82:, and came to Hempstead, located in Nassau County, Long Island, where he acquired the Strand Theatre, located on Front Street. This new enterprise prospered under his management and he soon decided that Hempstead and the surrounding villages of that part of Long Island retained great promise for an expansion of the movie theater business. Along with other prominent individuals he formed a corporation named the "Calderone Corporation" that built the first big movie house, named the Hempstead Theatre, which was built c. 1920. With this success, Calderone and his partners either built or acquired a number of other theaters within a very short period of time, quickly becoming the largest movie theater chain located in Nassau County.
138:, which required the installation of a stage as it was the only Calderone theater not to have one at the outset. Due to its fine acoustics, it was sought after as a performance venue for leading bands and musicians. The Calderone family sold the hall in 1982 to Rana Management who planned to renovate the building. Performers who played at the hall during the 1970s and 1980s included Santana (at least four times), Fleetwood Mac>, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Jerry Garcia, Gentle Giant, and Rainbow. In the 1990s it was converted into a seven-screen multiplex cinema. This enterprise didn't last long and after closing became Faith Baptist Church.
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or theatrical performances on a Sunday during the spring of 1923. All involved plead guilty except
Calderone, against whom the charges were dismissed, while the others received suspended sentences, however popular momentum was with the theater owners. A few years later, local municipalities on Long Island began using their power to let theaters show movies on Sundays - which was allowable under the parameters of the state law. Calderone's St. James Theatre, located in St. James, Suffolk County, Long Island, began showing films on Sundays in 1930.
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guiding hand behind the chain. During the late summer of 1927 unionized workers threatened to strike against
Calderone if they did not receive higher wages, while other nearby theater owners agreed to the unions demands, Calderone refused, and the strike ensued. From late 1928 through early 1929, Calderone entered into negotiations to sell his five large Nassau County theaters to the Fox Theatres Corporation. The negotiated price was said to have been $ 3 million.
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Nearly every act would be booked across one or more theaters in the chain, moving from one community to another, as was noted in many advertisements during the 1920s. African
American performers, who were usually part of revues or cabarets, were featured regularly. Calderone's Rivoli Theatre in Hempstead was advertised as featuring "Vaudeville Always."
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1954. According to Rob Boehm of cinematreasures.org, "The Cove, Rivoli and
Calderone were operated by Skouras. The Valley Stream and Lynbrook by Century. UA succeeded Skouras and Century folded. The Valley Stream operated as the Rio for a time before it was demolished. The Lynbrook went over to UA."
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Lynbrook
Theatre, c. 1923, 321 Merrick Road, Lynbrook, Nassau County, NY. Designed by Harrison G. Wiseman (1878–1945). Wiseman was a very prominent theater architect who designed at least two dozen theaters in New York City in addition to those designed in Nassau County. The Lynbrook was converted
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St. James
Theatre, opened in October 1929, 176 Second Street, St. James, Suffolk County, NY. This theater may have been acquired by the Calderone chain after Salvatore Calderone's death. Closed in the early 1950s, the building still stands. It remained in its original interior configuration until
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Mineola
Theatre, c. 1926 – 1927, 120 Mineola Boulevard, Mineola, Nassau County, NY. This theater was under the management of Calderone until just shortly before his death when it was turned back over to its owners who sold it in 1930. It replaced an older theater that dated back to at least 1916.
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Calderone
Theatre, 1949, 145 N. Franklin Street, Hempstead, Nassau County, NY. Designed by the famous modernist architect, William Lescaze (1896–1969). The theater was divided up into a multiplex and later became the Calderone Concert Hall, sold by the Calderone family in 1982. The building is now
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Salvatore
Calderone had been having health problems before he suffered a heart attack in the early morning of Sunday, February 10, 1929, at his home at 80 Terrace Avenue, Hempstead, Long Island. Dr. Benjamin Seaman was called to the home where Calderone died at 5:30 in the morning surrounded by his
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By 1927, the
Calderone chain operated more than half-a-dozen theaters in Nassau County, including two in Hempstead, one in Lynbrook, one in Valley Stream, one in Glen Cove, one in Westbury, and one in Mineola. Calderone soon became "...a powerful figure in the theatrical field...," and acted as the
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Like so many other theater owners and managers, Calderone was in favor of allowing his theaters to open up for showings on Sunday, which was against the law in New York State in the 1920s. He, along with several other Long Island theater owners, were indicted for breaking the law and showing movies
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Strand Theatre, purchased c. 1914, Front Street, Hempstead, Nassau County, NY. The first theater purchased by Calderone in Hempstead. It closed in June 1922 after Calderone's new theater opened, and it remained closed apparently due to building violations, but Calderone indicated he might re-open
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During Salvatore Calderone's life, the company built and managed most of its theaters. After his death, the company appears to have begun leasing out the theaters to other management chains, as Frank Calderone left the management of the company to others and did not return to an active role until
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The chain opened one of their most expensive theaters in June 1949 in Hempstead, Long Island. Named the "Calderone Theatre," it was designed by William Lescaze (1896–1969) one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture and cost $ 2 million and seated 2,500 people. At the time of its
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His funeral service was held at Our Lady of Loretto on Greenwich Street in Hempstead on Tuesday, February 12, 1929, followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery. His immediate survivors included his wife, Rosario Calderone, and sons Frank (who helped run the chain), Roy, and Anthony. While his death
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Rivoli Theatre, c. 1925 – 1926, 145 Main Street, Hempstead, Nassau County, NY. At the time ground was broken, this theater was called the 'Up Town' but was renamed the Rivoli by the time it opened on April 3, 1926. Sources vary on whether it was designed by Douglas Pairman Hall or Harrison G.
