Fort Jay Theater - New York, NY - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The plaque says, "On Governors Island, jus a boat ride away from the bustle of New York City, entertainment could be hard to come by. Nevertheless, performances were an integral part of life on the Island, with early shows staged in an old YMCA building, then in the new YMCA (still standing) next door to this theater. In 1939, a new movie theater was constructed under the supervision of the Army Motion Picture Service, which was responsible for theaters on bases nationwide. During 1941, draftees with experience in civilian theater were called to produce stage shows to raise troop morale.

In order to support the war effort, Broadway musical composer Irving Berlin helped produces a show about World War II called "This is the Army", inspired by a performance he saw at the Fort Jay Theater in 1942. The theater continued to show movies to the Army and then Coast Guard personal and their families until the base closed in 1996. At that time double features of first-run films on Friday night cost two dollars!"

Group that erected the marker: Governors Island Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Governors Island, New York City, NY, USA URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   08/15/2018 bluesnote visited it