John Van Lieu’s brother, Donald, passed away in early September, 2006. He lived long enough to see his father’s theater destroyed by the visionaries who sit on the Flemington Planning Board.
I saw “St. Ives” here August 8, 1976 when my parents and I were making an around-the-country trip. We stopped to rest on our way to El Paso by seeing this Charles Bronson mystery. Afterwards, the fellow running the place took us around the theater, to the balcony, and into the projection booth where he showed us the platter system that they had recently installed. He gave me the poster of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” which I have hanging in my basement. Wonderful times! Save this place!
Either the heat is not too good or they don’t like putting it on. I thought my family and I were going to have frost bite when we saw the new Pink Panther movie last winter.
As mentioned above, it’s a landmark that needs attention – now.
Souderton is a beautiful town.
Yes, it could’ve. That pedestrian mall was a disaster for downtown. Four years ago they tore up the mall section in front of the Mayfair (Broad to Montgomery) and last year (or maybe it’s two years ago) they tore up the Dunham’s block (yes, in front of the Savoy) pedestrian mall (Broad to Warren).
The Savoy building is there but is now a retail store. My mother and grandmother took me to the Savoy many times for lunch when they went shopping at Dunham’s, Nevius, Lit Brothers, and Arnold Constable. Dunham’s is long gone and a new state office building in its place. The Broad Street Bank Building faced demolition but is now getting a complete renovation after being vacant for years. The Yards store where Ernie Kovacs sold cigars was renovated and is operating as a retail store (I think a pharmacy).
The fire escape entrance to the booth is a fascinating detail! I have the Trentonian photos of the Mafair when the roof collapse.
The Henry name is familiar but I’m unsure about the Vince part. I will try to check on dates regarding when it closed. I saw “Dirty Harry” and “Magnum Force” there as a double feature.
Directly across State Street from the Mayfair was the Stacy Theater. It burned down in the mid fifties and has remained an empty lot ever since. The Mayfair was flanked by the Nevius-Voorhees Department store on one side (east) and Montgomery Wards on the other.
The great Hunterdon is almost gone now except for the front area to the projection booth wall. The almighty buck wins again as it always does in this tunnelvision community. Let’s hope it’s another drugstore to compete with the one across Church Street.
What an absolute fiasco! I was shocked to see the demolition today – the auditorium gone with the windows on the projection booth wall intact and clearly visible. I was going to get my camera but decided to remember it the way it was.
Lost Memory asked if this theater had a smoker’s balcony. Yes, it did and the seats were wider and slid back.
I remember the “courtesy wall” between the lobby and orchestra seats. I remember the pink neon that wrapped around the overhang and the big oak on the Church Street side. I remember the winding lines of people waiting to get in on a summer night. I had many dates here.
The Flemington Fur Company owners had invested in the building at some point. I wonder why they could not have employed some creative accounting scenario to salvage the Hunterdon and make it into performing arts center. Instead, we get Walmart, Lowe’s, CVS, Kohl’s and all the other truly unique stores we see in each town anymore.
The Majestic auditorium was being restored sometime in the 1980s because I remember going into the side entrance of the building where architects were examining the interior, there was scaffolding around, and light towers about. What happened? I guess someone ran out of money.
I walked up to the second balcony.
The architecture style is colonial but, as indicated above, drapes cover most of the areas around the old organ lofts, the sides of the auditorium, and around the screen. The upstairs area is universally painted beige/tan. All the plaster detail is one color.
The original projection room, which requires a lengthy, angled “throw”, is still in use.
This is certainly one of my favorites. One thing that strike me is the steep pitch of the orchestra seating. Admission is several dollars less than it is at the multiplexes and the concession are inexpensive. Why people don’t pack the place tells you something about the current movie-going audience. I bring my kids here so they can experience the movie palace ambience while it’s still around. My hope is that Bethlehem will eventually use the Boyd as a performing arts center. From what I’ve seen recently and what is written above, it’s screening days are numbered.
Also, the place is not as pristine as it was 5-10 years ago which indicates that there is little money for maintenance. The balcony has been roped off for a good 20 years for insurance purposes.
The Nile Theater a block west of the Boyd was torn down in the 1970s and I believe was replaced by a street extension.
Mercifully, the pedestrian mall in front of the Boyd was removed and auto traffic (Broad Street) is allowed through once again which allow patrons to be dropped off.
The plain, 70ish-looking lobby is the result of the 1966 fire.
The Mayfair and Stacy pretty much faced each other on State Street. The Stacy suffered a fire and was razed in the late fifties. A fastfood restaurant, Ginos ( now closed), occupies the lot.
