Glen Oaks Theater
255-01 Union Turnpike,
Glen Oaks,
NY
11004
255-01 Union Turnpike,
Glen Oaks,
NY
11004
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 94 comments
He was born in 1916, so I guess ushering at a theater was a good first job in those days…Why did they care to deed restrict the property after they sold it? And is the company still in any form of business-merged or otherwise?
1931 is sure a long time ago, it’s before I was born. Many of the Century Theatres in Brooklyn have been torn down. Even when the theatre business was good years ago, when Century decided to close a theatre and sell the building, they had a policy of putting deed restrictions preventing the building from ever being used as a theatre again. The Bellrose, Park and Floral were victims of that policy. Fortunately, there were a few theatres that they didn’t own the buiding so they were reopened by independents.
As a matter of fact,Jackie Jackson, his wife and Mr. Bernhardt attended my wedding in New York years ago! I forgot about that.! but they are in the photo album! Even after my dad retired, he still enjoyed talking to the Managers of the neighborhood theaters n in FL where he lived- after all, he had started out as an usher in Bklyn in 1931.
My father was a childhood friend of Leslie Schwartz and he would send him a yearly Century card….but rarely used it.
I would guess that Ed Bernhardt must have passed away some time ago since back when he replaced your dad at the Prospect he had recently had a stroke, which is why he needed the cane. Although I’m much younger, I’ll be meeting up with everyone any time now.
Jackie Jackson..I remember hearing that name throughout my childhood!I also remember my father going to meetings in Manhattan to meet with the big bosses..Mr. Schwartz, and others. I remember also, that my dad was good friends with Eddy Bernhardt-He was “Uncle Eddy” to me. As for Mr. Jackson- I still remember what he looked like-My dad used to be the substitute DM for him. What do you remember?
TKM: Your bringing back memories when you talk about twirling the thermometer. Back then they had the “engineers union” that operated the heat and AC. If the temperature wasn’t within a certain range, they went “looking” for the engineer to correct it. Do you remember a DM named Jackie Jackson?
RVB: If they had a turnstile at the Glen Oaks, that must have been installed in later years. When I worked there in 1968 they a doorman that took the tickets. I recall the old Park Theatre having a turnstile before it closed, but it once had a doorman. As for a theatre on the North side of Hillside avenue, I never heard about that and I graduated from Martin Van Buren High School (when it was nice and new).
I do not remember any conversations regarding the construction of another theater at that time, but then again- I was quite young. As far as the seating capacity- it seemed small to me-in my mind’s eye- ( or the recollections of a 8 or ten year old…)maybe 500? I do remember my dad walking outside every afternoon to take the temperature reading with a thermometer that he twirled on a chain..I guess Century kept temperature statistics that they later correlated with box office sales at different points in time during the day…what a concept!
The projection booth at the Glen Oaks was NEW large and clean (since most booths were old and filthy) with a new bathroom. It had 2 Century CC projector heads, Century Soundheads and Peerless Magnarc lamphouses (very late model which was rare).
A neat feature of the Glen Oaks was that you could go out on the roof from the projection booth, which was also used to change the Marquee since it was mounted on the roof. You could also go out on the roof at the Meadows and could see Manhattan from there.
tkm, the site doesn’t have a seating capacity for this theatre. As a manager’s daughter would you know that?
As one of the later, and smaller theatres, there was no doorman. You entered at the cashiers booth through a turnstile. The comedy/tragedy mask concept was used in a number of the smaller, later Century Theatres, the Whitman for example. Century was going to build another theatre in the Bellerose area on the north side of Hillside Avenue near Martin Van Buren High School before the movie business slid. Would you have any info on that tkm, being an insider?
Yes- Eldee- we bought a fridge there after they opened. The Glen Oaks was one level, had a childrens section on the right side, in the rear of the right section. There was a matron on duty weekends for the kids matinees. The managers office was behind the last row of seats, and faced the screen. The walls of the auditorium were painted a dark red or burgundy, and there were two large silver or black decorative “masks” that hung on each side wall of the auditoriam. One was smiling- to represent Comedy..and the other was sad faced, to represent Drama..I saw Dr. Zhivago there, as well as The Night They Raided Minsky’s…that was a long time ago!
Appliance store was Eldee
The Glen Oaks wasn’t that tiny, it was bigger than the old Park. Which Park are you referring to, the Old Park or the new Park East. There was a short overlap period, a year or two, that both theatres were open together. They turned the old Park into an appliance store, but I can’t remember the name. They used to advertise on TV all the time and had a number of stores throughout NY.
