Thanks for the clarification…yeah, I meant the restored 1920s theater on Main St. :–) But I digress…was on YouTube just now, and stumbled across something that should bring back memories for anyone who frequented the UA in the mid-to-late 80s like me…
Only visited it once, to see Ray in Dec. 04, since it was the only LI theater playing it @ a convenient time for me…sorry to see it go (and didn’t even know it had closed!), looked like they kept a good bit of the mid-80s ambience. RIP, Patchogue 13. :–(
Oh, and great essay, Bob…sorry you had to lose it twice, but I can def say it was worth the extra effort!
I work up in New Rochelle and just happened to drive by the PPH one night…looks like a nice little theater, and after reading about its history, may have to check it out sometime!
Actually saw Smurfs and the Magic Flute there back in 84…it later became a Blockbuster Video near the end of the decade, then turned into a discount gift store sometime in the early 90s before they razed the shopping center to make room for the present one…the sole link to the past on that lot is KFC, which survived the transition fully intact (as it was a separate establishment from the main shopping center).
Ah, memories…I vaguely remember when GoodSkates was in the adjacent shopping center in the mid-80s (which became a Photon lazer tag place later in the decade…my parents used to take me there on their Fri night visit to the bank, so I could play the arcade games!), and if memory serves me correctly, Smurfs and the Magic Flute was one of the last pictures to play there.
My bad, guess I should’ve been clearer…yes, RCN is still a rock station, but they now share a building w/WLVG (Love 96.1), an AC station that’s also owned by Barnstable Broadcasting. And yeah, the current SB Loews def has a nice art deco feel to it, and I also have no complaints about the restored Patchogue Theatre, either…saw Hammer of the Gods (a Zeppelin tribute band) and the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular there.
Wow, had no idea…rather sad to learn that an important piece of the Long Island I grew up in was basically left to rot for no reason. :–( And yeah, I work for Love 96.1/WRCN (whose building is just down the road from the old UA, ironically!), so we’ve done promos during those drive-in nights @ the Ampitheater.
Hey Geo…yeah, I knew that National Amusements owned both the Multiplex and the Island 16, which is why I referred to the latter’s opening as “suicide” for the former (in fact, the Island 16 still runs a pre-show slide reminding patrons that the screenside exits provide easier parking lot access, which the Multiplex used to run from the early 90s till the end…actually features the familiar “N” logo).
While a drive-in would def be nice, given that their time has passed, one wonders if an attempted comeback would be economically feasible…who knows, though.
And one thing I remember was that they had A Christmas Story during its initial blink-and-miss-it release, which I actually saw there when I was 4 and wound up remembering the flagpole scene for years…LOL
I remember when Disney used to do “sneak previews” there some wknds, before the pics were officialy released, as double features w/current releases…got to see Father of the Bride and Homeward Bound that way. Other than those, my attendance there was fairly sporadic (as I was much closer to the UA Movies @ Coram and usually went there)…last 2 pics I saw there were Planet of the Apes in 01, and 8 Crazy Nights in Dec. 02, just 4 mos before it closed.
Didn’t even know the old UA used to be a drive-in until a few years ago…it’d certainly explain the large parking lot. :–)
Ah…so many memories, used to go there w/my grandfather practically every other wknd, and I’ve lost count of how many movies I saw there between 87-94…in fact, I was there on its last day of operation (4/17/03) and saw Chicago w/my then-GF. Was sad to see it go after so long, but I agree that the opening of the Island 16 was suicide for both it and the Brookhaven Multiplex (the latter is/was 2 exits away from the Island 16, off the LIE…I knew it was suicide for them when it opened!).
