-In, the only thing that registers is that there was a New Drive-In Theatre built near the Irvine Bridge that is visible on a satellite map. It launched by Palmer & Taylor on October 16, 1947 with “Let Them Have It.” So it’s possible that it could have been called, informally, the Palmer or, more likely, Palmer’s Drive-In in Irvine though advertised as the New Drive-In Theatre. In 1948, that drive-in is used for staging of events.
As there is no evidence that this was ever the Palmer Drive-In - launching as the Mack in 1955 - I think that’s the better timeline.
The Strand launched with “The Final Judgment” on February 7, 1916. It appears to have closed with “Jessica” and “Escape from Alcatraz"on January 6, 1963.
The Strand launched with “The Final Judgment” on February 7, 1916.
Opened April 29, 1912. April 16, 1919 after Ethel Barrymore in “Our Mrs. McChensey,” the Majestic closed becoming a garage.
The City Square Theatre opened as an open-air venue and was demolished after the 1914 season to make way for the new-build hardtop venue, the City Square Theatre. It launched on August 28, 1915 with “The Unbroken Road.” Pearson H. Hume was at the helm. Charles Hildinger, operator of city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Rialto, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, the Garden, and the Strand - all in Trenton. It was offered for sale and doesn’t appear to have been converted for sound following its closure and sale ad in June of 1932.
The City Square Theatre opened as an open-air venue and was demolished after the 1914 season to make way for the new-build hardtop venue, the City Square Theatre. It launched on August 28, 1915 with “The Unbroken Road.” Pearson H. Hume was at the helm. Charles Hildinger, operator of city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Rialto, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, the Garden, and the Strand - all in Trenton.
The Centre Street Theatre opened October 24, 1913 as a southside neighborhood house showing third tier films for a nickel. It closed in 1929 unable to make the transition to sound. W.C. Hunt Theatre Circuit took on the venue as Hunt’s New Centre Theatre relaunching on July 10, 1931 with the independent Chesterfield Pictures film, “Lawless Woman.”
The theatre’s interior is gutted by a 1945 fire. It reopens twice as an African American theatre becore being repositioned as a church in 1959 likely to reduce its taxing liability. It is later converted for retail purposes.
The Park opened on June 9, 1911 by John W. Westell as an open air venue operating for two seasons. Charles Hildinger took on the Five Points venue building a permanent structure to the plans of William B. Thines. Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit also operated the city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, and the Strand - all in Trenton. The “new” Park Theatre opened on October 1, 1912 with “The Inter-State Fair.” This was Trenton’s first new-build neighborhood venue specifically designed for motion pictures and Hildinger would claim it as the entire City’s first new-build venue designed for the art of exhibiting movies.
The Park was totally refreshed including the installation of a Kimball Orchestral Pipe Organ in 1917. Hildinger changed names on December 24, 1917 from the Park to the Rialto with “Heir to the Ages” and “Gloria’s Romance.” The venue converted to sound to remain viable. In 1955, it upgraded to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles. The theatre closed in 1960 and became home to the Trenton Evangelistic Center in 1961 likely to substantially reduce the building’s tax liability.
Charles Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit built the city’s second Bijou Theatre. Joesph McClurg officially opened the venue here on April 18, 1909 with the Selig Polyscope film, “Brother Against Brother.” Hildinger would also operate the Berkley, the Rialto, the Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
The venue added sound to remain viable. The last ad for the Bijou appeared on January 13, 1952 showing “Lost Continent” and “Highly Dangerous. There’s a chance it continued in operation but the listed as vacant property was taken over by the City of Trenton in March of 1959.
Charles Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit built the city’s second Bijou Theatre. Joesph McClurg officially opened the venue here on April 18, 1909 with the Selig Polyscope film, “Brother Against Brother.” Hildinger would also operate the Berkley, the Rialto, the Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
The Paul Avenue Theatre launched at 72 East Paul Ave. New operators took it on renaming it the Berkley Theatre on June 7, 1916. The Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit too it on December 29, 1916. Hildinger would also operate the Bijou, the Rialto, Victory, and the Strand in Trenton.
Hildinger, the third and final operator here, dropped the venue within short order. The location was converted to a stationery store followed by the K-City Laundry. The lot was offered in a tax auction for $250 by the City of Trenton. The diminutive Rossi Park marks the former silent theater venue. Status: demolished.
