Gateway Playhouse
738 Bay Avenue,
Somers Point,
NJ
08244
738 Bay Avenue,
Somers Point,
NJ
08244
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The Seaside Theatre opened on October 25, 1924. The first film presented was “The Spirit of the USA” starring Mary Carr and Johnnie Walker.
Used by the Atlantic Film Society July 9th, 1982-1984. ad posted.
article in yesterday Sunday Inquirer http://www.philly.com/archive/john_timpane/the-gateway-playhouse-rises-again-in-somers-point-20170809.html reopened, 220 seats, gutted & rebuilt for plays, concerts, musicals, other events, by nonprofit Theatre Collaborative of South Jersey which purchased it last year.
Status should be Closed/Renovating, as the theater is not operating and a nonprofit is working on restoring it. They have raised a good portion of the money they need and have received a post-Hurricane Sandy disaster grant that will go toward HVAC and electrical repair. Philly.com story here.
I was in Somers Point last month but I forgot to swing by here. Mr. Memory would be disappointed.
I saw a Cole Porter show at the Gateway about ten years ago. Does anyone have a preservation update since March 2006?
Listed as part of Shriver Theatres Co. in the 1976 International Motion Picture Almanac.
Somers Point’s pink theater saved from developers
July 21, 2005 •• 585 words •• ID: chr23680460
Courier-Post Staff SOMERS POINT Bill Marshall rescued the Gateway Playhouse eight years ago. Now the city has come to Gateway’s rescue, agreeing to buy the theater for $1.1 million rather than let it fall into the hands of developers bent on building more condominiums. The pink theater along Bay Avenue shut its doors after the 1998 death of Paul Aiken, who founded the South Jersey Regional Theatre at the Gateway. Marshall, a local pro golfer by trade, leased the theater ….
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Whent they twinned the Ventnor in the late 70’s they did a cheap job. They had no curtains or masking. It was a shame becuase the Ventor has a nice stage and screen with curtains. If I rememebr correctly they used the curtains in place of masking.
The Point 4 was originally a bowling alley that I patronized as a kid. Around 1983 the Frank family purchased it and converted it to 5 auditoriums, although only 4 were used. The 5th was left as a garage. The Franks already had plenty of screens in the area and with the Gateway theatre no longer showing movies, there was no other theatre in Somers Point. However, the Franks had been trying to obtain the boardwalk theatres in Ocean City for years, and this gave them a chance to compete for films in the same area, in some cases, preventing Ocean City from running good pictures. The Point 4 did take business from Ocean City. As a manager of the Point 4 I remember customers calling from O.C. to get directions to the Somers Point theatre.
The theatre used older Century heads and platter systems — one platter system for each pair of screens. Remote controls were in the lobby and I had installed indicator lights in the boxoffice to let the cashier know when the movies started. The auditoriums were rather simple, with no movable masking and no proscenium curtains.
I was often disappointed however that the equipment was often in need of repair, there were no spare parts, the sound leaked from each auditorium, and the lenses were in poor shape.
But in the end the theatre accomplished its mission. The Ocean City boardwalk theatres, long owned by the Shriver family, were sold to the Frank company (just like the Wildwood theatres) in 1989.
The Point 4 was built and operated by Frank Theaters and was a converted bowling alley. The theater was very cheap and austere looking. I always got the impression that they put as little money as absolutely possible into the conversion into a theater. It wasn’t the worst place to see a movie, but it was pretty lame even compared to most contemporary multiplexes. I recall that Frank Theaters had some problems with local business licensing ordinances and fees because they were operating an ice cream parlor on the premises of the theater. The Gateway would be missed, the Point 4 won’t.
The Point 4 was demolished a few months ago—there is a sign on the property for a shopping center complex coming.
The Gateway was part of the Shriver chain which owned all the theaters in Ocean City. Does anybody know if the Point 4 is still in operation?
Listed in Film Daily Yearbooks, 1941 through 1950 editions as the Seaside Theatre with 500 seats (in the 1940’s) and 380 seats in the 1950 edition.
I saw “Kelly’s Heroes” at the Gateway when it was a movie theatre.
What I remember was that it was a small(for that time)maybe 300 plus
seat theatre. The theatre was pretty plain, but very clean and well maintained. The most striking feature I recall was the screen, which was very large relative to the size of the theatre. It was slightly
curved with a full 2:35 to 1 scope ratio and stretched almost wall to wall. I don’t recall curtains or movable masking, but it was a long time ago. The people who worked at the theatre were also very nice and friendly. It would be great if it could be restored as a movie theatre again, it would make a great repertory/art house