Davsot, Is the Star still there or is this an old photo? Do you have the address? If so, you should add it to CT! It looks like it might date from the 1950’s.
AGR, the Ramily that you mention, also is not on CT. If you have info about where it is and if it is still there, you should add it as well.
I have never been to Yauco but travel to Puerto Rico about once a year. If I am ever in the area, I’ll stop by and take some photos.
Thanks Tinseltoes. I always questioned whether I should use the apostrophe or not as I remember both spellings in use. Now I know why! I prefer it with the apostrophe though.
I totally disagree. The Kings has nothing to do with the Ridgewood nor should it. The Ridgewood needs to stand on its own and raise its own independent money just like those who fought for so many years to come up with a viable plan with the city to rescue and restore the Kings.
How would you like it if the Ridgewood received a grant for restoration and then other lesser theaters decided they wanted some of that money for themselves. You wouldn’t. I reiterate, leave the Loew’s Kings out of this mess.
With all due respect to people who love the Ridgewood (and there are many) contacting the EDC to use some of the money allocated to the restoration of the Loew’s Kings is ridiculous! The Kings is one of the most spectacular movie palaces ever built and certainly among the most beautiful. The $70MM was allocated for a reason. It will cost that much to restore it to its original beauty and NONE of its dedicated funds should be reallocated; especially after the theater sat empty for over 30 years while people worked extremely hard to save it.
The Ridgewood, though historic as one of the nation’s oldest movie theaters, doesn’t begin to compare to the Kings on almost any level. It is a rather plain neighborhood theater with great sentimental value to people who grew up there. The facade, which is distinctive, has been landmarked and rightly so, but not the interior. Please leave the Kings alone.
If new money were to be allocated by the city to restore another movie palace, my vote would be to assist the Brooklyn Paramount, Loew’s Canal or the RKO Keiths Flushing before allocating any money to the Ridgewood.
Whew! It’s a relief! The Real Deal had, in fact, used the wrong photo that showed the Shore Theatre. It was changed after I sent them an email asking why no mention was made of the efforts to landmark the Shore Theatre. It was only then, that they changed the photo.
Yes Al, you are correct that Radio City was not specifically built as a movie palace but a movie palace it most definitely is. That is how it was used for a majority of its life and how it is remembered by most.
I still think that the Tony committee made a brilliant move in scheduling the Tony ceremony at Loew’s 175th Street Theatre. It will focus attention on one of the nation’s most magnificent movie palaces while at the same time letting people everywhere know that not everything happens in midtown Manhattan. There is a wealth of architectural splendor throughout the boroughs and this will highlight it.
Wow! I hope you both are correct. The photo used in the news story was the one above. Hopefully, it was just sloppy reporting. Let’s cross our fingers!
Tinseltoes…It is the same building. Look at the photo. The theatre auditorium sticks out of the rear. The entrance/lobby is at the base and the hotel portion was above.
OY!!!! How painful. I wish the theaters were listed under the best known (most popular name) rather than their current name. However, I do understand why the current policy is in place. That said, I hate that the old Loew’s Astor Plaza is now a Best Buy theater.
Terrible news in today’s Real Deal. Apparently this building has been scheduled and approved by the city for demolition by Joe Sitt (the current owner). There is absolutely no mention of the historic theater which is sloppy journalism, but I just can’t believe how quickly this has changed. Here is a historic theater in an area with lots of foot traffic that is quickly developing after decades of decline and instead of restoring the theater they’re demolishing it? What happened with the landmarking process? Anyone know?
Here is the article:
Coney bank, Shore Hotel to be demolished
August 18, 2010 10:30AM
Bank of Coney Island (left) and the Shore Hotel Even inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this summer was not enough to save some of Coney Island’s oldest buildings from destruction. Demolition applications for the Bank of Coney Island and the Shore Hotel — both owned by Thor Equities — were approved last week, according to the city Department of Buildings, the Wall Street Journal reported. The pending demolition of these structures is the latest setback for community groups that tried to have the buildings preserved as landmarks. The Bank of Coney Island, built in 1923, has been vacant since 1997. The Shore Hotel, built in 1903, was operated as a hotel up until two years ago. Thor Equities, led by Joe Sitt, plans to replace the bank and hotel with temporary buildings that will be ready at the start of the 2011 summer season. Though Coney Island’s boardwalk was revitalized this summer with the opening of Luna Park, Surf Avenue and many of the neighborhood businesses continue to struggle and fear that they will be evicted. [WSJ]
What an incredible link! Thanks for posting it. Per the narrative, it appears that the outside of the theater is being restored but that there is no interior left for restoration. What is unclear is if the town of Yauco is recreating the interior in the original style. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I do agree that is is still wonderful to at least have the shell to admire rather than lose the entire thing.
