Formerly: Pascack Theatre · UA Pascack Theatre
Westwood, New Jersey · Founded 1928 · Building: 1928
Westwood's 1928 Pascack Theatre became a six-screen neighborhood cinema while retaining parts of its Art Deco character.
Westwood Cinemas began in 1928 as the Pascack Theatre, an Art Deco-era downtown venue that showed silent films and hosted vaudeville. United Artists converted the original auditorium into a four-screen cinema in 1985, and the venue later developed into its current six-screen configuration. Spiros Papas bought the theater in 1996, restored surviving architectural details, and upgraded its digital presentation systems in 2013.
The Pascack Theatre opened in downtown Westwood with vaudeville and the silent film The Skyscraper starring William Boyd.
Source: Westwood Movie House, 'About Us'; Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
The Pascack Theatre was operated by the Skouras theater chain during the 1940s, according to theater-history records.
Source: Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
United Artists converted the original Pascack Theatre into a four-screen cinema.
Source: Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
Spiros Papas purchased the Pascack Theatre and restored retained Art Deco architectural features, according to the theater's official history.
Source: Westwood Movie House, 'About Us'
The theater's Wurlitzer pipe organ was removed and relocated to the Brook Theatre in Bound Brook, according to theater-history records.
Source: Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
The theater says Spiros Papas upgraded its sound system and added digital 3-D screens.
Source: Westwood Movie House, 'About Us'
The venue was known as Westwood Cinema by this year, according to theater-history records.
Source: Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
Westwood Cinemas reopened after a temporary closure described by local reporting as a vacation.
Source: Daily Voice, October 24, 2025
The theater publicly said it remained open and had no intention of closing after local closure rumors circulated.
Source: NorthJersey.com, July 8, 2026; Daily Voice, July 8, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The theater's official history and independent theater-history records agree that the Pascack Theatre opened in 1928, showed The Skyscraper, and presented vaudeville as well as movies. This pass did not verify the candidate's claimed municipal records or its exact opening date and original seating capacity.
Westwood Cinemas and local sources present a long movie-exhibition history from its 1928 opening to the present. But the evidence reviewed does not establish a complete, gap-free operating record across nearly a century, and a 2025 temporary closure shows why absolute continuity should not be asserted without archival verification.
Current theater directories describe Westwood Cinemas as a six-screen theater, and theater-history records describe its evolution from the original auditorium to four screens in 1985 and then six screens. This describes the current configuration, not an original 1928 layout.
The theater's official history says Papas purchased the Pascack Theatre in December 1996 and restored Art Deco details while modernizing its sound and projection capabilities. Local reporting also identifies Papas as the owner, but this audit did not examine independent architectural restoration records.
Westwood Cinemas was originally built as a multiplex.
The theater opened in 1928 as the single-screen Pascack Theatre. United Artists converted it into a four-screen cinema in 1985, and it later became a six-screen venue.
Source: Westwood Movie House, 'About Us'; Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'
The Pascack Theatre opened on June 14, 1928.
The reviewed evidence supports a 1928 opening, but not June 14. One theater-history source gives August 30, 1928 and identifies The Skyscraper as the opening feature; the theater's official history confirms the year and film but not a precise day.
Source: Cinema Treasures, 'Westwood Cinema'; Westwood Movie House, 'About Us'
Westwood Cinemas has a fully documented uninterrupted run as a movie theater since 1928.
The theater has a long documented lineage from its 1928 opening and remains open today, but this review did not find a comprehensive record proving no operating gaps over the full period.
Source: Westwood Movie House official website; Daily Voice, October 24, 2025; NorthJersey.com, July 8, 2026
Westwood Cinemas survived by adapting a single-screen neighborhood theater into a smaller multiplex without abandoning its downtown identity. Its 1985 conversion gave it more scheduling flexibility, while Spiros Papas's 1996 restoration preserved surviving Art Deco features and later digital upgrades kept the venue viable for first-run films. The result is an old theater still functioning as a local moviegoing option, though its uninterrupted operating history has not been fully documented in this pass.
Westwood Cinemas opened in Westwood, New Jersey, in 1928 as the Pascack Theatre. The venue presented silent films and vaudeville before later becoming a United Artists multiplex in 1985. Spiros Papas bought the theater in 1996, restored surviving Art Deco details, and added digital 3-D technology in 2013; it continues to show movies at 182 Center Avenue.
No. Westwood Cinemas opened as the Pascack Theatre in 1928, while New Jersey has theaters and performance venues that predate it by decades or more. It is a long-running Bergen County movie theater, but this review did not establish a specific county or statewide oldest-theater title for it.
United Artists converted the former Pascack Theatre into a four-screen cinema on December 13, 1985, according to theater-history records. The venue later became a six-screen theater, operating today as Westwood Cinemas.
Westwood Cinemas' official history says Spiros Papas bought the theater in December 1996, and local reporting identifies him as the current owner. This identifies the public-facing theater owner and operator; this review did not examine the property deed or the business's precise legal entity.
182 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675
(201) 664-3200
A six-screen movie theater in downtown Westwood; check current showtimes before visiting because schedules and temporary closures can change.