OK, I’ve got an anecdote and some info from my Dad, who was born and raised in Malverne. He worked at the Malverne as an usher back in 1952 for about 6 months; he was 15. RobertR is correct, it didn’t have a balcony. Look at the photos Warren posted (Dad liked those, BTW); in the second pair there’s a photo of the rear of the house, and you can see the doorway that leads to the stairs to the projection room, and the private screening room. The window of this screening room can also be seen in this photo, just to the left of the projection openings. I don’t know if this was a common feature in theaters, but Dad sure liked it- that was his favorite place to watch movies. This room was soundproof, with its own speakers, and had a seating capacity of about 10-15. Dad’s illustrious career as an usher came to a screeching halt when the manager discovered he had been letting his buddies in for free through the back door. The manager had been none the wiser to this arrangement for a while, though. One day the guys got a little too rowdy, and the manager asked to see thier ticket stubs, which, of course, they were unable to produce. Upon further questioning as to how they got in, they quickly ratted out their benefactor, thus ending Dad’s days of watching movies in private luxury upstairs, as his non-paying friends raised a ruckus down below. He wasn’t too devastated, though. He hated wearing what he called his “Monkey Suit”. This was the standard garb for ushers at the Malverne (and probably similar to what ushers wore everywhere in those days)– a grey jacket, slacks and hat with maroon trim, white shirt, and a cardboard dickey with a bow tie. You’d get busted for having a dirty dickey; this was one of the mgr.’s pet peeves, haha. Dad made 50 cents an hour for usher duty, a whopping 75 cents/hr for those days when he filled in for the mighty ticket-tearer. Box office duty was reserved for attractive girls in their late teens or early twenties. Dad still visits family in Malverne every weekend, but he has not seen a movie at the Malverne since the old days. I spent the better part of my childhood in Malverne, and can (barely) remember when it was a single screen house. Used to go sometimes once they twinned it and they were showing off price films, and have seen some of the offbeat stuff there. I haven’t been there since they added screens, and I have to admit, I’m put off by lack of stereo sound. Doesn’t seem to faze the Malvernites, though. The place still does a good business, and there are always people about whenever I drive by. I"ll have to stop in and ask if the private screening room is still in use!
I grew up in the southernmost portion of the Village of Hempstead, right by the Southern State, and the blight has slowly but surely been working its way down. The neighborhood is still quiet, and our block still has a few of the old families left on it. I remember as a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s my sister and I were allowed to go on bus missions to the movies pretty much anywhere local EXCEPT to the theaters in Hempstead, our own hometown. Pity, but with good reason. So I never got to see a movie in any of the old theaters, and it’s so interesting reading these posts! My only memory of the Hempstead is waiting in line at the DMV, and marvelling at the beautiful ceiling, wondering what it must’ve looked like in its original incarnation. I can remember driving past the theaters
knowing I’d probably never, ever see the inside of these places. Thanks for your shared memories. Just about the only thing we did in the Village after a point was go to the A&S and DMV. The DMV had moved out of the Hempstead to a teeny little office next to the office where you’d go to pay parking tickets, and that’s gone now, too. Haven’t seen the inside of the Hempstead as a church. Has anyone else?
I practically lived in this theater when I was 17 and my best friend worked at the concession stand. I remember thinking it was an oddly laid-out place until I realized that it had been a single screen house long before that. We came of age in the multi- and megaplex era, when the neighborhood theaters were either shuttered and in ruins, or being turned into offices, condos(!), churches(!!), and the like. Some had undergone sub-subdivisions, like the Franklin Quad, as it was known then. I remember going to a lot of these places as a kid when they were simply halved and called “twins”, but by the mid-eighties, twins were on their way out around here. That’s what I loved about the Franklin, that it managed to survive its subdivisions and remain a neighborhood hangout. I have fond memories of the upstairs balcony theaters, which on slow nights, were like private screening rooms. Bad weather was a super bonus, as far as “privacy” was concerned when the boyfriends were around and the upstairs became neckers' paradise. Even though the balcony theaters were tiny, they were great. I haven’t been back since they added 2 screens; God knows how small the screens must be now. I’ll have to go check it out.
