RobertR… I remember the Syosset. Wasn’t it called Syosset Cinema 150? I thought that was a D-150 house rather than a proper Cinerama facility. I saw “Titanic” there as well as a pair of Schwarzenegger films, “True Lies” and “Terminator 2” (though not on the same bill). I remember thinking what a great Cinerama revival house it would have made if it had the proper equipment. This place was always packed whenever I attended. I think the owners just opted to cash-out of the place for retail development.
Anyway… was michaelweinstein mistaken in his post of Nov 8 about Cinerama at the Playhouse in Great Neck?
Jeffrey… thanks for those images! I am not aware of a multiplex in this vicinity. The 6 story white building on the left in both photos (it is partially obscured by a foreground apartment building in the 1st photo) is still there right where the Queens Blvd exit ramp on the westbound LIE leaves you. There used to be a Sam Goody as well as a big chain bookstore (can’t recall which one) located in the ground floor of that building. Anyway, everything to the right of that building along Queens Blvd (and directly facing the Elmwood and St. John’s Hospital) was part of the original Queens Center Mall construction. The Mall has since been expanded to the east (covering the parking lots in the center of each photo), but there is no multiplex within the center.
Were these photos taken from the Lefrak office building on Junction Blvd or perhpaps from one of the apartment buildings across the steet from it?
As for the marquee… the one depicted in your 1969 image was still intact when my Jr High graduation ceremonies were held at the Elmwood in 1979. I have a photo or two somewhere from in front of the theater that might show a glimpse of the marquee and facade… but then, if I scanned and posted them, eveyrone would see whatever dorky hairdo and period clothing I was wearing at the time!!! I’m not sure the marquee was ever entirely replaced with the multiplexing, but at the very least some flashing was installed to obscure the original neon trim and red “ELMWOOD” lettering.
You’re right about Nathan’s taking over Wetson’s! That didn’t last very long, although there are still a couple of standalone Nathan’s on Long Island (right outside the Herricks Theater on Hillside Ave for one). I remember a Roy Rogers restaurant occupied that spot for a number of years. Not sure what’s there right now. And Jack in the Box became Jack’s – where they specialized in taco’s and other fast food variations on Mexican fare – which was in turn put out of business by the success of Taco Bell. Last Jack’s I recall was on Norhtern Blvd in Flushing/Auburndale.
Warren points out the location of the original Lindy’s on Broadway and 51st. Actually, I believe there was a predecessor elsewhere along Broadway, but this was the restaurant where gangster Arnold Rothstein had his own personal booth and where the colorfully crooked characters created by Damon Runyon held court (though it was dubbed “Mindy’s” in Runyon’s short stories). Long after owner Leo “Lindy” Lindemann’s death, the restaurant operated on the corner of 45th and Broadway in the ground floor of the 1 Astor Plaza skyscraper that went up in the early ‘70’s – this is the location you’re thinking of hdtv267 (and the one that remains in my memory).
Last I knew, that location had closed and Lindy’s (now part of the Riese Organization) was up on Broadway and 53rd and I seem to recall there is also a Lindy’s across from Penn Station in the Hotel Pennsylvania on 7th Ave between 33rd and 32nd Streets.
Wow… I didn’t realize that the cobblestone on Northern Blvd wasn’t paved over at all at this intersection as late as ‘68! I remember as a kid seeing a number of cobblestone streets in Long Island City (where my grandmother worked on Queensboro Plaza). I can also recall many roads from my youth where the macadam pavement had eroded in spots and accidentally exposed the cobblestone and trolley tracks beneath (Junction Blvd and Merrick Blvd spring immediately to mind), but those were usually routinely patched up by the City. Of course, there have always been little pockets (mostly in Manhattan) purposely preserved for historical or economic reasons (South Street Seaport area, some blocks in Greenwich Village)… Were these streets purposely kept this way at the time in downtown Flushing due to the historic nature of the neighborhood?
Native… Wouldn’t the missing interior elements hinder any efforts to convince the LPC to designate this building a landmark? Not that I wouldn’t want to see it happen.