The theater you are referring to is the Victory Theater. In fact, there is a Victory Florist across the street or around the corner. It is located on the same side of the street as the RKO BROAD but a half-a-block closer toward downtown. It was another small neighborhood theater that has been a Salvation Army thrift shop ever since I remember it.
This is one of the few theater buildings left in the capital city of Trenton. It has been a church since it closed around 1960-61. The building is triangular and features a balcony. It opened in 1905.
According to my father, the projection booth was accessed via an iron latter. This neighborhood movie house was located in the Battle Monument area of Trenton.
My father worked here as a projectionist. Unfortunately situated in East Trenton, a neighborhood that is not culture conscious, the Princess closed in the 1950s and torn down around 1990.
I agree with Jack. The Merben was completely razed and a parking lot occupies what was auditorium area. The walkway between the existing buildings was the entrance/boxoffice area.
I didn’t know that the Concord Roller Rink was NOT a theater. It looks as though it was converted into a roller rink.
What a great art deco interior! When Burger King purchased/leased the lot and threatened to tear it down which it did, people protested at nearby BKs by making their purchases by paying in pennies. The “protest” did not work. K and A lost a giant when they razed the Midway.
The Orpheum/Mayfair had a large, steep balcony. When it opened as the Orpheum, it had one of the largest marquees on the East Coast. It was located next to Nevius Department Store on East State Street.
The Hights was in Hightstown NJ. It closed around 1978. It was located in the downtown area and the building was converted into offices/retail. There was talk of restoring it recently. It had a great marquee.
This was built as a Jerry Lewis Cinema around 1973. It is located on Highway 33 near Paxson Avenue. The building has been converted into stores. As indicated above, there was nothing remarkable about the theater. Drapes covered concrete block walls. But the 2nd-run movies were cheap and so was the popcorn.
This building is not to be confused with the RKO Hamilton on South Broad Street which opened in the 1940s and closed in the 1960s. That one had the pillars on the outside and was the sister theater to the RKO Brunswick on Brunswick Avenue in Trenton. The Hamilton is currently a church while the Brunswick was razed several years ago.
It seems to me that a demolition worker was killed during the razing of this theater. I think that occurred in 1978. It was across the street from the beautiful Hahne’s Department Store.
Thanks, Lost Memory. I remember seeing it many times but I never saw a film there. It was just a typical 1960s box.
The Stadium Theater, along with Veterans Stadium and Aquarama, are all gone.
John Van Lieu’s brother, Donald, passed away in early September, 2006. He lived long enough to see his father’s theater destroyed by the visionaries who sit on the Flemington Planning Board.
I saw “St. Ives” here August 8, 1976 when my parents and I were making an around-the-country trip. We stopped to rest on our way to El Paso by seeing this Charles Bronson mystery. Afterwards, the fellow running the place took us around the theater, to the balcony, and into the projection booth where he showed us the platter system that they had recently installed. He gave me the poster of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” which I have hanging in my basement. Wonderful times! Save this place!
Either the heat is not too good or they don’t like putting it on. I thought my family and I were going to have frost bite when we saw the new Pink Panther movie last winter.
As mentioned above, it’s a landmark that needs attention – now.
Souderton is a beautiful town.
Yes, it could’ve. That pedestrian mall was a disaster for downtown. Four years ago they tore up the mall section in front of the Mayfair (Broad to Montgomery) and last year (or maybe it’s two years ago) they tore up the Dunham’s block (yes, in front of the Savoy) pedestrian mall (Broad to Warren).
The Savoy building is there but is now a retail store. My mother and grandmother took me to the Savoy many times for lunch when they went shopping at Dunham’s, Nevius, Lit Brothers, and Arnold Constable. Dunham’s is long gone and a new state office building in its place. The Broad Street Bank Building faced demolition but is now getting a complete renovation after being vacant for years. The Yards store where Ernie Kovacs sold cigars was renovated and is operating as a retail store (I think a pharmacy).
The fire escape entrance to the booth is a fascinating detail! I have the Trentonian photos of the Mafair when the roof collapse.
The Henry name is familiar but I’m unsure about the Vince part. I will try to check on dates regarding when it closed. I saw “Dirty Harry” and “Magnum Force” there as a double feature.
Directly across State Street from the Mayfair was the Stacy Theater. It burned down in the mid fifties and has remained an empty lot ever since. The Mayfair was flanked by the Nevius-Voorhees Department store on one side (east) and Montgomery Wards on the other.
The great Hunterdon is almost gone now except for the front area to the projection booth wall. The almighty buck wins again as it always does in this tunnelvision community. Let’s hope it’s another drugstore to compete with the one across Church Street.
What an absolute fiasco! I was shocked to see the demolition today – the auditorium gone with the windows on the projection booth wall intact and clearly visible. I was going to get my camera but decided to remember it the way it was.
