As a sidebar to Michael Olohan and John Snyder’s front page report in this issue, “Township Theatre says it’s closing,” we turned to Pascack Historical Society President Kristin Beuscher for an even deeper dive on the theater and what we now know as Washington Town Center…
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—At the dawn of the 1960s, things were changing fast here.
A post-war Baby Boom and construction surge had brought unprecedented population growth to the 3-square-mile town, as the Greatest Generation was looking to settle in the suburbs and raise families. Building houses was a big business, as the township was subdivided into lots and hundreds of ranches and Cape Cods went up on newly mapped streets. In 1955 one could buy a new three-bedroom ranch on a 75-by-100-foot lot in the township for about $15,000. The Township of Washington was the fastest growing community in all of New Jersey during that era.
As incredible as it sounds to us today, as late as the 1940s the Township of Washington’s population was under 500 people. A commercial element was almost non-existent. Residents had to go to larger neighboring towns, like Westwood and Ridgewood, for their shopping needs.
The population growth that took place in the decades after World War II can only be described as an explosion. By 1960 there were 6,600 people living in the Township of Washington. It is difficult to imagine what it must have been like for the old-timers who had spent their lives in the township. Their little rural town of 500 people saw more than 6,000 newcomers move in over a 20-year period. Great swaths of forest and field had been cleared and turned into streets lined with houses.
The township had become a real suburb, and with that, the people were clamoring for the convenience of a shopping center in town. The issue became a talking point during election season. For local officials, it was a balancing act: the need to “shop local” was tempered by the idea that it was the quaint nature of the township that had drawn so many people there in the first place.
The solution took the form of a municipal master plan, the town’s first, that rezoned for a single shopping area on Pascack Road, centered on an 11-acre site. In this way, local officials hoped to provide for the residents’ shopping needs while also keeping the commercial element tucked neatly onto a single location.
The owners of that 11-acre tract, home builders James Leone and John Durante, had bought it with different plans in mind. However, with some urging, and some concessions on the township’s part as well, they agreed to change course and build a shopping center.
The original anchor store was an Acme supermarket located where Fresh Grocer is today. As demand for other types of businesses increased, the builders added onto the strip mall in stages. A drugstore moved in, as did a dry cleaner and baker. By the early 1960s, the second section of the center was being built with space for a luncheonette, bank, hardware store, jewelry store and another supermarket. The Washington Cinema opened in the shopping center in 1966.
Flashback: Washington Cinema’s Grand Opening
When the Washington Cinema opened on Sept. 2, 1966, it was hailed as a state-of-the-art theater for Bergen County. Located in the Pascack Shopping Center, the venue was the brainchild of owner Spyros Lenas, who worked with interior designer Niva Hassanein to create a lavish Spanish-inspired atmosphere. Patrons entered through a Spanish garden and passed copper doors into a 600-seat auditorium featuring slate floors, fine tapestries, and stereophonic sound. With 40 inches of legroom and one of the largest screens in the area, it promised a premiere moviegoing experience just a short walk from acres of parking.