Yes, I’m his daughter…I remember my dad commenting that the Park was not one of his favorite theaters- he preferred the Meadows and the Prospect..he was kind of on a vacation when he was at the Glen Oaks- it was TINY!!
Yes. CT shows the seating capacity as 800. I was in it and I can’t see that as being possible. Several hundred less I would think. Funny thing about the Park, it used to have a little dinky marquee, which was appropriate for a little dinky theatre. Then when they renovated the interior they affixed this humongous marquee which looked so out of place.
Which theatre do you mean, the OLD Park?
Speaking of the Park Theatre I think the seating capacity on CT is way out of line. Would tkm have any knowledge of that?
I sorry to hear that your father passed away, he was a nice man and easy to get along with. I didn’t know he went to the Meadows. In 1978 there was a big snowstorm and I was supposed to go to work at the Prospect, but I lived in Fresh Meadows, so I wound up working at the Meadows that day. They were running The Longest Yard. I know that when Cineplex multiplexed the Meadows, the manager was Al Alvarez (who I guess you know posts on here).
It’s funny that I can remember things like that, but I can’t remember an hour ago.
P.S. I know your fater also worked at Century’s Park Theatre on Lakeville Rd & Jerico Turnpike, before the Park East was built, because the operator who worked there and lived around the corner, Frank Magnatta, knew your father well. Frank also passed away a few years ago.
I guess you’re Bernie’s daughter, since he never mentioned having a son?
Yes- I think Eddy Bernhardt went to the Fresh Meadows, and my dad went back to the Prospect.He had been the Manager at the Floral, Bellerose, Freeport, Park East, Glen Oaks, Prospect,and many others that I remember from my childhood. The hours were terrible, the pay was not the best, they did away with profit sharing, he was held up at gunpoint at the Prospect at least once-the bullet hole forever remained in the glass window next to his desk after it was supposedly fixed in the Managers office, until they demolished the place-I guess he must have loved the business.
thethe pizza place down the sreet
He was a real nice guy, we got along great at the Prospect. After about 4 years I went to the RKO Alden and when I left he was transferred to another theatre. When I left the manager was Mr. Bernhardt, a short guy with a cane. I guess your father must have come back after I left.
All I know is that they tore down the theatre and that spot will NEVER look the same to me. At least with the RKO Keiths, you can still see the building as you come dpwn Main Street….even if it is sans marquee.
Yes or he was always called “Mr. D”! He was the last manager of the Prospect before it closed. He retired from Century in 1986 after almost 30 years in the business- having been a Manager and Substitute DM at over 12 different theaters for the Century chain. I think he knew everyone.
“My late father was a manager at this theater in the 1960’s. He was also a manager at many other Century theaters until 1986, when he retired after 30 years with the Century chain. I used to go around to all the theaters w/ him when I was off from school, and so I grew up hanging around many of the now demolished theaters he was managing at the time. If anyone has any questions that I know the answer to about this or any other Century theater( 1960’s to 1986), post it, and I would be glad to reply! ( The Glen Oaks had a Mays department store as an anchor store up the street, as well as a candy store next door, as well as a wonderful bakery, cleaners/tailors, and a Hallmark card store up the street…)just thought I would throw that in.Regards
posted by tkm on Feb 20, 2011 at 11:14am”
Was your father’s first name Bernard? The last time I worked at the Glen Oaks he was the manager (around 1968). When I went to work at Century’s Prospect in 1975 here was the manager there. The last time I went to downtown Flushing the whole dam theatre was gone.
The theatre in Port Washington was originally known as the Beacon. It’s now been chopped up into little pieces, is called the Port Washington and is run by Clearview. There are a lot of old pictures when you look it up on CT.
I have the Century Theaters gold pin the company gave him when he retired..I also have a picture of him in the Managers office of the Glen Oaks…I will look for more…the hand typed movie schedules that hung on the wall in the office next to his desk are in the background of the picture.
Do you know anything about the Port Washington Theater that was run by Skouras? He worked that chain in the late 1950’s…
Do you have any Century memoriabilia? They used to print a guide which was sent to your home. Who would have thought all these years later these items which I threw away would be treasures? Also, do you have any “in the day” pictures of the Glen Oaks or other theatres. There is only a current usage photo of the GO on CT.