Proctor’s Palace Roof Theatre opened on November 22, 1915.  The Palace was originally used for smaller vaudeville productions before switching over to film in the mid-1920s. During the next few decades, the Proctor’s Roof Theatre was not used very often but received a remodel into an art-house cinema and reopened in the summer of 1961 as the Penthouse Cinema. 

The first film shown was the Swedish film “Secrets of Women,” directed by Ingmar Bergman. Unfortunately, not even the switch in formats was enough to keep it from closing again. The Penthouse Cinema closed in 1968 after the infamous Newark riots damaged the reputation of the once-respected city. It reopened occasionally during the 1970s. Students from nearby Essex County College held “Back to Jazz” featuring the Don Carter Quintet and the Essex County Gospel Choir in the space. 

The building was sold by the Newark Municipal Council for $5,000 in July 2016 to Davidson, Abraham, and Associates, LLC. They plan to demolish the building and replace it with a mixed-use commercial and residential building. The demolition is estimated to cost over $2 million.