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While many sources indicate the Calderone chain was sold to Fox in 1929, it appears that Salvatore Calderone's death put an end to that plan as the theater chain remained in operation for many years after his death. His son, Dr. Frank A. Calderone (1901 - 1987), who was an expert on preventive
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During the period of Salvatore Calderone's management of his theater chain (called during his day the 'Calderone Theatre Circuit') he aggressively promoted films and vaudeville acts. Each of his theaters could accommodate both genres, and allowed Calderone to offer an immense variety of acts.
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Cove Theatre, 1927, 90 School Street, Glen Cove, Nassau County, NY. Designed by Douglas Pairman Hall. Douglas P. Hall and Paul C. Reilly had a partnership in New York City focusing on the design of theaters. By the late 1970s it had been converted into a dinner theater and has since been
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Wiseman (1878–1945). The theater was later rechristened the "Calderone II" and in 1978 was donated by Frank Calderone to Adelphi University when it became the Adelphi Calderone Theatre (ACT). The theater no longer stands and has been replaced by a building named "The Rivoli House."
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medicine and a leading early figure in the World Health Organization, continued to operate many of the theaters created by his father until around 1980. In addition to those located in Nassau County, the company also owned and operated theaters in neighboring Suffolk County.
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Valley Stream Theatre, c. 1925, 69 Rockaway Avenue, Valley Stream, Nassau County, NY. Calderone sold this theater c. 1980–1982. During the 1980s live shows were being shown in the theater, and by that time the name may have been changed to "The Rio." It was demolished c.
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it if the issues could be resolved. It did eventually reopen, however it closed again in April 1926. The reason given was that it was showing second run films and losing money. By the end of 1928 the building was being used as the branch office of the Salvation Army.
66:. In 1910 his theater located at 331 Bowery was badly damaged in a fire that broke out in the upper floors of the building it occupied. The brothers built up a successful enterprise, acquiring several movie houses which they managed until the outbreak of
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Hempstead Theatre, 1922, 310 Fulton Street, Hempstead, Nassau County, NY. Designed by Eugene DeRosa. Eventually sold to become an office for the State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Currently it is occupied by a church that moved in during the
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family. At the time of his death local newspapers remarked "His life is an example of what can be accomplished by those who come to America from other places. It shows that opportunities are always here for those who are ready to seize them.
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announcement notes Calderone was buried in Calvary Cemetery, at some point his body was removed to Greenfield Cemetery, located in Uniondale, Nassau County, Long Island, New York, where he was re-interred in an elegant mausoleum.
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Westbury Theatre, 1927, 250 Post Avenue, Westbury, Nassau County, NY. Designed by Douglas Pairman Hall. The theater closed in 2001 and is being renovated into a performing arts center named "The Space at
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dedication, a plaque was erected in the new theater honoring Salvatore Calderone and his work in founding the chain that bore his name. The Calderone Theatre eventually became the
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At some point after 1930 it returned to the chain and remained part of it until c. 1980-1982 when it was sold. It has since been demolished and replaced by an office building.
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He became interested in the theater business, and in 1907 partnered with his brother to acquire and manage the first of a number of theaters located in the lower part of
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recently (2012), when the owners extended the balcony level throughout the entire building creating a full second floor.
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During this period of his life he was also known as having an interest in a California fruit producing enterprise.
