Colonial Theater
247 Wanaque Avenue,
Pompton Lakes,
NJ
07442
247 Wanaque Avenue,
Pompton Lakes,
NJ
07442
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Here’s a piece of Colonial Twin history! (Albeit a crazy piece!)
Aside from being funny, Colonial Twin Follies also represents the most extensive collection of footage captured in the historic theater. The footage was taken 80 years after its doors opened in 1913, and just 4 short years before it closed its doors for good in 1997.
www.youtube.com/@TheColonialTwinFollies
In the summer of 1993, the crew of a tiny movie theater in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey videotaped a simple little birthday greeting to their friend and former colleague, Glenn. Little did they know, nearly twenty years after it was made, that same video would resurface as a reality series!
Witness their hilarious hijinks, their madcap antics, and the events that unfold in this uniquely original, wacky and whimsical, once-in-a-lifetime reality series, throughout which the crew attempts to achieve their ultimate goal: A birthday greeting to Glenn from the neighborhood cross-dresser, Roger!
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE and get notified when each episode of COLONIAL TWIN FOLLIES premieres!
www.youtube.com/@TheColonialTwinFollies
Ironic that the last movie to play at the Colonial Twin in Pompton Lakes was In & Out because it was actually filmed in Pompton Lakes High School!!!
Twinned in June 1983, closed on October 9, 1997 with “In & Out” in Screen 1 and “Game” in Screen 2.
yes i was working there at that time ,the theater billed the show “see all the planet of the apes films"Go ape for a day!i loved that theater i have been showing films ever since.i use to do all the week end midnight shows also.the very first film i showed there was song of the south.i went to lakeland during the week and worked the colonial on the week ends.
In 1974 Colonial had Ape’s Fest. This was the entire Planet Of The Apes franchise in one sitting.
I remember seeing The Day of the Jackal,The Helstrom Chronicles and Fiddler on the Roof while it was still a single screen theatre
I saw “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at The Colonial back in the mid ‘80s.
This theater is still listed as having two screens and 800 seats. Not true. The fact is, this theater showed it’s last movie back in 1996…15 years ago! It has only one small stage upstairs that now showcases live theater, (The Smiling Rhino Theater). The downstairs theater was totally gutted back in the mid/late 90’s and has since been used as a teen community center. No screens…no movies…The Colonial, no more!
I saw a fantastic double feature here in the ‘70s: “Forbidden Planet” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
The owner eventually did!
I watched two of the clips and can’t stomach any more. The owner should have hired people who cared.
Great idea.Had I had a video camera when I worked in the Business in 70’s and 80’s I certainly would have shot alot of video.Wish we had something like that in those days.You will treasure it for sure.
Hi There. I worked at the Colonial Twin back in 1992-1993. I found some old newspaper pages from the Trends, dated Sunday, September 16th 1973, The pages were commemorating the theater’s 6oth anniversary. From the articles printed in that paper, I learned the following interesting facts about the old Colonial Theater:
* It opened September 20, 1913 as Cowdry’s Playhouse, which in addition to “flickers,” catered to mostly stage plays. It also featured stock shows, minstrels, & Vaudville.
* In 1925, the Colonial was the first theater in the East to install the new RCA sound system.
* In 1945, the Colonial was remodeled, with the seating capacity increased from 525 to 1,100 seats.
* Famous boxer Joe Lewis would frequent the Colonial to watch films of his opponents before fights.
* Babe Ruth also frequented the Colonial, according to Harold Alward, the theaters projectionist since 1917.
The Colonial was turned into a twin in the early 1980’s and closed it’s doors in 1996. The last movie to ever play there, was “In and Out” which ironically was shot at the Pompton Lakes High School right behind the theater!!! How’s that for a coincidence???
From the early 1950s a postcard view of the Colonial Theatre in Pompton Lakes.
hello well i was one of the relieaf projectionist at the colonial in the 70’s Harold allwood was the resident senior projectionist.I think the first film i showed was across 110th st with anthony quinn. And also i ran the sound of music.I was going to lakeland regional high in wanaque nj and it was hard getting up in the morning after running film the night before but i t was a really fun time for me.I think the managers name was mr.batson he was a very tall guy but he gave me my first break running the projectors and i ahve been doing it ever since i now work in ca in a 20 screen multi-plex well thats all i can share for now.peach
1968 listing (top – no picture – Rosemary’s Baby) courtesy of Bill Huelbig:
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Old postcard:
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Listed in the 1941 Film Daily Yearbook with a seating capacity of 800.