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Long Islanders brimming with anticipation gathered on the sidewalks for two separate opening nights, separated by 84 years. Despite being different crowds in different theaters, they were all part of the same building's history.

The story of this building dates back to the Roaring Twenties, specifically May 5, 1927, when Huntington witnessed one of its most significant building booms. New office buildings, a 60-room hotel, and a magnificent theater—hailed as the finest east of Brooklyn. Visitors to the new theater could enjoy vaudeville acts, a feature film, comedy, and other novelties with symphony orchestra accompaniment.

By 1973, the theater was dark. A few years later, a rescue effort was attempted by Vincent Orlando, who was the director of a local dance company. Working with the Balcony Film Club and Stars of American ballet, they hoped to make the renovated theater its permanent home. The $400,000 conversion project was stymied by construction delays.

By 1981, the Balcony Theater was rechristened as Spaceport and featured a 102-foot wrap around stage (billed as “the world’s longest screen”) for laser light shows. Meanwhile, work on converting the theater for dance performances was only 50 to 60 percent complete and completion would require another $100,000 of work.

Two years later, the old theater finally found a second life when the Inter-Media Arts Center moved from Bayville. IMAC, as it was popularly known, was a not-for-profit organization run by Huntington residents Michael Rothbard and Kathie Bodily. In addition to live performances of music and dance, IMAC conducted workshops on videotape editing, camera technique, and studio television production. Its video production facilities were used by artists and not-for-profit groups to produce a variety of works including music videos and public service announcements.

Eventually the video production aspect of IMAC diminished and the 650 seat theater became known for presenting a wide variety of music including folk, jazz, blues, world music, and as Rothbard put it, “a type of music we really don’t have a name for.”

By 2009, declining funding, rising expenses, and difficult circumstances forced Rothbard and Bodily to close IMAC. Rothbard died four months later.

Local business owners were concerned about the impact of IMAC’s closing on sales. The theater had attracted thousands of visitors to the village every week.