2. Broadway Theatre, Long Branch, NJ

Image via After The Final Curtain

This 1,722-seat theatre opened on August 1, 1912 as the Broadway Theatre. First showing plays and vaudeville acts, it eventually segued into showing only films. One of the first films it showed was “Birth of A Nation,” a controversial film that’s credited as the inspiration for the reformation of the Klu Klux Klan.

The Broadway had a very similar history to the Paramount Theatre that came previously on this list. In 1930, management switched over to Paramount-Publix where it was remodeled in the atmospheric style. It is so similar, in fact, to the Newark Paramount Theatre that this Broadway Theatre was renamed the Paramount as well. But to avoid any confusion in this section, we’ll stick to calling it the Broadway Theatre.

Because of poor ticket sales, the Broadway closed on September 14, 1959. After being sold, it became used as a warehouse for Siperstein’s Paint until 2005 where there were some plans being made to convert the Broadway back into 1,800 seat theatre. However, those plans never seemed to make it off the drawing board since it’s still sitting abandoned in Long Branch, New Jersey