Calderone Theatre Collection

Calderone Theatre Collection Finding Aid

The Calderone Theatre Collection contains information about the Calderone Theatre, Hempstead Theatre, Rivoli Theatre (later known as “Calderone 2”), Mineola Theatre, Valley Stream Theatre, Cove Theatre, Lynbrook Theatre and Westbury Theatre, all of which were owned by Dr. Frank Calderone.

Most of the information about the Calderone Theatre focuses on its opening in 1949. Photographs, documents, clippings, ephemera, and large album show the significance of the 1949 opening of the Calderone Theatre in Hempstead, N.Y.

In the collection, there are clippings and photographs related to all of the Calderone theatres. Programs from the Calderone theatres show the various trends in entertainment from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Biographical information, including transcripts of interviews with Dr. Frank Calderone, is included in the collection. The collection contains information about Dr. Calderone’s scientific work including interviews discussing world health.

The collection also contains Dr. Calderone’s notes for speeches he gave about the theatre industry and the need for quality entertainment on Long Island.

Some records, documents from a revitalization project and press releases show the business behind the Calderone theatres.

In addition to documents and photographs, there is a bound volume of Mineola Theatre programs, a monograph Esempi: Architecture per lo spettacolo and a large scrapbook featuring the 1949 opening of the Calderone Theatre in Hempstead.

The collection includes two history essays about the Cove Theatre and the Westbury Theatre.

A comprehensive essay and description of the Calderone Theatre Collection written by Miriam Tulin and published by Long Island Studies Institute, Hofstra University is included in the collection.

Researchers looking for information about theaters on Long Island should also consider Hofstra Special Collections’ “Long Island Theatres Collection.”