Thanks AGR. It amazes me how many beautiful, yet relatively unknown, buildings remain in Puerto Rico waiting to be discovered and restored. Puerto Rico has been very lucky to have retained so much of its incredible architectural history; especially in Old San Juan, Ponce and San German.
Here is a summary of the WSJ story. I doubt any bank branch will keep anything of the interior though I wonder how much of the interior is still there.
Historic Queens theater angles for bank
August 06, 2010 12:30PM
The Eagle Theater
The historic Eagle Theater in Jackson Heights, Queens could see new life as a bank branch, the Wall Street Journal reported. While the 4,000-square-foot theater had successfully operated as a Bollywood movie house for a dozen years, the Mumbai, India film strike spelled disaster for the business. It’s sat empty for several months and now the leaseholder, Shaukat Ali, is looking for a subtenant who’s willing to pony up the $15,000-a-month rent for the ground floor. The bank branch idea appealed to Ali for obvious reasons: “I won’t have any problems collecting the rent,” Ali said.
Showtime for School in Rundown Brownsville Theater
East | 7.29.10 | Matt Chaban
Where Al Joelson once performed, students will soon learn. (Courtesy POKO Partners)
Like many outlying parts of the city, Brownsville fell hard from its turn-of-the-century grandeur, with decaying reminders of its former greatness. Among them is the Loews Pitkin Theater, once home to the likes of Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, Humphrey Bogart, and Al Joelson’s last performance, as well as thousands of eager movie goers. The building has been closed since 1969â€"until last week, when a ground breaking was held for a new charter school and retail complex. Curbed and Brownstoner were among those in attendance, and they got some pretty amazing pictures of the building’s decrepit interiors (see some after the jump). We’ve since been sent the above rendering by the developers, POKO Partners, who are working with Kitchen & Associates, a firm based in Collingswood, New Jersey on the renovation.
Something tells us they should have no trouble finding space for an auditorium. (Will Femia/Courtesy Curbed) According to POKO, the project will mesh what remains of the building’s sumptuous Art Deco interiors with high-tech, sustainable features, creating something at once historic and cutting edge. The base of the building will house some 70,000 square feet of retail with a 90,000-square-foot, 1,100-seat elementary and middle school above, run by Ascend Learning. The project is expected to be completed in the next 18 months. “The Loews Pitkin Theater is exciting because it embodies POKO¹s core values of revitalizing neighborhoods and enhancing communities through positive and responsible real estate development,†POKO President and CEO Ken Olson said in a release.
John, thanks for your comment. I was about the express the very same sentiment. Nowhere in the article does it say how the school will be incorporated into the site, but I assume it will be done in the same way as the RKO Bushwick. The Pitkin exterior is still beautiful and should be preserved. Unfortunately, from what I have read, the interior is just to far gone for any restoration. Overall, this is great news for the old Pitkin.
I’m not at all worried about any Tony “threats” to the theater. Let’s remind ourselves that the Tony’s have been housed in one of the world’s greatest movie palaces for many years: Radio City!
In addition, many acts have played the United Palace whose fans I feared had the potential to damage the theater much more than the performers. But my fears were not warranted. The United Palace has maintained the theater beautifully and I have no reason to think that it will change anytime soon.
Bridgeport has been in the dumps for so many years, but lately there are stirrings of renewal. Here they have not one, but two incredible palaces waiting for renewal. Bridgeport is very fortunate to have these in place for restoration and should take advantage of restoring building that will NEVER be built again.
It was just announced that the Loews 175th Street theatre will be the home of next year’s TONY awards!!!!! How fabulous is that? It seems that Cirque de Soleil has Radio City booked for next June. A new home needed to be found and so they moved on up to Washington Heights! This will be a great showcase for one of the country’s most beautiful theaters.
The crane crash was during the construction of the Millennium Hotel across the street which, ironically, has incorporated the exquisite “Hudson Theater” into the hotel and serves as a conference center and event space. The theater is spectacularly renovated and is a hidden gem that most theater enthusiasts forget exists.
Up Kew Gardens Road about 4 blocks to Lefferts Blvd, make a right, go one block to Austin Street and Presto….Kew Gardens Cinema! Even closer if you take the LIRR to the Kew Gardens Station: Once off the train, make a left up the street to Lefferts Blvd then make another left and at the end of the block on the right hand side is the theater.
Davsot, Is the Star still there or is this an old photo? Do you have the address? If so, you should add it to CT! It looks like it might date from the 1950’s.