This was undoubtedly an African American theatre formally known as the Wilbur Palace to distinguish it from Trenton’s Palace Theatre. It should likely be an “also known as” the Palace Theatre - likely its more known name to the neighborhood. And its desultory nickname is provided above.
The Crescent Theatre opened in November of 1914 at 802 S. Chestnut. The theatre was sold by Crescent Theatre Corp. to Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit reopening with the more patriotic Victory Theatre moniker opening on May 30, 1919. Hildinger also operated the Bijou, the Rialto, and the Strand in Trenton. The Victory would add a Hope Jones Pipe Organ for an improved experience. The neighboring Doggie Stand and Confectionery was the venue’s de facto concession stand. A long-running pool hall was located in its basement from 1914 to 1930.
The Hope Jones organ was sold in 1931 as the venue switched to sound films to remain viable. The venue specialized in Polish and Yiddish films as well as exploitation films during various points in the 1930s struggling to remain viable. The Victory declared defeat following a vaudeville show on June 29, 1941. The property owners appear to have abandoned the building during a taxation squabble and is described as vacant in 1943 when a minor fire occurs.
Looking at daily listings, this venue was definitely at 802 S. Broad and was never the Majestic Theatre.
Like many small town theaters, the Fenway was reduced to weekend operation only. The venue closed with “The War Wagon” on March 3, 1968 likely at the end of a second 20-year leasing period. Plans to reopen it in the Fall of 1968 do not appear to have materialized and the venue’s 280 seats were sold off in 1970/1.
The National initially closed in 1930. Warner Brothers rewired the venue for Vitaphone sound playing German language films beginning on December 3, 1931. That turned out to be a dud closing after six weeks on January 19, 1932 playing the German film, “Die Lindenwirtin vom Rhein.” That is its final screening.
The last showing at the National Theatre was scheduled as a four-wall for April 1, 1933 of “Mad Moments of Youth.” That was halted by the local police. So the venue’s last call was in 1932. The venue was listed as “abandoned” before being used for storage.
The Majestic Theatre closed on May 13, 1935 as a third-tier, sub-run house. It was allowed to sit empty for 10 years by the Fred Klein Estate and Jersey City Amusements. They sold the theatre outright. The venue then ends up on a delinquent tax roster. There’s no indication that it ever had a show past 1935.
Appears to have closed in late 1933.
It closed on May 19, 1968 with “Hour of the Wolf.”
The UA State Theatre 4 closed on December 2, 1990 with “Rocky V,” “Predator 2,” “Misery” and “Rescuers: Down Under” splitting a screen with “Child’s Play 2.”
The last advertised showtimes were on July 6, 1952 with “Joe” and “Kangaroo.”
Drive-Ins were often built by land speculators who wanted to lease land for low-risk ventures that could be demolished at any time, especially when the land value increased. The drive-in that led to the highest dollar project ever in the history of drive-in theater replacements is found right here on the waterfront of the Hackensack River: the Roosevelt Drive-In.
The exceedingly large - space for 2,000 cars - Roosevelt Drive-In Theatre came in on July 13, 1955 by Richard A. Smith’s Smith’s Management (later General Drive-In and, yet later, General Cinema Corp.) with “Strategic Air Command” & “Shotgun” playing in CinemaScope. In 1972, the Drive-In business had changed and it was raided in the porno chic era for showing “School Girls Growing Up” for alleged obscenity. The site was extensively photographed by the district attorney’s office at that point because underage folks were seen outside of the venue getting free looks - a concern for locals. It wasn’t the last time the drive-in would be heavily photographed.
The Roosevelt returned to R and PG exploitation double-feature fare going out of business following a shark-infested double-feature with “Tintorera” and “Shark’s Treasure” on August 27, 1978. The City bought the land to develop the property with a reboot as early as the start of the 1980s. A funny thing happened, however, when toxic waste housed in barrels was dumped on the site leading to a slight delay in the project - four decades - and a massive clean-up bill to remove the toxic hazard that was New Jersey’s Roosevelt Drive-In site.
