It’s sad to see what was once likely a BEAUTIFUL theatre reduced to a shaky shell waiting to take her final bow into herself.
Unfortunately, not much is left there to save and structurally she grows increasingly unsafe. What’s left of the once impressive plaster details around the stage’s curtain is fire-scorched and crumbling away. The backdrops that hang there are mold-ridden and the lake of orange ooze underneath the stage isn’t doing the stage itself or anything else around it any good.
It’s not only a sad loss for the region, it’s a sad loss for those charming old theatres everywhere.
It was a wonderful place to work…lots of great memories of movies I’ve seen from the balcony there, great people…and a treasure trove of ornate detailing left from her Vaudeville days.
After its closing in the early 1980s, the theater was owned and operated by Conn Music Center…they sold mostly pianos/organs and taught music lessons in one of the two old theaters.
In the past 5-10 years, it was demolished, along with the old gas station/garage behind it on Old Deerfield Road, along with the junkyard that once sat behind it. (incidentally, it was discovered that the junkyard was a former Native American burial ground…bones were discovered that dated to 1000 years ago!)
A Jewel-Osco now sits where the General Cinema I & II once stood.
ALSO – the Toys R Us is still located in its original location, across the parking lot from it…and the cinema was the only part of the shopping complex that was demolished for redevelopment.
The State is currently for sale. I didn’t see the tiny sign until just now as I’m processing the photos from my June 21st visit to Point Pleasant.
Here are a couple of photos of what she looks like now. Poor old girl…a few VERY well-hidden hints of her former glory still sit in silent blackness.
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It’s sad to see what was once likely a BEAUTIFUL theatre reduced to a shaky shell waiting to take her final bow into herself.
Unfortunately, not much is left there to save and structurally she grows increasingly unsafe. What’s left of the once impressive plaster details around the stage’s curtain is fire-scorched and crumbling away. The backdrops that hang there are mold-ridden and the lake of orange ooze underneath the stage isn’t doing the stage itself or anything else around it any good.
It’s not only a sad loss for the region, it’s a sad loss for those charming old theatres everywhere.
It was a wonderful place to work…lots of great memories of movies I’ve seen from the balcony there, great people…and a treasure trove of ornate detailing left from her Vaudeville days.
After its closing in the early 1980s, the theater was owned and operated by Conn Music Center…they sold mostly pianos/organs and taught music lessons in one of the two old theaters.
In the past 5-10 years, it was demolished, along with the old gas station/garage behind it on Old Deerfield Road, along with the junkyard that once sat behind it. (incidentally, it was discovered that the junkyard was a former Native American burial ground…bones were discovered that dated to 1000 years ago!)
A Jewel-Osco now sits where the General Cinema I & II once stood.
ALSO – the Toys R Us is still located in its original location, across the parking lot from it…and the cinema was the only part of the shopping complex that was demolished for redevelopment.