6. Marcus Loew, Founder of the Movie Theater Chain, Has Associations With Highbridge Park
Marcus Loew (to the right) in his office. Image via Wikimedia Commons, New York Public Library
In addition its numerous attractions, Fort George Amusement Park in Highbridge Park was formerly home to a popular beer hall called the “Old Barrel,” where entrepreneur Joseph Schenck sold refreshments. It was at this location that Schenck came to know Marcus Loew, the American business magnate who formed Loew’s Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM).
The two business-minded men joined forces to build a vaudeville stage in Schenck’s Fort George station before selling the venue to purchased an amusement park in New Jersey, which opened in 1910.