I recall this theater with the comedy/tragedy masks on its marquee. Only thing I remember seeing there was Disney’s Jungle Book, but I don’t recall how long after that it closed – it was definitely gone by 1980. The stone facade that I’ve always known still exsists, though the building itself was gutted sometime ago and converted first to “The Shadow Box” gallery, then to CVS Pharmacy. In 2006 CVS moved from one side of the building to the other, which included some new (and very ugly) construction. The theater auditorium is now a Dollar Tree store. No idea what’s become of the balcony and projection room over the years.
The Town Theater was a different theater altogether. Both were on the same street about a block apart, which may account for any confusion. A third, older theater, the Glen, also stood on Glen St where Pulaski St runs into the parking garage.
Ooo…my comment was supposed to have been deleted or moved over! This theater was a much older one that predated my family’s move to GC! I blame my parents for the confusion.
Glen Theater was located where the road into the parking garage is now. If you frequent our local Stop & Shop, in the produce dept there are historical photos, and in one of them you can see the ‘moving pictures’ sign next to the old post office. That building is still standing and gives us a good landmark for the location of this theater. Would love to know what’s beneath that roadway!
Any idea what projectors might have been here in the early days?
Just to make things clear: this is the theater which stood on School St, not any of the three which stood on Glen St at various times. (BTW, our Stop & Shop has historical photos hung in the produce dept, and one of then shows the sign of the Cove’s sister theater, the Glen!)
If anyone could repost the auditorium photo, it would make some Girl Scouts very happy. :) Sadly I did not save it while the link worked.
My mom remembers the Keith’s fondly from her youth, so much so that when I at age 9 saw D.A.R.Y.L. in Cinema Manhasset and came home awestruck, she sighed wistfully and said, “You should’ve seen the Keith’s.” (That was ‘83 or '84, so it would’ve been triplexed by then, I believe.) Then she described it to me in detail, and all I remembered clearly before going through this page and linked pics was the moving clouds.
I never got to enter the Keith’s, only watch the progression of the exterior’s destruction when we went to services at the Friends' Meeting across the street. I used to wonder how such an ugly, plain building could be saved while a virtual palace could be left to rot. Ah, the naivete of childhood….
(MelR, please check your spherewerx email. My mom wants to help. :)
According to this site Duran Duran played here on June 29, 1982, during its Northstage days. This is important to no one but the dozens of local girls (myself and my older sister, then 8 and 12, included) whose parents said they were too young to go. In retrospect, this may have been a door policy rather than just heartless parenting. ;) (Still looking for a recording of this concert.)
I only remember the building from the outside, from its Northstage days. The facade had been painted over black, the marquee was yellow with red letters.
The building was torn down in early 1990. I was in 10th grade at the time and recall launching fireworks from my then-boyfriend’s backyard on Douglas Dr over the low fence that was the only thing that kept one from falling off the “cliff” face into the ruins below. And when I say ruins, I mean what I could see looked burned and blackened.
In its place now sits “The Regency at Glen Cove” senior living, and just down the street, next to the Starbucks that used to be a kick-butt homemade ice cream shop run by two lesbians in which I had my first job, sits the once-Cineplex Odious Glen Cove Cinemas.
Over on the Loew’s Palace page, W.H. Wingo said the following: “…the ornamental leaded-glass "Exit” signs which I also saw at Loew’s State and years later at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. They were made like stained glass windows but just said “Exit” in red on a white background. Maybe a feature common to the chain, or a favorite device of the architect.“
I have two questions:
– were these indeed a feature common to Loew’s theatres, or something the architect preferred? Or just something so common to all movie houses because of the technology of the times that no one ever mentions it?
– have these signs been restored?
This and the World are shown in an old Husker Du video, “Makes No Sense At All.” Even with the sad state of the exterior, one can see the beauty. I’m glad to hear it’s being saved, any update on the restoration would be appreciated.
This and the theater next door are shown towards the beginning of an old Husker Du video, “Makes No Sense At All.” The World looks identical to this pic, except for being run down – tiles missing from the blank marquee, a “For Lease” sign in the window.
My only memories of this venue are from its days as Academy:
waiting nearly 2 hrs in cold rain to be up front for Duran (which was totally worth it)
going deaf and taking refuge in the balcony during Ramones (and wondering about the history of the place, as I noticed some of the painted-over details)
seeing Jesus & Mazzy Chain with my husband of then only ten hours (now 11 years)
deciding last minute to see Concrete Blonde, finding out the show was sold out and running down the street to the tranny bar next to the Carter (Sally’s?)
It hurts to know that it’s truly gone – the last time I was in the area Academy was still operating – but just as much to know what was lost before that. And dammit, I LIKED the sleaze on the other side, I spent most of my free time between the ages of 18 and 21 there. I mean, where else could one find hamburgers for a dollar, then go down the street and get a fake id for 10?