Nice photo, Jeffrey… if you had another shot that panned to the left, you’d see one of my favorite places to grab a burger when I was a kid – Wetson’s! Anyone remember that burger joint? When I was a kid living in Elmhurst in those years (say ‘68-'72) it wasn’t McDonald’s and Burger King but Wetson’s and Jack in the Box. I had this memory as a child that the Wetson’s was on the median in the middle of Queens Blvd right where it intersected with the LIE, but later realized that it couldn’t have been. I think it was located on the small strip between Queens Blvd and Hoffman Drive a couple of blocks to the east of the Elmwood. Anyway, that chain is long gone and probably isn’t coming back, but hopefully the Elmwood will be back (though not as a movie house) in all its original beauty and will be around for years to come.
This theater presented 3 strip Cinerama?!? I didn’t think that format ever crossed the East River out of Manhattan in the NY Metro area. Can someone confirm which features played here in that format and when? Was the curved screen maintained until the bitter end?
I took a drive over to this theater on lunch today (no camera), parked in the rear lot and took a walk around the place. From the outside, this appears to have been a very tall and narrow theater. The entire first level is occupied by a “Discount Department Store” which you can enter from either the former low-profile lobby on Hempstead Turnpike or through a new set of doors that open up to the parking lot behind the building. All interior walls between the outer lobby, the foyer and the auditorium have been removed to create a single L-shaped space with a low hanging and cheap-looking drop-ceiling. In the old foyer area, there is an opening into what must have been an adjacent retail space on the left side (as you enter from Hempstead Tpke) that extends the floor space of the store. There is no sign of that grand staircase Robbie mentioned in his June 2004 post, although I suppose it might have been obscured by remodeling. From the rear of the building, you can make out where that window described by Robbie was bricked over. In the deepest part of the store is their “furniture” department, which occupies the space that must have been in front of the screen. I took a long look around and there is absolutely nothing remaining of the old theater on this level of the building.
As for the area above the store, I couldn’t see how one would gain access. There is a sign on the rear of the building for a restaurant/catering hall named “Planet Malibu” (although the “M” seems to have fallen from the wall) that I assume occupied a lot of this space at some point – but I don’t know if the Discount store expanded into the former restaurant or if Planet Malibu occupied an upper level. There is a two story facade that wraps around the theater on the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Elmont Road and there is a storefront at the rear of that strip on Elmont (nearest to the parking lot behind the building) that is occupied by a French-language Baptist Church (serving a Haitian population, perhaps). The church advertises services held “upstairs” but I can’t make out if they have access to the upper level of the old theater or if they merely hold them in some space above the storefront.
So… I’m not sure how viable RobertR’s hopes are about re-opening the theater. The commercial occupant is still in business and a lot of reconstruction would seem to be required. The battered old “Century’s ARGO” sign (a sort of flat and square two sided vertical sign atop the roof of the outer lobby) is still hanging on against the odds. I’ll get back there with my camera soon and post some shots.
The street address for this theater is 2349 Jericho Turnpike and the town should be Garden City Park, NY. That is the listing for the Charlie Brown’s that occupies the former theater, however, phone directories list the location as being in New Hyde Park due to the 11040 zip code. However, this building is past the sign on Jericho Turnpike that welcomes eastbound traffic into “Garden City Park.”
Wow. Great photo once again, Warren. Thanks a lot! I was very, very young when my Mom or Grandfather took me here before it was triplexed, so most of my memories of this theater’s lush interior are from after the conversion. The balcony theater maintained much of it’s beauty, but the proscenium detailing and atomospheric ambeince was lost in the splitting of the orchestra level.
Before the auditorium is completely demolished for the Boymelgreen project, I hope a professional photographer is allowed access to space in order to document whatever ruins remain of the interior.
RCDTJ… I’m sure you’re correct, since this was your neighborhood growing up. I’ve worked in this area (Marcus Ave in Lake Success) for a number of years and I know I’ve seen an Eldee sign somewhere. Electronics makes sense, but I’m wondering if I’ve got it confused with an old fashioned Mom & Pop Drug Store sign. Was the “Eldee” in block letters or in script neon? In my mind I see it as neon script lettering on a dark red brick facade. But the mind does play tricks.
Anyway… Can someone provide dates for this theater’s operation?
I’m sure most of the gutting and refurbishing of the interior occured in the ‘60’s after Dwarf-Giraffe took over. I imagine that none of whatever (probably modest) ornamentation might have existed is left. Perhaps one day I’ll walk in and see if I can peek around the gym and basketball court – not that I expect to see anything like the remnants of the old Brooklyn Paramount in the LIU gym!
