Smithtown to purchase historic St. James Calderone Theater

Inside the St. James Community Cultural Arts Center, also known as the St. James Calderone Theater. The theater was built in the early 20th century and houses Celebrate St. James, a nonprofit cultural arts organization. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The Town of Smithtown is finalizing a deal to purchase the historic St. James Calderone Theater on Second Street that was built in the 1900s, in a bid to preserve its future.
Last week, the Smithtown Town Board voted 5-0 to authorize Supervisor Ed Wehrheim to approve the sale for $900,000. The board also gave Wehrheim authority to grant a 10-year lease to Celebrate St. James, a nonprofit arts group that operates the theater, now known as the St. James Community Cultural Arts Center.
The deal is expected to be finalized later this month, according to town and nonprofit officials. Once the sale closes, theater operators plan to convert the facility into a more energy-efficient building.
The nonprofit plans to create a community arts hub at the center while preserving its iconic elements, said Natalie Weinstein, who owns the St. James building and founded the nonprofit.
“The plan is to make this an example of a historic building for other buildings of this kind and houses, as well, to become more energy efficient,” Weinstein said.
Vaudeville roots
Weinstein has said the building was likely a vaudeville venue first, with live productions featuring musicians, comedians and magicians. Later, the Calderone family owned the theater, among others it operated on Long Island including the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead on North Franklin St., Newsday has reported.
Natalie Weinstein and her now late husband, Bernard, purchased the theater in 1985. The building had fallen into disrepair, she recalled.
“It was a disaster,” Weinstein said. “At the time, we knew very little about the history of this building. In truth, when we went to the town, it was in such bad shape that they were thinking about knocking it down.”
Since that time, the building has grown into a thriving arts hub, home to art exhibits and shows. The theater has a movie museum and hosts game nights, social events and voice and acting lessons, Doris Meyer, president of Celebrate St. James, said.
“Our goal is to bring the community in and know that it’s the arts that unite us; that art knows no economic barriers or racial barriers,” Meyer said.
Green push
The small, faded beige-colored building runs on outdated heating systems and is poorly insulated.
Costs for electric, air conditioning and heating have risen, creating financial challenges, Weinstein said. In 2023, energy costs totaled more than $10,000 for the year, she said.
Frank Dalene, founder of the green educational nonprofit Hamptons Green Alliance, said after studying three years of electrical data for the building, the charges “really shocked me.” Adding new energy efficient systems would help lower those costs, Dalene said.
Neil Rosen, founder of Grin Sustainability, a Dix Hills-based green building consulting firm, said the building needs insulation, better air sealing and filtering, along with solar panels and energy-efficient windows. It also needs a smaller, more efficient system for heating and cooling.
“We are working with a 100-year-old building, so there are some places where we can’t do everything we want to do, but we will certainly bring the building up to a really good place,” Rosen said.
Weinstein said it will be challenging to implement the efficiency plan. The nonprofit has been applying for state and federal grants and will fundraise for private donations.
The nonprofit will meet with its partners and other experts after the sale to see the renovations through, Weinstein said.
“All of the organizational work that we’ve done has been going on for one goal — and that’s to bring the cultural arts to our community,” Weinstein said. “To help the kids who really need help today find a safe haven and a place to do it.”
Setting the stage
- The Town of Smithtown is finalizing a deal to purchase the historic St. James Calderone Theater, now known as the St. James Community Cultural Arts Center, for $900,000.
- The nonprofit Celebrate St. James, which operates the building, plans to implement energy-efficient upgrades.
- In 2023, energy costs for the building totaled about $10,000, according to Natalie Weinstein, the theater's longtime owner.