Catching a show at the North East Theatre on Main Street was a popular thing to do for generations of people in central Cecil County during the middle third of the 20th century.
The first movie in town was owned by Albert J. Roney, Sr. and initially shows were projected at the GAR Hall, according to the “History of North East” published by the local history club of the North East High School in 1964-65. These were silent movies accompanied by a player piano. One of the early names of the movie house was “Cecil Theatre.”
At some point, Mr. Roney built the new facility on Main Street. According to the town history, the movies there were accompanied by an organ played by Ida Desosio. On May 18, 1929, the Cecil Whig announced that screenings in the movie house were the first in Cecil County to have sound and talking pictures.
When Mr. Roney received an appointment in 1937 as postmaster, he sold the business to John Smith. Mr. Roney died in February 1953, and his old theatre closed sometime around 1965. The last ads for shows we have located were published in the Cecil Democrat late in 1964, and in 1965, the theatre no longer had a telephone listing in the directory.
In March 1969, the Cecil Democrat reported that the North East Theatre was no longer there to greet visitors when they entered the town from Route 40 as it was being torn down. The paper added that the movie house had been closed for about five years and the building had been used for storage after the screen went dark.
For Additional Photos of Going to the movies in North East, see this album on Facebook
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