AGR, the Ramily that you mention, also is not on CT. If you have info about where it is and if it is still there, you should add it as well.
I have never been to Yauco but travel to Puerto Rico about once a year. If I am ever in the area, I’ll stop by and take some photos.
Thanks Tinseltoes. I always questioned whether I should use the apostrophe or not as I remember both spellings in use. Now I know why! I prefer it with the apostrophe though.
I totally disagree. The Kings has nothing to do with the Ridgewood nor should it. The Ridgewood needs to stand on its own and raise its own independent money just like those who fought for so many years to come up with a viable plan with the city to rescue and restore the Kings.
How would you like it if the Ridgewood received a grant for restoration and then other lesser theaters decided they wanted some of that money for themselves. You wouldn’t. I reiterate, leave the Loew’s Kings out of this mess.
With all due respect to people who love the Ridgewood (and there are many) contacting the EDC to use some of the money allocated to the restoration of the Loew’s Kings is ridiculous! The Kings is one of the most spectacular movie palaces ever built and certainly among the most beautiful. The $70MM was allocated for a reason. It will cost that much to restore it to its original beauty and NONE of its dedicated funds should be reallocated; especially after the theater sat empty for over 30 years while people worked extremely hard to save it.
The Ridgewood, though historic as one of the nation’s oldest movie theaters, doesn’t begin to compare to the Kings on almost any level. It is a rather plain neighborhood theater with great sentimental value to people who grew up there. The facade, which is distinctive, has been landmarked and rightly so, but not the interior. Please leave the Kings alone.
If new money were to be allocated by the city to restore another movie palace, my vote would be to assist the Brooklyn Paramount, Loew’s Canal or the RKO Keiths Flushing before allocating any money to the Ridgewood.
I was just about to post the same thing. I believe they are Radio City and The Ziegfeld as well!
Whew! It’s a relief! The Real Deal had, in fact, used the wrong photo that showed the Shore Theatre. It was changed after I sent them an email asking why no mention was made of the efforts to landmark the Shore Theatre. It was only then, that they changed the photo.
Yes Al, you are correct that Radio City was not specifically built as a movie palace but a movie palace it most definitely is. That is how it was used for a majority of its life and how it is remembered by most.
I still think that the Tony committee made a brilliant move in scheduling the Tony ceremony at Loew’s 175th Street Theatre. It will focus attention on one of the nation’s most magnificent movie palaces while at the same time letting people everywhere know that not everything happens in midtown Manhattan. There is a wealth of architectural splendor throughout the boroughs and this will highlight it.
Hi William, It looks like they changed the photo after I sent them a e-mail asking about why the theater hadn’t been mentioned as part of the story.
Wow! I hope you both are correct. The photo used in the news story was the one above. Hopefully, it was just sloppy reporting. Let’s cross our fingers!
Tinseltoes…It is the same building. Look at the photo. The theatre auditorium sticks out of the rear. The entrance/lobby is at the base and the hotel portion was above.
OY!!!! How painful. I wish the theaters were listed under the best known (most popular name) rather than their current name. However, I do understand why the current policy is in place. That said, I hate that the old Loew’s Astor Plaza is now a Best Buy theater.
Terrible news in today’s Real Deal. Apparently this building has been scheduled and approved by the city for demolition by Joe Sitt (the current owner). There is absolutely no mention of the historic theater which is sloppy journalism, but I just can’t believe how quickly this has changed. Here is a historic theater in an area with lots of foot traffic that is quickly developing after decades of decline and instead of restoring the theater they’re demolishing it? What happened with the landmarking process? Anyone know?
Here is the article:
Coney bank, Shore Hotel to be demolished
August 18, 2010 10:30AM
Bank of Coney Island (left) and the Shore Hotel Even inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this summer was not enough to save some of Coney Island’s oldest buildings from destruction. Demolition applications for the Bank of Coney Island and the Shore Hotel — both owned by Thor Equities — were approved last week, according to the city Department of Buildings, the Wall Street Journal reported. The pending demolition of these structures is the latest setback for community groups that tried to have the buildings preserved as landmarks. The Bank of Coney Island, built in 1923, has been vacant since 1997. The Shore Hotel, built in 1903, was operated as a hotel up until two years ago. Thor Equities, led by Joe Sitt, plans to replace the bank and hotel with temporary buildings that will be ready at the start of the 2011 summer season. Though Coney Island’s boardwalk was revitalized this summer with the opening of Luna Park, Surf Avenue and many of the neighborhood businesses continue to struggle and fear that they will be evicted. [WSJ]
What did it say?
