From Newsday, Dec 21, 2009
New owner has big plans for former Islip Theater
December 21, 2009 By JENNIFER MALONEY
The Islip Theater, which residents rallied to save from demolition, has been granted an encore.
Under a new name, the Dorotheater, it will offer movies and music and house its own symphony orchestra, said the building’s new owner, Edward Lambese, who chose the name to honor his mother, Dorothy.
“The building said, ‘Help me!’ ” Lambese said. “It was nothing short of a miracle.”
The former owner, Jim Nazzaro, applied to the Islip planning board earlier this year to raze the vacant cinema, which stopped showing movies in 2006, and build a day care center on the property, on Main Street in Islip. Though Nazzaro, of East Islip, had already entered into an agreement with a New Jersey-based day care center chain, The Learning Experience, he gave Lambese permission to begin cleaning up the building in case the day care deal fell through.
Nazzaro, a developer, withdrew the application for the day care center on Nov. 25. His withdrawal letter to the town did not cite a reason.
Nazzaro did not respond to requests for comment.
Lambese, a professional string player who performs with the West Islip Symphony, said his purchase of the 60-year-old cinema was finalized two weeks ago. He would not disclose the sale price.
Town Planning Commissioner Gene Murphy said the town is pleased by the plot twist.
“The planning department had concerns about the scale of day care,” he said. “The goal of preserving the theater and preserving its use as a theater is something the town completely supports.”
Lambese, 53, of Bay Shore, said he’s tentatively planning an opening concert for early January, pending a furnace repair. He has submitted an application for nonprofit status.
His vision of the space – “a little Radio City Music Hall” – will require major renovations: new plumbing, new air conditioning and a conversion, in progress, from triplex to the original single auditorium. But shows can begin in the upstairs auditorium, he said.
Acknowledging the recession and the recent closure of Huntington’s IMAC Theater, Lambese said his business model is different. “We’re going to be a multipurpose entertainment playhouse,” he said. “It’s going to serve the community’s entertainment needs.”
The theater will present live performances on weekends and classic movies during the week, he said.
It was 1980 that it burned. Early am Christmas morning.
I don’t know if it was an arson. It was an old wooden building. Everything was about a million years old. Could have easily been innocent.
I remember when the theater burned down. A friend lived in the house across the street. It was bitterly cold that night and so everything froze into an amazing ice palace, the trees, the road, the burnt out theater…
By the way – It had closed not long before it burned. Just before that it had gone porno for a brief time. The day it burned down, Islip Theater was re-opening after having renovated to go Triplex.
I lived within walking distance and saw Sound of Music there when I was 7, 2x! Once was a birthday party.
Saw A Star is Born w/Barbra Streisand
I saw Rocky there when it first came out. There was one guy running the whole place that night. Selling the tickets, and the popcorn and running the film. At one reel change he forgot to turn on the next projector (Rocky and Adrian are talking on the sofa). The reel ran out and we sat in blackness. Everyone started shouting “Hey! Change the reel!” and other things. You could hear him running up stairs and starting the projector and then running downstairs….but wait! The sound wasn’t turned up! More yelling and he had to run back up the stairs to fix it again!
I remember trying to sneak into an R movie when I was 16 or 17 and had to convince the ticket person that the person I was with was my 20 year old aunt! So I was supervised! Too funny! I don’t remember what movie it was, but I’m sure it was rated R. How many R movies were there in 76-77? LOL!
From Newsday, Dec 21, 2009
New owner has big plans for former Islip Theater
December 21, 2009 By JENNIFER MALONEY
The Islip Theater, which residents rallied to save from demolition, has been granted an encore.
Under a new name, the Dorotheater, it will offer movies and music and house its own symphony orchestra, said the building’s new owner, Edward Lambese, who chose the name to honor his mother, Dorothy.
“The building said, ‘Help me!’ ” Lambese said. “It was nothing short of a miracle.”
The former owner, Jim Nazzaro, applied to the Islip planning board earlier this year to raze the vacant cinema, which stopped showing movies in 2006, and build a day care center on the property, on Main Street in Islip. Though Nazzaro, of East Islip, had already entered into an agreement with a New Jersey-based day care center chain, The Learning Experience, he gave Lambese permission to begin cleaning up the building in case the day care deal fell through.
Nazzaro, a developer, withdrew the application for the day care center on Nov. 25. His withdrawal letter to the town did not cite a reason.
Nazzaro did not respond to requests for comment.
Lambese, a professional string player who performs with the West Islip Symphony, said his purchase of the 60-year-old cinema was finalized two weeks ago. He would not disclose the sale price.
Town Planning Commissioner Gene Murphy said the town is pleased by the plot twist.
“The planning department had concerns about the scale of day care,” he said. “The goal of preserving the theater and preserving its use as a theater is something the town completely supports.”
Lambese, 53, of Bay Shore, said he’s tentatively planning an opening concert for early January, pending a furnace repair. He has submitted an application for nonprofit status.
His vision of the space – “a little Radio City Music Hall” – will require major renovations: new plumbing, new air conditioning and a conversion, in progress, from triplex to the original single auditorium. But shows can begin in the upstairs auditorium, he said.
Acknowledging the recession and the recent closure of Huntington’s IMAC Theater, Lambese said his business model is different. “We’re going to be a multipurpose entertainment playhouse,” he said. “It’s going to serve the community’s entertainment needs.”
The theater will present live performances on weekends and classic movies during the week, he said.
It was 1980 that it burned. Early am Christmas morning.
I don’t know if it was an arson. It was an old wooden building. Everything was about a million years old. Could have easily been innocent.
btw – it opened as a triplex the day EI movie theater burned to the ground (which was early am Christmas morning early 80s).
http://islippavilion.com/index.html
I remember when the theater burned down. A friend lived in the house across the street. It was bitterly cold that night and so everything froze into an amazing ice palace, the trees, the road, the burnt out theater…
By the way – It had closed not long before it burned. Just before that it had gone porno for a brief time. The day it burned down, Islip Theater was re-opening after having renovated to go Triplex.
I lived within walking distance and saw Sound of Music there when I was 7, 2x! Once was a birthday party.
Saw A Star is Born w/Barbra Streisand
I saw Rocky there when it first came out. There was one guy running the whole place that night. Selling the tickets, and the popcorn and running the film. At one reel change he forgot to turn on the next projector (Rocky and Adrian are talking on the sofa). The reel ran out and we sat in blackness. Everyone started shouting “Hey! Change the reel!” and other things. You could hear him running up stairs and starting the projector and then running downstairs….but wait! The sound wasn’t turned up! More yelling and he had to run back up the stairs to fix it again!
I remember trying to sneak into an R movie when I was 16 or 17 and had to convince the ticket person that the person I was with was my 20 year old aunt! So I was supervised! Too funny! I don’t remember what movie it was, but I’m sure it was rated R. How many R movies were there in 76-77? LOL!
Are they really “reopening” it? Is there a website for it?