Thanks Warren. Looks like those “exit courts” leading to 44th Street on either side of the stage were within the building itself, though obviously buffered by fireproof walls. I wonder if those black double doors were part of the exit route at all on the Broadway side of the stage. Given the location of the stage door, that would have had the exit court on the western side of the stage leading through the space currently occupied by the Deli.
Drove by a few evenings ago and took these exterior pictures at dusk. Did this theater have fly space? There appears to be a tower above the old stage area (see the last photo) that now has some kind of small observatory-like structure on its roof.
As I posted way back in February 2003, I attended a party here in the main ballroom which is located on the top level and features the preserved auditorium ceiling – the only remaining interior element of the original theater. If you click this link to the Floral Terrace’s website, you’ll find a photo album of the Ballroom and can clearly make out the top of the proscenium arch and other ornamental detail. There is also a link to a “Virtual Tour” that would not load when I tried it.
There is also a page on that website that offers a brief and incomplete history of the Floral Theater, conveniently leaving out the part where the smashed 80% of the building’s interior to smithereens.
I took a couple of shots of the building I assume was the old Park Theater. It is now office space for a number of businesses and medical practices and is located on the north side of Jericho Turnpike on the corner of N. 10th Street (on the same block that intersects with Lakeville Road to the west). I never attended this theater, but I work in the neighborhood and decided to take my camera out for a cinematic tour.
The comments about Eldee Electronics are confusing me. I can visualize an “Eldee” sign written in neon script somewhere in the neighborhood, but I see it over a corner entrance in my mind’s eye, not over the building I just photographed for this site. Can anyone familiar with the area’s history pinpoint the Eldee sign?
How do you follow up a post like Ligg’s after so many months? Why, with photos, of course! I work in the area so recently grabbed some photos during lunch break. Also snapped the Herricks as well as the former Park and Floral theaters.
Anyway… the Alan sits in a largely vacant strip mall recessed off Hillside Avenue (to allow for parking) just east of the intersection with New Hyde Park Road. The upper facade looks original – except for the window you’ll see in the photo (I’m assuming that was added after conversion to retail/office space). The retail space on the ground floor (it was a “Dollar” discount store) is vacant and for rent. Peering through the window, the space does not appear to run all the way back to the rear of the former theater space and features a low drop-ceiling. The doorway under the “1614” address sing leads to a set of stairs going up to the 2nd level. There were a number of UPS trucks parked or idling in the rear lot adjacent to the theater, so some of the space might be used by the company, though I saw no signage to that effect. You can spot the balcony fire escape in the rear photo.
The interior of the Eckerd is all drop ceiling, so not sure if anything remains of the original interior above that or if it was gutted to the bare bricks. The upper facade of this entire shopping center (which runs from this corner at 255th Street all the way to 260th Street) was re-clad in that buff colored molding with green accents and awnings, so I imagine it looks quite different now from its theatrical days. However, the dimpled side and rear walls of the theater space look like they are original and I wonder if that is an original flat marquee (now advertising Eckerd) on the upper left wall in that rear building shot.
I wonder when the theater acquired the apostrophe in its name? Anyway… I never went here, but I work in the neighborhood so decided to take a quick tour of the New Hyde Park area cinemas (past and present).
Well… I took a drive by the former Rialto’s highly unlikely location the other day and snapped these photos. As jff posted, it’s smack in the middle of the most residential of Queens' blocks (15th Road, no less, not even Street or Avenue!) very close to where the busy 150th Street crosses over the Cross Island Parkway, but well out of the way for anyone except those who lived on the adjoining blocks to have known much about! Looking at the building now and knowing it used to be a theater, one can sort of recognize a familiar profile… But it is only really when looking at the rear of the structure (see the last photo below) with its walls angling back to where the screen was that the past is revealed to trained eyes.
First up – here’s a shot looking down the block from 150th Street (the theater is on the left side of the street from this view): View link
I imagine the trees on the block were younger and not as full as they are now, but even so, can you imagine walking along and peering down this street to see a movie theater marquee jutting out from between the row of houses?
The address should be corrected to “Queens Village, Queens, NY” as this neighborhood is definitely not Springfield Gardens.
By the way, the word on the illuminated side of the marquee in the 1st photo I posted above is “Bethel.” I wonder if there is any affiliation with the church that took over the old Cambria Theater (in nearby Cambria Heights) back in the 1970’s. They also retained the original marquee with a blue backgroung and the name “Bethel.”