Saw “Akira” when the remaster premiered here March 2001. Don’t recall any sound issues, but it’s been years and from the sound of it we were in one of the better auditoriums. Haven’t been back since because it’s not exactly local.
It’s silly, but I want to cry over this being gone. We were so broke when we got married in 10/94 that our honeymoon consisted of going into Manhattan to see J&MC at Academy, then “Exit to Eden” (which was playing with some awful VanDamme film which put us both to sleep) while we were waiting for our ride to get out of another concert.
So not everyone has bad memories of it :) Just of Rosie O'Donnell in that movie.
What a shame! I remember this from my first visit to Niagara Falls (1997) and I had hoped to take my daughter when we take her there for the first time this summer. :(
I recall seeing D.A.R.Y.L. here with my grandparents – possibly the last movie I saw with my grandfather. Also remember I was supposed to see Young Sherlock Holmes with my grandmother – when we got to the theater, the poster was still up but the theater was locked. I think I remember a posting on the door saying they were closed permanently.
This theater doesn’t do well because it’s as run down as the town it’s in the heart of. Most recent thing I recall seeing here was Spongebob Squarepants Movie, and we had to move our small party three times because of broken seats. Beyond that, the seats are small and crowded, everything from lobby to aisle carpeting was obviously worn and stained, and one of the speakers buzzed constantly. My daughter was there for a Madagascar birthday party last June, and it didn’t look any better.
Minor correction to an earlier comment: GC’s other theaters closed in the late 70’s, not early. See my comments on both Town and Glen Theaters for more.
I recall this theater as the “Glen Cove,” with the comedy/tragedy masks on its marquee. Only thing I remember seeing there was Disney’s Jungle Book, but I don’t recall how long after that it closed – it was definitely gone by 1980. The stone facade that I’ve always known still exsists, though the building itself was gutted sometime ago and converted first to “The Shadow Box” gallery, then to CVS Pharmacy. CVS recently moved from one side of the building to the other, which included some new (and very ugly) construction. I’ll get a photo on my way out of town today – assuming I remember my camera.
The Town Theater was a different theater altogether. Both were on the same street about a block apart, which may account for any confusion.
I don’t think I’d even started kindergarten when the Town Theater was closed and demolished, which puts it around 1978-9. IIRC it had a reddish brick front with some odd art piece on the right side of the facade. I want to say it had two screens – I recall a rectangular marquee which took up most of the front and was split. It was just about on the corner of Glen Street and Town Path, where there’s now a group of stores including Radio Shack. My husband tells me Young Frankenstein played there, and I recall Grease, which should help date it.
I recall this theater with the comedy/tragedy masks on its marquee. Only thing I remember seeing there was Disney’s Jungle Book, but I don’t recall how long after that it closed – it was definitely gone by 1980. The stone facade that I’ve always known still exsists, though the building itself was gutted sometime ago and converted first to “The Shadow Box” gallery, then to CVS Pharmacy. In 2006 CVS moved from one side of the building to the other, which included some new (and very ugly) construction. The theater auditorium is now a Dollar Tree store. No idea what’s become of the balcony and projection room over the years.
The Town Theater was a different theater altogether. Both were on the same street about a block apart, which may account for any confusion. A third, older theater, the Glen, also stood on Glen St where Pulaski St runs into the parking garage.
Ooo…my comment was supposed to have been deleted or moved over! This theater was a much older one that predated my family’s move to GC! I blame my parents for the confusion.
Glen Theater was located where the road into the parking garage is now. If you frequent our local Stop & Shop, in the produce dept there are historical photos, and in one of them you can see the ‘moving pictures’ sign next to the old post office. That building is still standing and gives us a good landmark for the location of this theater. Would love to know what’s beneath that roadway!
Any idea what projectors might have been here in the early days?
Just to make things clear: this is the theater which stood on School St, not any of the three which stood on Glen St at various times. (BTW, our Stop & Shop has historical photos hung in the produce dept, and one of then shows the sign of the Cove’s sister theater, the Glen!)
If anyone could repost the auditorium photo, it would make some Girl Scouts very happy. :) Sadly I did not save it while the link worked.
My mom remembers the Keith’s fondly from her youth, so much so that when I at age 9 saw D.A.R.Y.L. in Cinema Manhasset and came home awestruck, she sighed wistfully and said, “You should’ve seen the Keith’s.” (That was ‘83 or '84, so it would’ve been triplexed by then, I believe.) Then she described it to me in detail, and all I remembered clearly before going through this page and linked pics was the moving clouds.
I never got to enter the Keith’s, only watch the progression of the exterior’s destruction when we went to services at the Friends' Meeting across the street. I used to wonder how such an ugly, plain building could be saved while a virtual palace could be left to rot. Ah, the naivete of childhood….
