Hudson Reporter Archive

Curtain goes up City’s only cinema will open with renovations

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Terminator,” the Hoboken Cinemas will be back. The city’s only movie theater, located on Hudson Street, had closed its doors on Jan. 1. Its new proprietor, Nelson Page of Galaxy Theaters, said it will reopen before the end of the month with a new look and more “upscale” movies. Page has leased the space for five years. Page says he is giving the facility a $150,000 facelift to provide moviegoers with a more comfortable, higher-quality movie experience. “When you first walk in here, if you don’t immediately feel the difference, than I haven’t done my job,” said Page, standing in front of one of the theater’s two screens. “When people [in the community] began to talk to me about this place, they said it was kind of a dump. But even though the place was kind of seedy – it had problems like the screens were ripped and the seats were all beat up – I knew it could be something special.” When the theater reopens, it will feature new screens, recovered seats, restored bathrooms, fresh-painted walls and a new candy and popcorn machine. Page has had the ceramic tiles that used to adorn the theater’s walls replaced with acoustic curtains that he says will “eliminate that echo and improve the all-around sound.” The name of the theater will also be new. “We are going to call it Hudson Street Cinemas,” said Page. “When I buy a theater, I try to never change its name, but Hoboken is a big place and a lot of people did not know where the theater was when it was called Hoboken Cinemas.” The theater will show more “upscale movies,” said Page, like art films, foreign films and films made for children. Anticipate an organ Page is not new to the movie business. He has made a business of opening and operating downtown theaters. Other theaters Page operates in New Jersey include the Galaxy Theater in Guttenberg, the Sparta Theater in Sparta, the Newton Theater in Newton, the Mall Theater in Hackettstown and the Washington Theater in the Washington Township. “The downtown theater was a little bit of Americana that was disappearing for a long time,” said Page. “But communities like Hoboken have reinvented the downtown and I want to be a part of that. No one I’ve talked to says that they like the mall environment more than strolling down Main Street and going to a movie.” To contribute to the ambiance of the refurbished theater, Page plans to install a pipe organ next to one of the screens. It will be used to entertain moviegoers during intermissions. “There was a time when movies were silent and all of the sound that was provided was made by these wonderful instruments,” said Page, who has contracted a professional musician to play the organ. “In order to be successful, you have to be different. You have to give people a reason to want to come to your theater.” Page expects to have the organ installed by the end of the summer. Movie fans can expect to pay a little more to attend the Hudson Street Cinemas than they did to attend the Hoboken Cinemas. Page says that he expects to charge $7.50 for a regular adult ticket and $5 for children and seniors. The Hoboken Cinemas had charged $6 for adults and $3.50 for children and seniors. Page also said that he would like to work with city officials on some community-oriented programming. He said that he has already talked to Mayor Anthony Russo and Councilman Stephen Hudock, the chairman of the City Council’s Recreation Committee, about putting together a program for senior citizens. Even though no specific programs have been discussed, Page said that a town-sponsored mid-day screening for area senior citizens at his Guttenberg theater has been very successful. The previous tenant had operated Hoboken Cinemas since 1979. Page said that in the 21 years that the theater was open, almost no improvements in the quality of the equipment on site were made. One of the workers who was helping Page ready the theater for its reopening said, “Even some of the light bulbs in this place were put in ’79.”

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