OK, I’ve got an anecdote and some info from my Dad, who was born and raised in Malverne. He worked at the Malverne as an usher back in 1952 for about 6 months; he was 15. RobertR is correct, it didn’t have a balcony. Look at the photos Warren posted (Dad liked those, BTW); in the second pair there’s a photo of the rear of the house, and you can see the doorway that leads to the stairs to the projection room, and the private screening room. The window of this screening room can also be seen in this photo, just to the left of the projection openings. I don’t know if this was a common feature in theaters, but Dad sure liked it- that was his favorite place to watch movies. This room was soundproof, with its own speakers, and had a seating capacity of about 10-15. Dad’s illustrious career as an usher came to a screeching halt when the manager discovered he had been letting his buddies in for free through the back door. The manager had been none the wiser to this arrangement for a while, though. One day the guys got a little too rowdy, and the manager asked to see thier ticket stubs, which, of course, they were unable to produce. Upon further questioning as to how they got in, they quickly ratted out their benefactor, thus ending Dad’s days of watching movies in private luxury upstairs, as his non-paying friends raised a ruckus down below. He wasn’t too devastated, though. He hated wearing what he called his “Monkey Suit”. This was the standard garb for ushers at the Malverne (and probably similar to what ushers wore everywhere in those days)– a grey jacket, slacks and hat with maroon trim, white shirt, and a cardboard dickey with a bow tie. You’d get busted for having a dirty dickey; this was one of the mgr.’s pet peeves, haha. Dad made 50 cents an hour for usher duty, a whopping 75 cents/hr for those days when he filled in for the mighty ticket-tearer. Box office duty was reserved for attractive girls in their late teens or early twenties. Dad still visits family in Malverne every weekend, but he has not seen a movie at the Malverne since the old days. I spent the better part of my childhood in Malverne, and can (barely) remember when it was a single screen house. Used to go sometimes once they twinned it and they were showing off price films, and have seen some of the offbeat stuff there. I haven’t been there since they added screens, and I have to admit, I’m put off by lack of stereo sound. Doesn’t seem to faze the Malvernites, though. The place still does a good business, and there are always people about whenever I drive by. I"ll have to stop in and ask if the private screening room is still in use!
Hey!
I had no idea! Thanks sooo much for the tip, Ligg!
I grew up in the southernmost portion of the Village of Hempstead, right by the Southern State, and the blight has slowly but surely been working its way down. The neighborhood is still quiet, and our block still has a few of the old families left on it. I remember as a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s my sister and I were allowed to go on bus missions to the movies pretty much anywhere local EXCEPT to the theaters in Hempstead, our own hometown. Pity, but with good reason. So I never got to see a movie in any of the old theaters, and it’s so interesting reading these posts! My only memory of the Hempstead is waiting in line at the DMV, and marvelling at the beautiful ceiling, wondering what it must’ve looked like in its original incarnation. I can remember driving past the theaters
knowing I’d probably never, ever see the inside of these places. Thanks for your shared memories. Just about the only thing we did in the Village after a point was go to the A&S and DMV. The DMV had moved out of the Hempstead to a teeny little office next to the office where you’d go to pay parking tickets, and that’s gone now, too. Haven’t seen the inside of the Hempstead as a church. Has anyone else?
I practically lived in this theater when I was 17 and my best friend worked at the concession stand. I remember thinking it was an oddly laid-out place until I realized that it had been a single screen house long before that. We came of age in the multi- and megaplex era, when the neighborhood theaters were either shuttered and in ruins, or being turned into offices, condos(!), churches(!!), and the like. Some had undergone sub-subdivisions, like the Franklin Quad, as it was known then. I remember going to a lot of these places as a kid when they were simply halved and called “twins”, but by the mid-eighties, twins were on their way out around here. That’s what I loved about the Franklin, that it managed to survive its subdivisions and remain a neighborhood hangout. I have fond memories of the upstairs balcony theaters, which on slow nights, were like private screening rooms. Bad weather was a super bonus, as far as “privacy” was concerned when the boyfriends were around and the upstairs became neckers' paradise. Even though the balcony theaters were tiny, they were great. I haven’t been back since they added 2 screens; God knows how small the screens must be now. I’ll have to go check it out.