22:(1876–1929) was an early American movie theater magnate and founder of the Calderone chain of theaters located on
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https://books.google.com/books?id=KCUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT78&lpg=PT78&dq=calderone+concert+hall
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Special Collections Department/Long Island Studies Institute, Hofstra University c.1920-1990,
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Long Island Daily Press, February 11, 1929; and Hempstead Sentinel, February 14, 1929
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and came to America in 1893 to work as a newspaperman. He was employed first by the
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Hempstead Sentinel, April 1, 1926; and Hempstead Sentinel, April 8, 1926; and
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Hempstead Sentinel, June 22, 1922; and Hempstead Sentinel, December 20, 1928.
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and six years later in 1899 came to New York City to work for the newspaper,
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Email correspondence with Rob Boehm of cinematreasures.org, August 2013
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http://www.hofstra.edu/PDF/lib_sc_Calderone_Theatre_Collection_fa.pdf
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Not long after the war began in 1914, Calderone decided to leave
30:. He was noted as being the "Master Showman of Nassau County."
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being renovated by a local church for use by its congregation.
425:"Search for setlists: Calderone santana | setlist.fm"
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into a multiplex and is still operated by Regal Cinemas.
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Port Jefferson Echo, May 15, 1930 & July 24, 1931
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Church Rites Held for S. Calderone, Theatre Magnate,
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Church Rites Held for S. Calderone, Theatre Magnate,
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519:Long Island Star-Journal, December 13, 1961; and
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307:L.I. Stage Hands Win Wage Boost on Strike Threat,
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219:The Hempstead Sentinel, February 14, 1929; and
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546:Hempstead Sentinel, November 3, 1927; and /
544:Calderone's Westbury Theatre Opens Nov. 10,
538:Hempstead Sentinel, December 11, 1924; and
493:Calderone's Westbury Theatre Opens Nov. 10,
309:Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 31, 1927; and
286:Five Managers Indicted After Sunday Shows,
235:New York Sun, 1910 (no month or day noted)
256:The Hempstead Sentinel, February 14, 1929
147:331 Bowery Street, c. 1910, New York, NY.
574:Hempstead Sentinel, April 22, 1926; and
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400:$ 2,000,000 Theater Opens in Hempstead,
313:Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 13, 1928
288:Brooklyn Standard Union, March 24, 1923
284:Hempstead Sentinel, June 21, 1923; and
268:Hempstead Sentinel, April 8, 1920; and
623:Italian emigrants to the United States
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270:Charter Company for Hempstead Theatre,
578:Hempstead Sentinel, May 3, 1923; and
457:Calderone Theatre Opens in Hempstead,
272:Hempstead Sentinel, November 11, 1920
221:S. Calderone Dies, Owner of Theatres,
540:New Rivoli Theatre Opening Saturday,
507:New York Evening Post, March 4, 1930
495:Hempstead Sentinel, November 3, 1927
129:Calderone Theatre & Concert Hall
347:Chain Movie Builder of Nassau Dead,
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536:Break Ground for Up Town Theatre,
381:New York Times, February 24, 1987
369:New York Times, February 24, 1987
337:Hempstead Sentinel, April 1, 1926
223:New York Times, February 11, 1929
207:Hempstead Sentinel, July 27, 1933
325:Hempstead Sentinel, May 20, 1926
323:Lucky Sambo at the Rivoli Today,
282:Suspend Sentence on Theatre Men,
16:American businessman (1876-1929)
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58:Entry into the Theater Business
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523:Newsday, March 30, 1982; and /
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142:Theater Locations 1907 - 1949
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311:Ruling Frees Jailed Striker,
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596:http://cinematreasures.org/
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592:Buyer to Revive Calderone,
576:May Reopen Strand Theatre,
521:Buyer to Revive Calderone,
412:Buyer to Revive Calderone,
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628:American businesspeople
414:Newsday, March 30, 1982
379:Dr. Frank A. Calderone,
367:Dr. Frank A. Calderone,
233:Fire Near Picture Show,
580:Strand Theatre Closes,
572:Strand Theatre Closes,
517:Live Theatre to Go On,
136:Calderone Concert Hall
38:Calderone was born in
558:Geoffrey K. Fleming,
505:Mineola Theatre Sold,
94:Movies vs. Vaudeville
20:Salvatore Calderone
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618:1929 deaths
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155:demolished.
68:World War I
46:newspaper,
44:New Orleans
24:Long Island
607:Categories
560:St. James,
429:setlist.fm
192:References
187:Westbury."
183:1997–1998.
34:Early life
74:Expansion
64:Manhattan
28:New York
444:; and /
365:; and
159:1990s.
116:Legacy
103:Death
609::
485:^
464:^
427:.
240:^
26:,
477:/
431:.
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