(MelR, please check your spherewerx email. My mom wants to help. :)
According to this site Duran Duran played here on June 29, 1982, during its Northstage days. This is important to no one but the dozens of local girls (myself and my older sister, then 8 and 12, included) whose parents said they were too young to go. In retrospect, this may have been a door policy rather than just heartless parenting. ;) (Still looking for a recording of this concert.)
I only remember the building from the outside, from its Northstage days. The facade had been painted over black, the marquee was yellow with red letters.
The building was torn down in early 1990. I was in 10th grade at the time and recall launching fireworks from my then-boyfriend’s backyard on Douglas Dr over the low fence that was the only thing that kept one from falling off the “cliff” face into the ruins below. And when I say ruins, I mean what I could see looked burned and blackened.
In its place now sits “The Regency at Glen Cove” senior living, and just down the street, next to the Starbucks that used to be a kick-butt homemade ice cream shop run by two lesbians in which I had my first job, sits the once-Cineplex Odious Glen Cove Cinemas.
Over on the Loew’s Palace page, W.H. Wingo said the following:
“…the ornamental leaded-glass "Exit” signs which I also saw at Loew’s State and years later at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. They were made like stained glass windows but just said “Exit” in red on a white background. Maybe a feature common to the chain, or a favorite device of the architect.“
I have two questions:
– were these indeed a feature common to Loew’s theatres, or something the architect preferred? Or just something so common to all movie houses because of the technology of the times that no one ever mentions it?
– have these signs been restored?
dave-bronx, those pics are heartbreaking.
This and the World are shown in an old Husker Du video, “Makes No Sense At All.” Even with the sad state of the exterior, one can see the beauty. I’m glad to hear it’s being saved, any update on the restoration would be appreciated.
This and the theater next door are shown towards the beginning of an old Husker Du video, “Makes No Sense At All.” The World looks identical to this pic, except for being run down – tiles missing from the blank marquee, a “For Lease” sign in the window.
My only memories of this venue are from its days as Academy:
It hurts to know that it’s truly gone – the last time I was in the area Academy was still operating – but just as much to know what was lost before that. And dammit, I LIKED the sleaze on the other side, I spent most of my free time between the ages of 18 and 21 there. I mean, where else could one find hamburgers for a dollar, then go down the street and get a fake id for 10?
Saw “Akira” when the remaster premiered here March 2001. Don’t recall any sound issues, but it’s been years and from the sound of it we were in one of the better auditoriums. Haven’t been back since because it’s not exactly local.
It’s silly, but I want to cry over this being gone. We were so broke when we got married in 10/94 that our honeymoon consisted of going into Manhattan to see J&MC at Academy, then “Exit to Eden” (which was playing with some awful VanDamme film which put us both to sleep) while we were waiting for our ride to get out of another concert.
So not everyone has bad memories of it :) Just of Rosie O'Donnell in that movie.
What a shame! I remember this from my first visit to Niagara Falls (1997) and I had hoped to take my daughter when we take her there for the first time this summer. :(
I recall seeing D.A.R.Y.L. here with my grandparents – possibly the last movie I saw with my grandfather. Also remember I was supposed to see Young Sherlock Holmes with my grandmother – when we got to the theater, the poster was still up but the theater was locked. I think I remember a posting on the door saying they were closed permanently.
This theater doesn’t do well because it’s as run down as the town it’s in the heart of. Most recent thing I recall seeing here was Spongebob Squarepants Movie, and we had to move our small party three times because of broken seats. Beyond that, the seats are small and crowded, everything from lobby to aisle carpeting was obviously worn and stained, and one of the speakers buzzed constantly. My daughter was there for a Madagascar birthday party last June, and it didn’t look any better.
Minor correction to an earlier comment: GC’s other theaters closed in the late 70’s, not early. See my comments on both Town and Glen Theaters for more.
I recall this theater as the “Glen Cove,” with the comedy/tragedy masks on its marquee. Only thing I remember seeing there was Disney’s Jungle Book, but I don’t recall how long after that it closed – it was definitely gone by 1980. The stone facade that I’ve always known still exsists, though the building itself was gutted sometime ago and converted first to “The Shadow Box” gallery, then to CVS Pharmacy. CVS recently moved from one side of the building to the other, which included some new (and very ugly) construction. I’ll get a photo on my way out of town today – assuming I remember my camera.
The Town Theater was a different theater altogether. Both were on the same street about a block apart, which may account for any confusion.
I don’t think I’d even started kindergarten when the Town Theater was closed and demolished, which puts it around 1978-9. IIRC it had a reddish brick front with some odd art piece on the right side of the facade. I want to say it had two screens – I recall a rectangular marquee which took up most of the front and was split. It was just about on the corner of Glen Street and Town Path, where there’s now a group of stores including Radio Shack. My husband tells me Young Frankenstein played there, and I recall Grease, which should help date it.