Bethpage Theatre
4230 Hempstead Turnpike,
Bethpage,
NY
11714
4230 Hempstead Turnpike,
Bethpage,
NY
11714
4 people
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This opened on November 16,1960. Grand opening ad already posted.
The New Bethpage Theatre (new coat of paint!) opened on December 23rd, 1977. ad posted.
I SAW A HAND FULL OF MOVIES THERE,“HAROLD and MAUD”,“UP THE SAND BOX,"M.A.S.H"and"THE GODFATHER”.I BOUGHT SOME OLD MOVIE POSTERS THEY WERE SELLING FOR $1.00 each"THE SAND PEBBLES",“WHERE EAGLES DARE"and A JAMES BOND DOUBLE FEATURE POSTER. I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT ALL THEY HAD.
In the street view photo, the right hand portion of the building in the rear, that with the squared entrance portico, is the former Bethpage. That is exactly where the entrance to the theatre was. Hopefully when RSB takes some pictures they’ll include the vertical ribbing in the rear and the jutting section which housed the AC. The new facade they put on the building when they added the extension to the left and added windows totally obliterates any “theatre” look. Even in the day, there was no marquee, only a pylon.
Thanks, Rob…I’m gonna try to ride past there tomorrow to take a picture to post & get the correct address. I still can’t believe I can’t remember there being a movie theater there!
Correction to my 12/26 posting. The old theatre was as the right of the Medical/Professional Building. At the far right you can see the jutting part of the building which housed the AC. Although the facade facing Hempstead Turnpike is flat, you can see the typical “ribbing” on the back wall. The building extension, to the east, does not have the “ribbing”.
It was there when I moved to Farmingdale in 1967. I think it made it into the early nineties.
Wow…now I know just where it was…I’ve lived in this general area my whole life and I never realized there was a theater on that spot! Any idea on the time window it opened & closed? The next time I pass by there, I’ll stop and take a picture and post it here.
The Bethpage was located on the South side of Hempstead Turnpike west of the Seaford Oyster Bay. There is now a cojoined building there which is a medical professional center. The portion on the left was the old theatre. The next time I’m in the area I’ll look up the address and put it on CT so the street view will be correct.
I’m having a hard time trying to figure out just exactly where this theater was. The map certainly doesn’t help, and appears way off. What is now where the theater was?
The Bethpage was a free standing theatre under the AIT banner. It was never under UA (or Prudential which was the fore runner of UA)
In the 50s and 60s, the Bethpage located off of Hempstead Tpke. showed cutting edge films such as “The Balcony with Shelly Winters and Ruby Dee…..It was a small one level theater with a small marque….Possbly seating 300 at most……Jos From Florida….sasheegm
It’s either this theater or The Old Bethpage, which ever one was located on Hempstaed Tpke and next to The Embassy Diner, was at one time owned and operated by the same gentleman who owned The Deer Park Theater, The North Babylon Twin, The Levittown Twin (on Hempstead Tpke), The Franklin Square Twin / Quad (Hempstead Tpke) as well as others. My father was GM for the owner and ran all his theaters. After the owner bought it, he twinned it. It was the first theater I actually worked at with my dad, Christmas 1976. Eventually I would spend most of my time at the Deer Park Theater but at some point worked at each theater my dad ran. One picture I remember opening there was Julia with Jane Fonda …ZZZZZZ…well I was a kid and it wasn’t my knid of film. Still, it was here I learned the art of ripping tickets, sweeping a lobby and making popcorn salty enough that you just have to get a soda, a large soda to go with it. Great memories.