I took these shots of the Community’s exterior a few nights ago at dusk, so some of the facade ornamentation detail is dimly lit. The marquee looks like it could be the original as depicted in the photo Warren posted on October 16th, with some alterations. Note that all of the lightbulbs on the underside of the canopy have been concealed with flashing. As for the bowling alley, looks like the church that occupies the old theater space has also taken over the store fronts that run down the block. And you’ll notice that the 2nd story windows have been rather sloppily replaced by smaller units.
I also have a shot of the theater (similar to the 1st photo but with more of a side view angle) taken back in 1993 which shows a few letters still hanging on the old marquee indicating what must have been the last films to play here. “White Man Can’t Jump” is definitely one of the titles. The other two films appear to be Bollywood productions. I’ll post that photo as soon as I digitize my 1993 batch of theater shots.
Here’s a nighttime shot of the enormous all-digital Nokia marquee taken just a few nights ago. It is much larger than the old Astor Plaza marquee – starting over the entrance at about the same spot but extending almost all the way to the corner of Broadway and 44th.
Thanks Warren. My mistake. Now… do you know anything about a possible old theater whose shell (at least) is still standing at Broadway and 204th Street? I drove past a few weeks back and thought I recognized the familiar roof-line of a theater on the west side of the block, but have been able to determine what that might have been.
Yes… It’s annoying that producers do not trust the natural acoustics of a theatrical space work their magic. This has long been a point of consternation with respect to the amplified presentation of most legitimate Broadway productions in recent years. Projection of one’s voice has become a lost art of sorts among current Broadway performers… Or perhaps “hidden art” is a more appropriate term since many capable singers are probably asked to tone it down and let the mic sell the number to those in the farthest reaches of the mezzanine.
Surely, the RCMH organ doesn’t require electronic amplification… does it?
RobertR… I remember the Syosset. Wasn’t it called Syosset Cinema 150? I thought that was a D-150 house rather than a proper Cinerama facility. I saw “Titanic” there as well as a pair of Schwarzenegger films, “True Lies” and “Terminator 2” (though not on the same bill). I remember thinking what a great Cinerama revival house it would have made if it had the proper equipment. This place was always packed whenever I attended. I think the owners just opted to cash-out of the place for retail development.
Anyway… was michaelweinstein mistaken in his post of Nov 8 about Cinerama at the Playhouse in Great Neck?
Jeffrey… thanks for those images! I am not aware of a multiplex in this vicinity. The 6 story white building on the left in both photos (it is partially obscured by a foreground apartment building in the 1st photo) is still there right where the Queens Blvd exit ramp on the westbound LIE leaves you. There used to be a Sam Goody as well as a big chain bookstore (can’t recall which one) located in the ground floor of that building. Anyway, everything to the right of that building along Queens Blvd (and directly facing the Elmwood and St. John’s Hospital) was part of the original Queens Center Mall construction. The Mall has since been expanded to the east (covering the parking lots in the center of each photo), but there is no multiplex within the center.
Were these photos taken from the Lefrak office building on Junction Blvd or perhpaps from one of the apartment buildings across the steet from it?
As for the marquee… the one depicted in your 1969 image was still intact when my Jr High graduation ceremonies were held at the Elmwood in 1979. I have a photo or two somewhere from in front of the theater that might show a glimpse of the marquee and facade… but then, if I scanned and posted them, eveyrone would see whatever dorky hairdo and period clothing I was wearing at the time!!! I’m not sure the marquee was ever entirely replaced with the multiplexing, but at the very least some flashing was installed to obscure the original neon trim and red “ELMWOOD” lettering.
You’re right about Nathan’s taking over Wetson’s! That didn’t last very long, although there are still a couple of standalone Nathan’s on Long Island (right outside the Herricks Theater on Hillside Ave for one). I remember a Roy Rogers restaurant occupied that spot for a number of years. Not sure what’s there right now. And Jack in the Box became Jack’s – where they specialized in taco’s and other fast food variations on Mexican fare – which was in turn put out of business by the success of Taco Bell. Last Jack’s I recall was on Norhtern Blvd in Flushing/Auburndale.
