Manhasset Cinemas

Ed Solero on November 25, 2006 at 1:27 am

I stopped by this theater tonight to grab some shots of the neon lit marquee signage and was able to get into the ticket lobby where the manager gave me permission to snap a few images. Unfortunately I couldn’t get further into the lobby, which curves in a dog leg around to the right – as pointed out in Vodhin’s terrifcally detailed post of July 7th, 2004. Here are the photos:

Manhasset marquee 1
Manhasset marquee 2
Manhasset marquee 3
Outer vestibule mosaic tile floor
Tile floor center detail – marks old box office?
Ticket lobby and booth
Ticket lobby towards candy counter
Alt view of ticket lobby towards street entrance
Ticket lobby side wall view towards inner lobby
Outer vestibule

I wonder about Vhodin’s claim that the break in the vestibule floor tile pattern represents where the old outside ticket booth was located. I guess I don’t doubt it, particularly given the story about the heat pipe, but it sure seems like a pretty tight place to fit a cashier. Just look at the two women looking over the display cases in that same photo to get an idea of scale.

In any event, the interior appointments of the outer lobby seem to be extremely well kept and faithful to the theater’s art deco heritage. I’d love to get back and have permission to photograph deeper into the theater.

RobertR on September 10, 2004 at 3:23 pm

The original introduction for this theatre should be changed. UA ran this theatre into the ground (what else is new), but Clearview has done a nice job on it. It is never dirty and no longer sub-par. I love going here again.

Vodhin on July 7, 2004 at 6:44 am

Ah, Manhasset â€" I worked that theatre from 1984 to 1994. In that time, I have unearthed many details about this 1927 masterpiece. This was a theme theatre- African Safari, if I’m right.

This was one of the Skorus Theatres that Mr. Skorus built for his sons. I don’t know the son’s name, but the top-dead-center of the marquee had his son’s initials on it â€" in Greek lettering: M S. The rest of the marquee is still pretty much original, save for the actual title boards.

The original titles were created by embossed ceramic letters framed in black metal, so only each letter was illuminated. The framing of the letters had tracks to hold colored gels for a Technicolor display. I have one of these letters, a ‘Z’ that had been used as a pane of glass in a boarded up window (in the staircase leading to the balcony). Unfortunately, when we opened up the window, the letter fell and broke- but I still have the pieces somewhere.

The interior of the building is a “single piece” shell- the walls and ceiling are made of cement and plaster pressed into a sculpted wire lath suspended from the roof trusses. A visit to the attic shows a reverse impression of all the ceiling’s original art-deco detail.

The entire theatre is actually three separate buildings, the auditorium in the back, butting up against a ‘dog leg’ shaped lobby, and two retail stores in the front corner.

The building also had heated sidewalks under the marquee, apparently provided by the steam pipe that heated the original box office. You can see where the box office was by looking at the mosaic tile under the marquee- there’s a tiny rectangle of mismatched tile where it once stood. The steam pipe was left in place when the box office was replaced, and eventually rotted away, flooding the store next door in the early 90’s. No more warm tootsies in the winter, folks. Sorry.

Inside the outer lobby are still (hopefully) the large mirrors set in a Victorian (?) style trim. The floor had nine rubber mats inlaid into a mosaic tile ‘framing’ that lined up with the tile borders under the marquee. A second set of doors were located halfway up the outer lobby, the old header and trim still in place.

Entering the inner lobby you were greeted to the swooping curves of the art-deco design, turning right and passing under a long oval recess for the chandelier. I have little knowledge about what that chandelier looked like- but if it was like the one for the auditorium, it would’ve been stained glass set in a white-copper art-deco frame.

That chandelier sat under the screen of theatre 1 for the longest time, but was hauled out for trash when UA put in the horrible mustard seating, making way for extra seat parts. Another chandelier that was in the staircase gives another clue as to what might have been there: That one had diagonally arranged glass (crystal?) dowels set in a white-copper frame. I believe that the auditorium chandelier was stained glass, as you can still(?) see in the Manhasset High School auditorium- a building put up about the same time.

In the wall of the far end of the inner lobby is a recessed water fountain, in black tile with a yellow fish and seaweed design, and illuminated by a recessed light above. This odd design finally explained itself when I and a few other employees stripped the wallpaper off the walls in the restrooms (UA renovated the lobby, but not the restrooms or auditorium, sometime around ‘87).

The original wallpaper in the ladies’ room, next to the fountain, was an undersea mermaid scene, in deep aqua tones and colorful tropical fish. The men’s room was a similar scene with swordfish and other game fish on a turquoise background.

â€" A quick sidebar- one wall in the men’s sitting room had been stripped already, and the entire staff of the Manhasset Theatre had signed their names- commemorating the final showing of ‘E.T. â€"The Extraterrestrial’. If anyone out there reads this, rest assured: we kept your memorial for future explorers!

The original woodwork was in mahogany and white pine, with faux wood finishes on the plaster columns and paneling. This special treatment is still visible on one door in the building. There is a storage room in the back of the balcony theatre, on your right when you enter the auditorium, with this fine craftsmanship clearly visible, but on the inside, out of public view.

Manhasset’s Safari theme was exemplified in the tapestry and wall paper I’d found during my exploration of the hidden sections of the building. Now discolored with age, I think it was red with a gold inlay leaf pattern.

One section of this tapestry (a huge section at that) might still be found by getting back stage (I use that term loosely, as the stage area is only about 6 feet deep) and climbing a ladder to the blower room. From there- with a very bright light- you can look over the ceiling of theatres 1 and 2, into the empty space behind the walled-in balcony theatre.

From there you can see the newer green/blue/gold fleur-de-lis tapestry that had been put up over the old red safari, which is also visible where the newer tapestry has come down. If you get the chance, look for the tigers and elephants- and who knows what else.

A visit to the balcony theatre and the original ceiling can be seen, it’s art-deco concentric circles now painted flat black to reduce light reflection from the screen.

A regular visitor to the Manhasset was “Old Man Karl”, who was one of the original ushers when the theatre first opened. Karl spoke of many stories of the Manhasset Theatre, too numerous to put in one post.

One thing he did mention was that the theatre was one of the first motion-picture-only theatres on the east coast, and was built especially for ‘talkies’. The curved walls were intended to help project the sound out into the street and pique public curiosity. It did work- only in reverse as well. A whisper in the lobby could carry all the way to the front row of theatre 2.

Now, about the smell- If they ever get rid of the well-water air-conditioning…