My sister took me to a midnight show of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” when I was around 12 years old (around 1979). The place was filled with rowdy teens, but I had a great time. She also took me to see “The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball” (a live Monty Python movie). My sister Cathy is 7 years older than me and she was a constant participant at the showings of “Rocky Horror” at the Island Theater in the adjoining shopping center. I’m sure she has some good stories to tell.
The portion of the strip mall next to the bowling alley that contained the theater was demolished about 7 years ago. The building was replaced by a fitness center operated by Bayshore hopital. No part of the original structure still exists, it was leveled to the ground.
I had my first car accident in the parking lot. It was not my fault, but a drunk woman sideswiped the whole side of my car while I sat stationary and she was passing me at 5 MPH. She started scraping along at the front bumber and stopped when she got to the back. I was sitting in the drivers seat gritting my teeth as she slowly SSCCHHEEETTCCCHHHEEEDDDD down the entire length of my car. Then to add insult to injury, the cops arrested her as she struggled to resist being handcuffed on the truck of MY car. It is a memory that I will have with me always.
When I moved to NJ in 1980, this theater was within walking distance of my house. I went to matinees every weekend. I fondly recall seeing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” dozens of times. This was in the day when a film would stay in the same theater for months, so I had the opportunity to see this great film over and over again. I also recall seeing “Grease” multiple times as well.
When I first went to the theater it was known as the Strathmore Twin. It was a 2 theater cinema with the lobby in the center of the building and a screen on either side of the building. It has since been split into a 4 screen theater. Each of the 2 rooms were split in half to create a quad cinema.
My fondest memory of this theater was seeing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” when I was 15. The theater was within walking distance of my house, so I visited it often (along with the Strathmore Twin down the road). I also recall going to the Saturday afternoon matinee showings of the “In Search of Bigfoot” and “In Search of Noah’s Ark” documentaries.
This place was my “go to” theater once I got my drivers license in 1985. I remember going to the sold out opening Friday night midnight showing of Aliens and being impressed with the sound quality of the presentation. I was used to the subpar quality of my local movie house, the Strathmore Twin in Aberdeen, and Amboy was a vast improvement.
I have heard that the Amboy structure has been deemed uninhabitable. The structure was built on partial land-fill on the marshlands of the Raritan River. The ground beneath the foundation of the lobby and concession area had begun to collapse and make the building unstable. I hear that the floor level in the lobby has dropped. I don’t think that there is any chance that the theater will ever reopen. The building would require demolition and major reconstruction.
Does anyone know anything about this?
My sister took me to a midnight show of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” when I was around 12 years old (around 1979). The place was filled with rowdy teens, but I had a great time. She also took me to see “The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball” (a live Monty Python movie). My sister Cathy is 7 years older than me and she was a constant participant at the showings of “Rocky Horror” at the Island Theater in the adjoining shopping center. I’m sure she has some good stories to tell.
The portion of the strip mall next to the bowling alley that contained the theater was demolished about 7 years ago. The building was replaced by a fitness center operated by Bayshore hopital. No part of the original structure still exists, it was leveled to the ground.
I had my first car accident in the parking lot. It was not my fault, but a drunk woman sideswiped the whole side of my car while I sat stationary and she was passing me at 5 MPH. She started scraping along at the front bumber and stopped when she got to the back. I was sitting in the drivers seat gritting my teeth as she slowly SSCCHHEEETTCCCHHHEEEDDDD down the entire length of my car. Then to add insult to injury, the cops arrested her as she struggled to resist being handcuffed on the truck of MY car. It is a memory that I will have with me always.
When I moved to NJ in 1980, this theater was within walking distance of my house. I went to matinees every weekend. I fondly recall seeing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” dozens of times. This was in the day when a film would stay in the same theater for months, so I had the opportunity to see this great film over and over again. I also recall seeing “Grease” multiple times as well.
When I first went to the theater it was known as the Strathmore Twin. It was a 2 theater cinema with the lobby in the center of the building and a screen on either side of the building. It has since been split into a 4 screen theater. Each of the 2 rooms were split in half to create a quad cinema.
My fondest memory of this theater was seeing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” when I was 15. The theater was within walking distance of my house, so I visited it often (along with the Strathmore Twin down the road). I also recall going to the Saturday afternoon matinee showings of the “In Search of Bigfoot” and “In Search of Noah’s Ark” documentaries.
This place was my “go to” theater once I got my drivers license in 1985. I remember going to the sold out opening Friday night midnight showing of Aliens and being impressed with the sound quality of the presentation. I was used to the subpar quality of my local movie house, the Strathmore Twin in Aberdeen, and Amboy was a vast improvement.
I have heard that the Amboy structure has been deemed uninhabitable. The structure was built on partial land-fill on the marshlands of the Raritan River. The ground beneath the foundation of the lobby and concession area had begun to collapse and make the building unstable. I hear that the floor level in the lobby has dropped. I don’t think that there is any chance that the theater will ever reopen. The building would require demolition and major reconstruction.
Does anyone know anything about this?