Smithtown Theater

With so many historical places having disappeared on Long Island over the years, it’s always nice to report when one is still there. Such is the case with the Smithtown Theater. Now known as the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, this little theater has been entertaining locals for an astounding eighty years and counting.

Located on Main street in the heart of Smithtown, the single screen theater opened in 1932. Featuring over 500 seats and a balcony, the theater was one of the biggest attractions of the area.

In the early days, the Smithtown theater featured a mixture of vaudeville shows and movies, showing some of the biggest pictures of the day, such as Casablanca and Gone With the Wind. At the time, it was one of a very few movie houses spread out across Long Island.

As the years passed, the luster began to fade, and in 1968, the aging theater was purchased by United Artists. The theater still showed first run movies for much of the 70s, but eventually became a budget cinema offering two-dollar movies.

That was quite the bargain, considering you were offered the chance to experience a dying breed, a theater made back when movies didn’t resemble rows of concrete bunkers, back when people actually cared about how such places looked.

This story might have ended with the destruction of this historic building in 2001, when United Artists put it up for sale. But the locals, bless their hearts, put their collective feet down and organized a petition to save their beloved building.

A “Save the Theater” petition was started and garnered some 8,000 signatures. That was enough to save the Smithtown Theater and shortly after, it was purchased by Ken and Laura Washington who extensively renovated the facility and renamed it the Smithtown Performing Arts Center.

They re-opened the doors to the public and hosted some 1,500 productions within the first six years under their ownership. The Washington family still owns the theater, which also hosts a number of acting workshops, camps, and youth productions. It is estimated that over a half-million patrons have visited the theater in the last 10 years alone.

Smithtown Theater 2
Of course, in this day and age, one can’t assume that the theater will be there forever. In 2012, the theater was again in danger of closing, and only dodged the bullet thanks to raising 25K in donations to stay afloat.

One can only hope that the local populace will remain diligent and help ensure that this historic venue continues to entertain Long Islanders for years to come.

 

Do you have fond memories of seeing movies at the Smithtown Theater back in the 1970s? Do you remember what you saw there? I’d love to hear any and all memories you have of this historic venue in our comments section below, as we pay tribute to another historical location on Long Island.

You may also like...

20 Responses

  1. Amanda says:

    Does anyone know what the name (first and last) of the projectionist that was killed in a car accident in Kings Park New York? He also apparently worked at the theater in Northport as well prior to his death. Year or death? Year started working there/. Any help would be greatly appreciated

  2. Dino says:

    My Dad used to take me here when I was a kid, wow what a memory blast. we used to sit in the balcony, i can remember seeing Poseidon Adventure and live and let die here..

  3. Babette prinzo says:

    I grew up in smithtown and I saw Jaws their and close encounters of the third kind and every other movie they showed. Best memories of my childhood. I hope they never close it. I just wish it was still a movie theater.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I saw soooo many movies here as a kid,and teen into early 20s.as,a kid I remember lines outside long line..my brother was an usher there so I went to front of line and got in!!the balcony was unique and the huge bathrm the sml but perfect concession stand…great place

  5. Sandy Albrecht says:

    I saw my first “movie theater” movie there….Mary Poppins!

  6. Mark Fiedler says:

    I remember seeing Jaws,The sound of music, American graffiti and the Sting

  7. Barbra Haubeil Lopez says:

    I saw Earthquake there and the rumble made your seats shake! Saw many others as well. I do remember that I loved looking at the silhouette pictures on the walls – if memory serves me correctly, there were of Mickey Mouse??

  8. Barbara Lopez says:

    I saw Earthquake there and the rumble made the seats quake. Saw many others as well. I do remember that I liked to look at the silhouette pictures on the wall. If memory serves me correctly, they were of Mickey Mouse???

  9. Desiree Vogel says:

    I saw Star Wars for my 10th Birthday all 5 of us girls..cousins Dawn and Todd and my Aunt Margie..best birthday ever. Saw the Black Cauldron as a teen with my gang of friends…too cool. Oh and Ghost Busters…yeah..lived in Smithtown..walked that strip..hung out at Friendlys…good times.

  10. Patty Dellegar Harper says:

    I saw too many films to count there and remember it being 75-cents, but my most favorite thing were the lights that lined the walls. Vintage Disney designs. Treasures. Hope they’re still there.

  11. Mark Goldberg (Old Gymnast) says:

    I was fortunate enough to photograph the theater as it was closing as a theater and becoming a performance space back in 2001: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2105850279134.2102946.1031830843&type=1&l=b844aa0bb6

  12. Lesley Ferguson says:

    In the 60’s, the Saturday matinee was 75 cents. My mom would drop us off with a dollar each. The other quarter would buy two regular candy bars, like a Snickers or whatever, and a small thing, like a candy necklace or wax lips.

  13. Carl says:

    I remember seeing Smokey and the bandit
    The in laws and many movies . I always tried to go upstairs to the balcony.

  14. Larry says:

    I remember seeing Planet of the Apes with my 1st real girlfriend back around 1973 or so. Then walking over to Woolworths after for a snack. Those were truly the days…..

  15. I lived in Smithtown when I was a kid back in the 50s and 60s. I used to go with my family/friends to see movies at the theater. I remember seeing “King of Kings” and a movie named “Zots” ( I got in trouble for seeing that. I was supposed to be home for dinner; but I went to the movie anyway and got home late.).

  16. Lanny says:

    I saw “JAWS 3-D” here as well as “ALIENS”.

  17. Leeya C. says:

    The double-feature movies during the summer vacations were awesome! Lots of Disney themed movies. I remember watching the Apple Dumpling Gang starring Don Knotts while we enjoyed bags of Jolly Rancher candies!

  18. James says:

    I saw the original “Planet of the Apes” there in 1968. And I saw my first Marx brothers movie there, “Animal Crackers” in 1973. I remember the theater was right next to Gilmour Ford where my father bought all of his cars. We would ride our bikes there on many Saturday afternoons. We went to this theater or the one in Hauppauge, but mostly this theater.

Leave a Reply to Amanda Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *