NEW JERSEY'S RT 4 STANLEY WARNER THEATER SHUTTERS
A sad day for New Jersey movie-goers occurred on May 25, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. The Rt. 4 Stanley Warner Theater closed its doors, as its current owner, AMC opened a 16 plex theater a mile away. The theater was built in 1966 and was always considered a showcase site for exclusive engagements. (Remember those???)
For the Star Wars generation, all three of the original films had exclusive 70MM engagements there. In 1999, the theater was chosen as one of two sites in New Jersey to conduct test screenings in digital (video projection) with Star Wars: Episode 1. Due to the theater's rich history with the franchise, management was able to secure a print of the original film from Lucasfilm to screen for the employees on closing night - a bittersweet experience, to be sure.
The theater will be torn down and replaced with a Loew's home improvement store. - Bill Duelly