Warren points out the location of the original Lindy’s on Broadway and 51st. Actually, I believe there was a predecessor elsewhere along Broadway, but this was the restaurant where gangster Arnold Rothstein had his own personal booth and where the colorfully crooked characters created by Damon Runyon held court (though it was dubbed “Mindy’s” in Runyon’s short stories). Long after owner Leo “Lindy” Lindemann’s death, the restaurant operated on the corner of 45th and Broadway in the ground floor of the 1 Astor Plaza skyscraper that went up in the early ‘70’s – this is the location you’re thinking of hdtv267 (and the one that remains in my memory).
Last I knew, that location had closed and Lindy’s (now part of the Riese Organization) was up on Broadway and 53rd and I seem to recall there is also a Lindy’s across from Penn Station in the Hotel Pennsylvania on 7th Ave between 33rd and 32nd Streets.
Wow… I didn’t realize that the cobblestone on Northern Blvd wasn’t paved over at all at this intersection as late as ‘68! I remember as a kid seeing a number of cobblestone streets in Long Island City (where my grandmother worked on Queensboro Plaza). I can also recall many roads from my youth where the macadam pavement had eroded in spots and accidentally exposed the cobblestone and trolley tracks beneath (Junction Blvd and Merrick Blvd spring immediately to mind), but those were usually routinely patched up by the City. Of course, there have always been little pockets (mostly in Manhattan) purposely preserved for historical or economic reasons (South Street Seaport area, some blocks in Greenwich Village)… Were these streets purposely kept this way at the time in downtown Flushing due to the historic nature of the neighborhood?
Thanks, Lost Memory. And it was closed and occupied by the Eldee appliance store sometime in the early 80’s?
Native… Wouldn’t the missing interior elements hinder any efforts to convince the LPC to designate this building a landmark? Not that I wouldn’t want to see it happen.
Nice photo, Jeffrey… if you had another shot that panned to the left, you’d see one of my favorite places to grab a burger when I was a kid – Wetson’s! Anyone remember that burger joint? When I was a kid living in Elmhurst in those years (say ‘68-'72) it wasn’t McDonald’s and Burger King but Wetson’s and Jack in the Box. I had this memory as a child that the Wetson’s was on the median in the middle of Queens Blvd right where it intersected with the LIE, but later realized that it couldn’t have been. I think it was located on the small strip between Queens Blvd and Hoffman Drive a couple of blocks to the east of the Elmwood. Anyway, that chain is long gone and probably isn’t coming back, but hopefully the Elmwood will be back (though not as a movie house) in all its original beauty and will be around for years to come.
Does anyone know the dates of operation for this theater? I’m curious as to exactly when this theater was first opened.
This theater presented 3 strip Cinerama?!? I didn’t think that format ever crossed the East River out of Manhattan in the NY Metro area. Can someone confirm which features played here in that format and when? Was the curved screen maintained until the bitter end?
I took a drive over to this theater on lunch today (no camera), parked in the rear lot and took a walk around the place. From the outside, this appears to have been a very tall and narrow theater. The entire first level is occupied by a “Discount Department Store” which you can enter from either the former low-profile lobby on Hempstead Turnpike or through a new set of doors that open up to the parking lot behind the building. All interior walls between the outer lobby, the foyer and the auditorium have been removed to create a single L-shaped space with a low hanging and cheap-looking drop-ceiling. In the old foyer area, there is an opening into what must have been an adjacent retail space on the left side (as you enter from Hempstead Tpke) that extends the floor space of the store. There is no sign of that grand staircase Robbie mentioned in his June 2004 post, although I suppose it might have been obscured by remodeling. From the rear of the building, you can make out where that window described by Robbie was bricked over. In the deepest part of the store is their “furniture” department, which occupies the space that must have been in front of the screen. I took a long look around and there is absolutely nothing remaining of the old theater on this level of the building.
As for the area above the store, I couldn’t see how one would gain access. There is a sign on the rear of the building for a restaurant/catering hall named “Planet Malibu” (although the “M” seems to have fallen from the wall) that I assume occupied a lot of this space at some point – but I don’t know if the Discount store expanded into the former restaurant or if Planet Malibu occupied an upper level. There is a two story facade that wraps around the theater on the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Elmont Road and there is a storefront at the rear of that strip on Elmont (nearest to the parking lot behind the building) that is occupied by a French-language Baptist Church (serving a Haitian population, perhaps). The church advertises services held “upstairs” but I can’t make out if they have access to the upper level of the old theater or if they merely hold them in some space above the storefront.
