Movies are known as a common source for entertainment across the world and swarms of people flock to the theater to experience them. As I’m sure older residents of West Milford know, this town used to have its very own theater where the current TJ Maxx resides. In addition, there used to be an arcade where Frank’s Pizza is today, but that is beside the point. The theater was unfortunately shut down for years before TJ Maxx took over. I believe that our town should bring it back.
It’s understood that our residents can just drive to Willowbrook or Rockaway mall for the theaters that they provide, but they’re at least an hour away from home which may cause stress or exhaustion for some commuters. Because of this, if the town had a theater again, our residents would be close to the newest releases. Personally, because of my busy schedule, my father and I will wait for new movies to come out of the theaters and onto streaming services such as Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and so on. But if we had a theater in town, we would be able to have quick access to new films without dodging spoilers on social media.
Aside from the entertainment aspect of the theater, it would be a great source of money for our town. Instead of spending our cash on other cities or counties, we would be able to put money into our own town to build and create new attractions for anyone who happens to pass through. For example, so many people (our own and outsiders) cross through our town to commute to Warwick for apple picking season. This causes a terrible amount of traffic. All of this trouble and none of that money is going to our town?
Opening the theater again would also mean more job opportunities for teenagers. Granted, TJ Maxx offers jobs to teens, too, but a theater will offer a variety of positions to employees. You’ll be able to make plenty of friends with your co-workers, and the employees will be able to obtain free movies (according to kapionews.com)! The theater could be built in the area of the old farm across from Pinecliff Lake or where Jungle Habitat used to be. This way, there should be enough room for the building and parking (especially at the old Jungle Habitat, considering it was a theme park large enough for rides).
Many of our parents who have grown up here share many memories of the theater and arcade. David Van Tassel says that when he was a child there were no Ice Jams or school activity nights, so he and his buddies would be dropped off at the theater for a fun weekend; “…and it was 5 minutes away. You didn’t have to drive 45 minutes to Rockaway”. According to Mr. Van Tassel, when the first “Batman” movie came out, our West Milford theater was packed, which was, again, very good for income.
In addition to Mr. Van Tassel, I turned to a few more of our locals who grew up with the theater. “I liked that it was so close. I remember seeing “Back to the Future” and “Rocky 4” there, it was amazing,” says Carl Harz. The memories that were made in that theater were great ones. A past employee, Roy Van Tassel, also said, “I enjoyed working at the movie theater because I always enjoyed movies and was able to see them as they opened. Getting able to speak with patrons about the movies they saw was also a plus, having a dialogue as well as serving them with an overall pleasant experience. The free popcorn didn’t hurt either!” If the sentimental value wasn’t enough, the amount of money that was put into the movies by our residents may not have been much, but it kept the company afloat. The people loved that theater, and now with several new hit movies coming to theaters, business would be booming.
According to an article titled “It’s the end of an era” in the West Milford Messenger, published on September 29, 2011 by an unknown writer, the West Milford cinema was closed down later that week for unknown reasons. The theater, known in our town as Abby Cinema, was rumored to shut down because of an unpaid or canceled lease with the company Inserra. Because of this, and the town’s love for the movies, several messages sent to Inserra and the owners of the theater were left unanswered. There was never a solid explanation to why Abby Cinema was closed down; it had been up and running ever since the Shoprite plaza was built around the year 1970, so what could’ve possibly happened? The town deserves to know.
The West Milford theater was an incredible source of entertainment, work, and income, so it would be beneficial for our town if we brought it back. TJ Maxx is a great store to have, but I believe that a theater would be more frequently visited; meaning large money flow, and (being a student in search of a close-to-home, fun job) a great place to start building work experience.
