Washington Theatres
165 E. Washington Avenue,
Washington,
NJ
07882
165 E. Washington Avenue,
Washington,
NJ
07882
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Brandt Theaters, Galaxy Theatre Corporation
Architects: James Lyons
Previous Names: Washington Theatre, Washington Twin Cinema
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Feb 23, 2009 — Washington Theatre reopens
The Washington Theatre was opened in 1926. It was built for both silent movies and vaudeville. The theatre seated 800. It was proclaimed “The Showplace of Northwestern New Jersey”. It was equipped with a Robert Morton 3 manual 2 ranks organ. Four years later it was modernized and wired with the addition of sound.
Opened by the Lions Theatre Circuit, the Washington Theatre has had many owners. In March 1978 the theatre was twinned. At this time much of its ornate style was covered over or destroyed. Over the years the Washington Theatres fell into a state of disrepair, and closed in 1997. It did not die however. It was briefly reopened by a local community group.
By 1998, it had beentwinned. In 1998 the Washington Theatres was acquired by Galaxy Theatres. Extensive renovations were done to restore the lobby area back to its grandeur. Also extensive cleanups and repairs to the auditoriums was done. However, the Washington Theatres did not survive long again in operation, closing about 2001.
It was reopened in May 2006 but had closed by 2016.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 54 comments)
Once operated by Brandt Theatres.
Would love to see this theater re-opened. I remember seeing Lost World Jurassic Park there.
Recent exterior shot in Photos.
Twinned in March 1978, once known as Washington Twin Cinema.
No mention here about anything being twinned there.
https://preservationnj.org/10-most/washington-theatre/
Where is the site/information/article in the Gleaner showing the twinning actually occured?
I don’t know when it was twinned, but it was certainly a twin when we reopened it as a Galaxy Theatre in 1998.
It has been a twin since March 1978 and indeed it was once known as Washington Twin Cinema. The earliest source that I can find about the Washington being twinned date back to March 9, 1978, which could be the exact date on when it became a twin.
and what is that source???
Posted the first twin ad.
great. what paper is it from?