So… I’m not sure how viable RobertR’s hopes are about re-opening the theater. The commercial occupant is still in business and a lot of reconstruction would seem to be required. The battered old “Century’s ARGO” sign (a sort of flat and square two sided vertical sign atop the roof of the outer lobby) is still hanging on against the odds. I’ll get back there with my camera soon and post some shots.
The street address for this theater is 2349 Jericho Turnpike and the town should be Garden City Park, NY. That is the listing for the Charlie Brown’s that occupies the former theater, however, phone directories list the location as being in New Hyde Park due to the 11040 zip code. However, this building is past the sign on Jericho Turnpike that welcomes eastbound traffic into “Garden City Park.”
Wow. Great photo once again, Warren. Thanks a lot! I was very, very young when my Mom or Grandfather took me here before it was triplexed, so most of my memories of this theater’s lush interior are from after the conversion. The balcony theater maintained much of it’s beauty, but the proscenium detailing and atomospheric ambeince was lost in the splitting of the orchestra level.
Before the auditorium is completely demolished for the Boymelgreen project, I hope a professional photographer is allowed access to space in order to document whatever ruins remain of the interior.
RCDTJ… I’m sure you’re correct, since this was your neighborhood growing up. I’ve worked in this area (Marcus Ave in Lake Success) for a number of years and I know I’ve seen an Eldee sign somewhere. Electronics makes sense, but I’m wondering if I’ve got it confused with an old fashioned Mom & Pop Drug Store sign. Was the “Eldee” in block letters or in script neon? In my mind I see it as neon script lettering on a dark red brick facade. But the mind does play tricks.
Anyway… Can someone provide dates for this theater’s operation?
I’m sure most of the gutting and refurbishing of the interior occured in the ‘60’s after Dwarf-Giraffe took over. I imagine that none of whatever (probably modest) ornamentation might have existed is left. Perhaps one day I’ll walk in and see if I can peek around the gym and basketball court – not that I expect to see anything like the remnants of the old Brooklyn Paramount in the LIU gym!
Thanks Warren. Looks like those “exit courts” leading to 44th Street on either side of the stage were within the building itself, though obviously buffered by fireproof walls. I wonder if those black double doors were part of the exit route at all on the Broadway side of the stage. Given the location of the stage door, that would have had the exit court on the western side of the stage leading through the space currently occupied by the Deli.
Drove by a few evenings ago and took these exterior pictures at dusk. Did this theater have fly space? There appears to be a tower above the old stage area (see the last photo) that now has some kind of small observatory-like structure on its roof.
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As I posted way back in February 2003, I attended a party here in the main ballroom which is located on the top level and features the preserved auditorium ceiling – the only remaining interior element of the original theater. If you click this link to the Floral Terrace’s website, you’ll find a photo album of the Ballroom and can clearly make out the top of the proscenium arch and other ornamental detail. There is also a link to a “Virtual Tour” that would not load when I tried it.
There is also a page on that website that offers a brief and incomplete history of the Floral Theater, conveniently leaving out the part where the smashed 80% of the building’s interior to smithereens.
I took a couple of shots of the building I assume was the old Park Theater. It is now office space for a number of businesses and medical practices and is located on the north side of Jericho Turnpike on the corner of N. 10th Street (on the same block that intersects with Lakeville Road to the west). I never attended this theater, but I work in the neighborhood and decided to take my camera out for a cinematic tour.
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The comments about Eldee Electronics are confusing me. I can visualize an “Eldee” sign written in neon script somewhere in the neighborhood, but I see it over a corner entrance in my mind’s eye, not over the building I just photographed for this site. Can anyone familiar with the area’s history pinpoint the Eldee sign?
How do you follow up a post like Ligg’s after so many months? Why, with photos, of course! I work in the area so recently grabbed some photos during lunch break. Also snapped the Herricks as well as the former Park and Floral theaters.
Anyway… the Alan sits in a largely vacant strip mall recessed off Hillside Avenue (to allow for parking) just east of the intersection with New Hyde Park Road. The upper facade looks original – except for the window you’ll see in the photo (I’m assuming that was added after conversion to retail/office space). The retail space on the ground floor (it was a “Dollar” discount store) is vacant and for rent. Peering through the window, the space does not appear to run all the way back to the rear of the former theater space and features a low drop-ceiling. The doorway under the “1614” address sing leads to a set of stairs going up to the 2nd level. There were a number of UPS trucks parked or idling in the rear lot adjacent to the theater, so some of the space might be used by the company, though I saw no signage to that effect. You can spot the balcony fire escape in the rear photo.
