Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts

The Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts dates back to the early 1930's and was originally a one-screen movie theater, and at one point it was operated by the same projectionist as Northport’s one-screen theater. It featured over 500 seats and a balcony.

When it was purchased by United Artists, it became a discount second run movie house and it only cost about $2 to see a movie here!

The projectionist would drive back and forth between theaters to set up each screening, but one day he died in a tragic car accident somewhere in Kings Park. His spirit is said to remain on the Smithtown Center’s balcony, and would allegedly fix broken projectors overnight before the building was converted into a live theater. Though the building was once in danger of being torn down, it was saved by local residents and transformed into a lie theater in 2002.