Sunwave Twin Theater
404 Sunrise Highway,
Patchogue,
NY
11772
404 Sunrise Highway,
Patchogue,
NY
11772
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 32 comments
This opened as the UA Sun/Wave Twin Cinema on February 3rd, 1971. Grand opening ad posted.
One of the old movie poster display cases still exists there. It’s right next to the liquor store; they use it for advertising their wares.
Speaking of the last show at Commack, that, according to comments on the site, it history after next week. Comments also indicate the Green Acres closed.
Yeah, I knew the indoor theater had been incorporated into the multiplex from the comments on that theater page. Wish I’d known it when the theater was open. I would’ve made a point of checking it out. As it is, the only time I was ever to the Patchogue Multiplex was to see a late night showing of Jason Goes to Hell. Either we missed the last showing at Commack or it was sold out so we burned rubber to make it to Patchogue.
Yes, that is a theater that really closed before it’s time, the Brookhaven Multiplex was not even 20 years old, and wasn’t in bad shape. I remember going there as a teenager, and the place was mobbed on a Friday night with lines of people waiting to get into the theaters….
Short life for a theatre is not unusual when you figure all the advances made and the fact that nobody builds their own anymore. Brookhaven Multiplex had 18 years.
The Multiplex must have been right on the verge of opening. By the way, the old Drive in at the Multiplex site also had an “indoor” theater for when weather was bad. That old indoor theater was incorporated into the new multiplex built around it and was the 13th theater in the multiplex.
Well, it makes sense that the SunWave, at least would have had no chance against the multiplex. It would have been virtually next door. However, the September 15, 1986 issue of New York has no listing for the SunWave (so maybe August 1986 was SunWave’s last month) or the Plaza but also no listing for the multiplex. Only the Patchogue is listed (as Patchogue Triplex). I think the Plaza closed a full year before the multiplex opened for business.
Anyway, the September 8, 1986 issue lists the SunWave as showing The Fly and Night of the Creeps, both “through Sept. 4.” Nothing is listed as beginning on Sept. 5. So it appears we’ve pinned the final official night of this theater down to September 4, 1986.
I also note that there are no listings in the August/Sept. 1986 issues for the drive-in, so clearly the multiplex was on the verge of opening.
That’s right around the time the Patchogue Multiplex opened at the old Patchogue Drive in site. The Patchogue Multiplex closed the old Patchogue Theater (now the performing arts theater on Main St), the SunWave, and the Plaza in one swoop.
The August 4, 1986 issue of New York Magazine lists the Sunwave as showing About Last Night and The Karate Kid Part II. The January 19, 1987 issue has no listing. So it looks like the latter part of 1986 was the last gasp for this place. Combined with Joe Vogel’s post from 12/8/09 indicating that a 1971 issue of Box Office described the Sunwave as “new” it seems this theater had a pretty short life of only 15 or 16 years.
Howards moved there about 10-12 years ago when there used to be a Rockbottom Store next to Staples, and it expanded into the space where Howards used to be. Currently, it is a tanning salon, once Rockbottom went out of business. Similarly, about 10 years ago, when Waldbaums expanded, they took over the space where La Strada used to be, and they moved into the theater space next to Howards, and currently is a different Italian restaurant. Before Howards or the Italian Restaurant occupied the theater site, all three stores combined (the liquor store, Italian Restaurant, and Howards) used to be a Carpet store.
I stopped by Howard’s Cafe yesterday to see whether there might be a picture on the wall somewhere from when it was a theater. No dice. I talked a bit to a bartender who said Howard’s didn’t move directly in after the theater closed. There were a few years in between before Howard’s moved from the corner to where the theater used to be.
The current picture doesn’t do justice to the theater location, by the way. If you look at an angle from either the side of Howard’s or the side of the liquor store it’s much easier to see that Howard’s, the restaurant and the liquor store are all in a two-story building where the rest of the strip is one story.
This house must have opened as a twin. The August 23, 1971, issue of Boxoffice had an item about division managers for United Artists Theatres which said “In Central Suffolk, Herman Ficken continues with 13 theatres, including the new Sun/Wave Twin cinemas in Patchogue.” No details about the theater were given.
Thanks for your description of the old SunWave. I only vaguely remember it.
Was always a twin. One side was decorated in blue, the other was red. They were the same size. Very much like the twin in Farmingville… College Twin??
The Waldbuams used to be a “Hills” back in the early 80’s and threw the 70’s.
The first store to occupy the former theater was a carpet store I believe, before Howard’s Bar, La Strata Italian Restaurant, etc moved in. The carpet store was an ideal use I guess because of teh higher ceilings of the theater.
The Chinese Restaurant is still there, currently is called “Ming’s House”. Staples is in the old Play World store. Duane Reade is in the old Rockbottom’s store, which took over the original location of Howard’s Cafe and Bar, and the store next to that to make one big store. Howard’s Bar moved over to the Sunwave Theater location. There is also a dry cleaner in the shopping center. This past year or two, Waldbaums took over the stored near to it, including the original location of La Strada Italian Restaurant (the pizza place you mention?). La Strada then moved next to Howards Cafe, into the old SunWave Theater location.
There was a Chinese restaraunt, a Carvel and possibly a pizza place in this shopping center anchored by Waldbaums and Play World.
Does anyone remember the names of these places? (other than Carvel!!!)
I t was always a twin, great place to see a good flick with pizza to order after.
I’m pretty sure this theater was always a twin. I remember when my boss told me they needed a cashier to fill in. I worked at the Rialto. I was sent to the Sunwave and hated it because I couldn’t believe that they had to coordinate tickets for TWO different theaters! I was so relieved to get back to the Rialto!!!
I’m positive that it was a twin when I lived in Patchogue. This is the theater I think of when I smell air popped corn.
I was only in the building once when it was a theater (can’t even count the times now that it’s a bar!), so I really can’t remember, and was a kid at the time.
Maybe it should be changed to “twin” in the description above.
i do think this was a twin
Hmm, I don’t know if it was twinned, but it sure was possible.
Yes, Play World used to be in this shopping center. It was where Staples is now. It closed some time around 1995 or so.