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I never went to this theater, but I pass it on the way to work every day and grabbed a few exterior shots one morning last week:
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The interior of the Eckerd is all drop ceiling, so not sure if anything remains of the original interior above that or if it was gutted to the bare bricks. The upper facade of this entire shopping center (which runs from this corner at 255th Street all the way to 260th Street) was re-clad in that buff colored molding with green accents and awnings, so I imagine it looks quite different now from its theatrical days. However, the dimpled side and rear walls of the theater space look like they are original and I wonder if that is an original flat marquee (now advertising Eckerd) on the upper left wall in that rear building shot.
Here are a few exterior photos taken last week of the theater and the pylon marquee on Hillside Ave.
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I wonder when the theater acquired the apostrophe in its name? Anyway… I never went here, but I work in the neighborhood so decided to take a quick tour of the New Hyde Park area cinemas (past and present).
Well… I took a drive by the former Rialto’s highly unlikely location the other day and snapped these photos. As jff posted, it’s smack in the middle of the most residential of Queens' blocks (15th Road, no less, not even Street or Avenue!) very close to where the busy 150th Street crosses over the Cross Island Parkway, but well out of the way for anyone except those who lived on the adjoining blocks to have known much about! Looking at the building now and knowing it used to be a theater, one can sort of recognize a familiar profile… But it is only really when looking at the rear of the structure (see the last photo below) with its walls angling back to where the screen was that the past is revealed to trained eyes.
First up – here’s a shot looking down the block from 150th Street (the theater is on the left side of the street from this view): View link
I imagine the trees on the block were younger and not as full as they are now, but even so, can you imagine walking along and peering down this street to see a movie theater marquee jutting out from between the row of houses?
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This last shot of the building’s rear is taken from the sidewalk of the next block down (15th Drive):
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The address should be corrected to “Queens Village, Queens, NY” as this neighborhood is definitely not Springfield Gardens.
By the way, the word on the illuminated side of the marquee in the 1st photo I posted above is “Bethel.” I wonder if there is any affiliation with the church that took over the old Cambria Theater (in nearby Cambria Heights) back in the 1970’s. They also retained the original marquee with a blue backgroung and the name “Bethel.”
I took these shots of the Community’s exterior a few nights ago at dusk, so some of the facade ornamentation detail is dimly lit. The marquee looks like it could be the original as depicted in the photo Warren posted on October 16th, with some alterations. Note that all of the lightbulbs on the underside of the canopy have been concealed with flashing. As for the bowling alley, looks like the church that occupies the old theater space has also taken over the store fronts that run down the block. And you’ll notice that the 2nd story windows have been rather sloppily replaced by smaller units.
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I also have a shot of the theater (similar to the 1st photo but with more of a side view angle) taken back in 1993 which shows a few letters still hanging on the old marquee indicating what must have been the last films to play here. “White Man Can’t Jump” is definitely one of the titles. The other two films appear to be Bollywood productions. I’ll post that photo as soon as I digitize my 1993 batch of theater shots.
Here’s a nighttime shot of the enormous all-digital Nokia marquee taken just a few nights ago. It is much larger than the old Astor Plaza marquee – starting over the entrance at about the same spot but extending almost all the way to the corner of Broadway and 44th.
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The shot is taken from the opposite perspective from the photo that appears with the theater description above.
Thanks Warren. My mistake. Now… do you know anything about a possible old theater whose shell (at least) is still standing at Broadway and 204th Street? I drove past a few weeks back and thought I recognized the familiar roof-line of a theater on the west side of the block, but have been able to determine what that might have been.
Yes… It’s annoying that producers do not trust the natural acoustics of a theatrical space work their magic. This has long been a point of consternation with respect to the amplified presentation of most legitimate Broadway productions in recent years. Projection of one’s voice has become a lost art of sorts among current Broadway performers… Or perhaps “hidden art” is a more appropriate term since many capable singers are probably asked to tone it down and let the mic sell the number to those in the farthest reaches of the mezzanine.
Surely, the RCMH organ doesn’t require electronic amplification… does it?