Oh, for anyone who went there religiously (or to any other UA theater) in the mid-to-late 80s, go to www.networkmusic.com, search for a piece called “Ponderosa” and see if it sounds familiar. :-D
Thanks for the clarification…yeah, I meant the restored 1920s theater on Main St. :–) But I digress…was on YouTube just now, and stumbled across something that should bring back memories for anyone who frequented the UA in the mid-to-late 80s like me…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYJAYlHCh_4&NR=1
Only visited it once, to see Ray in Dec. 04, since it was the only LI theater playing it @ a convenient time for me…sorry to see it go (and didn’t even know it had closed!), looked like they kept a good bit of the mid-80s ambience. RIP, Patchogue 13. :–(
Oh, and great essay, Bob…sorry you had to lose it twice, but I can def say it was worth the extra effort!
I work up in New Rochelle and just happened to drive by the PPH one night…looks like a nice little theater, and after reading about its history, may have to check it out sometime!
Actually saw Smurfs and the Magic Flute there back in 84…it later became a Blockbuster Video near the end of the decade, then turned into a discount gift store sometime in the early 90s before they razed the shopping center to make room for the present one…the sole link to the past on that lot is KFC, which survived the transition fully intact (as it was a separate establishment from the main shopping center).
Ah, memories…I vaguely remember when GoodSkates was in the adjacent shopping center in the mid-80s (which became a Photon lazer tag place later in the decade…my parents used to take me there on their Fri night visit to the bank, so I could play the arcade games!), and if memory serves me correctly, Smurfs and the Magic Flute was one of the last pictures to play there.
I remember seeing Pinnochio there sometime in the mid-80s…didn’t realize it had such a long history on LI!
My bad, guess I should’ve been clearer…yes, RCN is still a rock station, but they now share a building w/WLVG (Love 96.1), an AC station that’s also owned by Barnstable Broadcasting. And yeah, the current SB Loews def has a nice art deco feel to it, and I also have no complaints about the restored Patchogue Theatre, either…saw Hammer of the Gods (a Zeppelin tribute band) and the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular there.
Wow, had no idea…rather sad to learn that an important piece of the Long Island I grew up in was basically left to rot for no reason. :–( And yeah, I work for Love 96.1/WRCN (whose building is just down the road from the old UA, ironically!), so we’ve done promos during those drive-in nights @ the Ampitheater.
Hey Geo…yeah, I knew that National Amusements owned both the Multiplex and the Island 16, which is why I referred to the latter’s opening as “suicide” for the former (in fact, the Island 16 still runs a pre-show slide reminding patrons that the screenside exits provide easier parking lot access, which the Multiplex used to run from the early 90s till the end…actually features the familiar “N” logo).
While a drive-in would def be nice, given that their time has passed, one wonders if an attempted comeback would be economically feasible…who knows, though.
And one thing I remember was that they had A Christmas Story during its initial blink-and-miss-it release, which I actually saw there when I was 4 and wound up remembering the flagpole scene for years…LOL
I remember when Disney used to do “sneak previews” there some wknds, before the pics were officialy released, as double features w/current releases…got to see Father of the Bride and Homeward Bound that way. Other than those, my attendance there was fairly sporadic (as I was much closer to the UA Movies @ Coram and usually went there)…last 2 pics I saw there were Planet of the Apes in 01, and 8 Crazy Nights in Dec. 02, just 4 mos before it closed.
Oops…try this link: www.networkmusic.com
Didn’t even know the old UA used to be a drive-in until a few years ago…it’d certainly explain the large parking lot. :–)
Ah…so many memories, used to go there w/my grandfather practically every other wknd, and I’ve lost count of how many movies I saw there between 87-94…in fact, I was there on its last day of operation (4/17/03) and saw Chicago w/my then-GF. Was sad to see it go after so long, but I agree that the opening of the Island 16 was suicide for both it and the Brookhaven Multiplex (the latter is/was 2 exits away from the Island 16, off the LIE…I knew it was suicide for them when it opened!).
Oh, for anyone who went there religiously (or to any other UA theater) in the mid-to-late 80s, go to www.networkmusic.com, search for a piece called “Ponderosa” and see if it sounds familiar. :-D
I remember seeing Follow That Bird and the 85 reissue of ET there when I was 6…not a bad little theater, from what I remember. :–)