What an incredible link! Thanks for posting it. Per the narrative, it appears that the outside of the theater is being restored but that there is no interior left for restoration. What is unclear is if the town of Yauco is recreating the interior in the original style. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I do agree that is is still wonderful to at least have the shell to admire rather than lose the entire thing.
Thanks AGR. It amazes me how many beautiful, yet relatively unknown, buildings remain in Puerto Rico waiting to be discovered and restored. Puerto Rico has been very lucky to have retained so much of its incredible architectural history; especially in Old San Juan, Ponce and San German.
Yay! That’s great news! Are there any other details?
Here is a summary of the WSJ story. I doubt any bank branch will keep anything of the interior though I wonder how much of the interior is still there.
Historic Queens theater angles for bank
August 06, 2010 12:30PM
The Eagle Theater
The historic Eagle Theater in Jackson Heights, Queens could see new life as a bank branch, the Wall Street Journal reported. While the 4,000-square-foot theater had successfully operated as a Bollywood movie house for a dozen years, the Mumbai, India film strike spelled disaster for the business. It’s sat empty for several months and now the leaseholder, Shaukat Ali, is looking for a subtenant who’s willing to pony up the $15,000-a-month rent for the ground floor. The bank branch idea appealed to Ali for obvious reasons: “I won’t have any problems collecting the rent,” Ali said.
Here is an article that I just found:
Showtime for School in Rundown Brownsville Theater
East | 7.29.10 | Matt Chaban
Where Al Joelson once performed, students will soon learn. (Courtesy POKO Partners)
Like many outlying parts of the city, Brownsville fell hard from its turn-of-the-century grandeur, with decaying reminders of its former greatness. Among them is the Loews Pitkin Theater, once home to the likes of Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, Humphrey Bogart, and Al Joelson’s last performance, as well as thousands of eager movie goers. The building has been closed since 1969â€"until last week, when a ground breaking was held for a new charter school and retail complex. Curbed and Brownstoner were among those in attendance, and they got some pretty amazing pictures of the building’s decrepit interiors (see some after the jump). We’ve since been sent the above rendering by the developers, POKO Partners, who are working with Kitchen & Associates, a firm based in Collingswood, New Jersey on the renovation.
Something tells us they should have no trouble finding space for an auditorium. (Will Femia/Courtesy Curbed) According to POKO, the project will mesh what remains of the building’s sumptuous Art Deco interiors with high-tech, sustainable features, creating something at once historic and cutting edge. The base of the building will house some 70,000 square feet of retail with a 90,000-square-foot, 1,100-seat elementary and middle school above, run by Ascend Learning. The project is expected to be completed in the next 18 months. “The Loews Pitkin Theater is exciting because it embodies POKO¹s core values of revitalizing neighborhoods and enhancing communities through positive and responsible real estate development,†POKO President and CEO Ken Olson said in a release.
John, thanks for your comment. I was about the express the very same sentiment. Nowhere in the article does it say how the school will be incorporated into the site, but I assume it will be done in the same way as the RKO Bushwick. The Pitkin exterior is still beautiful and should be preserved. Unfortunately, from what I have read, the interior is just to far gone for any restoration. Overall, this is great news for the old Pitkin.
I’m not at all worried about any Tony “threats” to the theater. Let’s remind ourselves that the Tony’s have been housed in one of the world’s greatest movie palaces for many years: Radio City!
In addition, many acts have played the United Palace whose fans I feared had the potential to damage the theater much more than the performers. But my fears were not warranted. The United Palace has maintained the theater beautifully and I have no reason to think that it will change anytime soon.
Bridgeport has been in the dumps for so many years, but lately there are stirrings of renewal. Here they have not one, but two incredible palaces waiting for renewal. Bridgeport is very fortunate to have these in place for restoration and should take advantage of restoring building that will NEVER be built again.
does anyone know what happened?
It was just announced that the Loews 175th Street theatre will be the home of next year’s TONY awards!!!!! How fabulous is that? It seems that Cirque de Soleil has Radio City booked for next June. A new home needed to be found and so they moved on up to Washington Heights! This will be a great showcase for one of the country’s most beautiful theaters.
The crane crash was during the construction of the Millennium Hotel across the street which, ironically, has incorporated the exquisite “Hudson Theater” into the hotel and serves as a conference center and event space. The theater is spectacularly renovated and is a hidden gem that most theater enthusiasts forget exists.
Up Kew Gardens Road about 4 blocks to Lefferts Blvd, make a right, go one block to Austin Street and Presto….Kew Gardens Cinema! Even closer if you take the LIRR to the Kew Gardens Station: Once off the train, make a left up the street to Lefferts Blvd then make another left and at the end of the block on the right hand side is the theater.