The barrels turned out to be only a tiny fraction of the problem as toxic “hexavalent chromium” (in response to the question above) had seeped into the waterway turning it green. Two photographers captured the toxic green ooze that was the Hackensack River with the abandoned Roosevelt Drive-In prevalent in many of those shots (see photos). The dystopian art display made the art circuit rounds. Meanwhile, the question became, “Who would pay for this mess?” By the time the clean-up was ostensibly completed - to the best of anyone’s knowledge - the project had surpassed $500 million. That’s before any project could even be built on the property.
So the answer to the question, “What’s the highest dollar project ever at a former drive-in theatre?” It is clearly the Roosevelt Drive-In Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Bergen was built in 1937 in McGinley Square and opening February 26, 1938 with “Mayerling.” It closed under than name at the expiry of a 15-year leasing agreement on October 23, 1952 with a double-feature of “Mad Lover” and “Naughty Widow.”
Steinberg Circuit took on the venue noting that interest in television was “leveling off” yet placing a large screen TV in the venue’s second floor lounge. It relaunched as the Pix Theatre on February 27, 1953 with “Limelight” on a new 25-year lease.
In 1973, the venue - on a sublease to Pix Theatres, Inc. during the porno chic era - changed to X-rated films. That brought retaliation for local law enforcement led by John McLaughlin forcing the theater to change policies to double-feature chopsocky films. It made a shift to showing second-run double-features of Blaxploitation films in the mid-1970s. Its final showings at end of lease were July 25, 1978 with “Black Samurai” and “The Executioner.” Those titles remained on the marquee long after the theatre was boarded up.
A new lessee came in to refresh the space for a movie theater before giving up after a water pipe incident flooded the venue. The double feature of “The Executioner” and “Black Samurai” ended in 1981 when the venue was converted to a disco-influenced roller rink called Outer Skates.
Disco died and the skating craze ended in early 1983 with a lock-out for non-lease payment. It became a short-lived dance studio. It became a front for the manufacturing of counterfeit merchandising in 1992. It then became a church in 1993 to substantially reduce its tax liability. It was later chopped up into retail stores.
Sorry: This opened as the Harris Theatre and explains the Harris name atop the building. It may have also been a home to the Gaines Theatre for a brief period.
Architect: Lewis Walter Leete
M.C. Hughes launched the Estill Theatre on July 10, 1941. The venue was a replacement for the Strand Theatre which had burned down in August of 1940. The Estill purportedly closed at the end of a 10-year lease on October 21, 1951 with “The Brave Bulls.” Weeks later it was sold off at auction to Mr. and Mrs. McClanahan who changed its name to the Mack Theatre at its reopening in December of 1951.
The Mac Drive-In Theatre was added as a summer-time venue. in January of 1955, the venue refreshed the auditorium with widescreen projection to show CinemaScope titles. The Mack closed on April 16, 1962 for the summer with the Mack Drive-In opening four days later. The Mack doesn’t appear to have reopened.
I think there’s some confusion on this entry by Chuck. Reporting of the day shows that Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. and Connie McClanahan took on Irvine’s hardtop Estill Theatre changing its name who to the Mack Theatre at its reopening in December of 1951. In January of 1955, they switched to widescreen projection. The McClanahans also built the Mack Drive-In in West Irvine to operate both seasonally. The Mack Drive-In was a new-build facility that could play widescreen films, as well, opening on August 4, 1955 with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster in “Vera Cruz.”
The hardtop Mack closed on April 16, 1962 for the summer with the Mack Drive-In reopening for the season four days later. The Mack hardtop doesn’t appear to have reopened. The Mack continued through the 1967 season under that name closing after the September 25, 1967 showings of “Kentucky Rebel” and “The Game Is Over.”
After inactivity, D. Baker took on the Mack renaming it as the Del Vue Drive-In at some point. As for a Palmer Drive-In, the only thing that registers is that there was a New Drive-In Theatre built near the Irvine Bridge that is visible on a satellite map. It launched by Palmer & Taylor on October 16, 1947 with “Let Them Have It.” So it’s possible that it could have been called, informally, the Palmer or, more likely, Palmer’s Drive-In in Irvine though advertised as the New Drive-In Theatre. In 1948, that drive-in is used for staging of events.
As there is no evidence that this was ever the Palmer Drive-In - launching as the Mack in 1955 - I think that’s the better timeline.
Demolished May 2025