Lost Memory asked if this theater had a smoker’s balcony. Yes, it did and the seats were wider and slid back.
I remember the “courtesy wall” between the lobby and orchestra seats. I remember the pink neon that wrapped around the overhang and the big oak on the Church Street side. I remember the winding lines of people waiting to get in on a summer night. I had many dates here.
The Flemington Fur Company owners had invested in the building at some point. I wonder why they could not have employed some creative accounting scenario to salvage the Hunterdon and make it into performing arts center. Instead, we get Walmart, Lowe’s, CVS, Kohl’s and all the other truly unique stores we see in each town anymore.
The Majestic auditorium was being restored sometime in the 1980s because I remember going into the side entrance of the building where architects were examining the interior, there was scaffolding around, and light towers about. What happened? I guess someone ran out of money.
I walked up to the second balcony.
The beautiful signage for this theater was colorfully done in neon. It was located next to the interstate highway at the Quincy exit.
The architecture style is colonial but, as indicated above, drapes cover most of the areas around the old organ lofts, the sides of the auditorium, and around the screen. The upstairs area is universally painted beige/tan. All the plaster detail is one color.
The original projection room, which requires a lengthy, angled “throw”, is still in use.
I was told that the seating capacity is 1,300 (balcony and orchestra).
This is certainly one of my favorites. One thing that strike me is the steep pitch of the orchestra seating. Admission is several dollars less than it is at the multiplexes and the concession are inexpensive. Why people don’t pack the place tells you something about the current movie-going audience. I bring my kids here so they can experience the movie palace ambience while it’s still around. My hope is that Bethlehem will eventually use the Boyd as a performing arts center. From what I’ve seen recently and what is written above, it’s screening days are numbered.
Also, the place is not as pristine as it was 5-10 years ago which indicates that there is little money for maintenance. The balcony has been roped off for a good 20 years for insurance purposes.
The Nile Theater a block west of the Boyd was torn down in the 1970s and I believe was replaced by a street extension.
Mercifully, the pedestrian mall in front of the Boyd was removed and auto traffic (Broad Street) is allowed through once again which allow patrons to be dropped off.
The plain, 70ish-looking lobby is the result of the 1966 fire.
I read in the MIDWAY Theater entry that MERBEN name came from the first three letters of his sons' names.
The Mayfair and Stacy pretty much faced each other on State Street. The Stacy suffered a fire and was razed in the late fifties. A fastfood restaurant, Ginos ( now closed), occupies the lot.
The theater you are referring to is the Victory Theater. In fact, there is a Victory Florist across the street or around the corner. It is located on the same side of the street as the RKO BROAD but a half-a-block closer toward downtown. It was another small neighborhood theater that has been a Salvation Army thrift shop ever since I remember it.
This is one of the few theater buildings left in the capital city of Trenton. It has been a church since it closed around 1960-61. The building is triangular and features a balcony. It opened in 1905.
According to my father, the projection booth was accessed via an iron latter. This neighborhood movie house was located in the Battle Monument area of Trenton.
My father worked here as a projectionist. Unfortunately situated in East Trenton, a neighborhood that is not culture conscious, the Princess closed in the 1950s and torn down around 1990.
I agree with Jack. The Merben was completely razed and a parking lot occupies what was auditorium area. The walkway between the existing buildings was the entrance/boxoffice area.
I didn’t know that the Concord Roller Rink was NOT a theater. It looks as though it was converted into a roller rink.
What a great art deco interior! When Burger King purchased/leased the lot and threatened to tear it down which it did, people protested at nearby BKs by making their purchases by paying in pennies. The “protest” did not work. K and A lost a giant when they razed the Midway.
Did the Merben have another name?
The Orpheum/Mayfair had a large, steep balcony. When it opened as the Orpheum, it had one of the largest marquees on the East Coast. It was located next to Nevius Department Store on East State Street.
The Hights was in Hightstown NJ. It closed around 1978. It was located in the downtown area and the building was converted into offices/retail. There was talk of restoring it recently. It had a great marquee.
This was built as a Jerry Lewis Cinema around 1973. It is located on Highway 33 near Paxson Avenue. The building has been converted into stores. As indicated above, there was nothing remarkable about the theater. Drapes covered concrete block walls. But the 2nd-run movies were cheap and so was the popcorn.
This building is not to be confused with the RKO Hamilton on South Broad Street which opened in the 1940s and closed in the 1960s. That one had the pillars on the outside and was the sister theater to the RKO Brunswick on Brunswick Avenue in Trenton. The Hamilton is currently a church while the Brunswick was razed several years ago.
It seems to me that a demolition worker was killed during the razing of this theater. I think that occurred in 1978. It was across the street from the beautiful Hahne’s Department Store.