This restoration adds yet another spectacular restored Movie Palace to New York. No other city (except perhaps Los Angeles) can rival the number and quality of these restored palaces. Radio City, The New Amsterdam, The Hollywood, The Beacon, Loew’s 175th Street, The Ziegfeld, Loews Paradise, Loews Valencia, Loews Jersey, The Stanley (yes, I know the last 2 are in Jersey City but they are close enough), The Elmwood, Loews Metropolitan, The St. George. Loews Kings will take its place among the absolute best of restored palaces in the entire country if not the world.
Still to come…..Staten Island’s Paramount, The Brooklyn Paramount and what I think will be the biggest surprise of all, Loews Canal!
Agreed John! One need look no further than the fates of The Roxy, The Capitol, The Center, The Forum, The Paramount, The original Ziegfeld, The Hammerstein, The Olympia, and on and on.
The Loews Kings is most likely still with us because it is in Flatbush.
On the NY Times web site there is a small slide show. one of them shows a rendering of the renovated exterior. It shows the current boxy marquee removed and replaced with a marquee in the style of the beautiful original. Even better, it shows a Blade where the original “Loews” blade was. we can’t make out what it says, but I doubt it will say Loew’s. I wish it did. This is very exciting.
As wonderful as the restoration of the Loews Jersey has been, the icing on that cake would be the removal of its current hideous marquee with a recreation of the original + Blade which was similar in style to the Kings.
YAY!!!!! What wonderful news! Though the theater is not expected to formally reopen until 2014, the news that it will reopen at all is incredible! There is much work to be done and $70MM should be enough. That was about the amount of money spent on Radio City during its original restoration many years ago.
I was always confident this theater would be saved when others were so negative. I attended two for the theater tours conducted by the city for interested developers. My observations of those visits are posted above. This theater is truly spectacular and will be a jewel for Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has a population of 2.6MM and has just 2 significant performing arts venues. The Brooklyn Academy of Music and the PAC at Brooklyn College. There is room more much more.
Now that the Kings is on its way to recover, it is time to press Long Island Univertity on how it is going to restore The Brooklyn Paramount!
Based on what I have read on the Delancey’s page and elsewhere, I beileve that the interior has been virtually totally gutted.
That’s what makes the Canal so valuable. It is Manhattan’s one remaining unrenovated true palace that may still have most of its ornamentation in place. It’s just sitting there waiting to be “discovered” and reborn.
I am cautiously optomistic. I believe this theater is New York’s lone remaining theater “secret”. It’s a huge and architecturally significant theater that virtually no one knows exists. The big questions: How much of the original ornamentation is left? How much is the owner willing to spend to restore it? Will other organizations, city agencies, civic institutions pitch in to help with the cost? We still don’t really know the condition of the inside of this theater and it’s driving me nuts! :–)
Just visited Galveston last weekend and this theater is in bad shape. It’s a shame. Postings above indicate that this theater may be demolished for a parking lot. If there is anything this town needs less of it is more parking lots. Galveston still has a fair number of historic structures. However, there a way too many vacant lots making it look kind of desolate. These lots need to be filled in by architecturally sympathetic structures. of course that takes money, and this being Texas, which doesn’t seem to like zoning, it will never happen. It’s too bad, because Galveston has the right bones for a thriving historic district. A theater is important to get people downtown. Here is an empty one in a prime location, but again, this being Texas, they’ll tear it down.
Hi Bway, I’ve seen photos posted on this page and they were pretty amazing. I don’t know if the links still work, but other comments above implied that most of the interior was still there. I’m acutally busy at work righ now and don’t have the time to investigate, but I intend to. :–)
Isn’t this theater much more adorned and architecturally significant than the Ridgewood? Certainly it is on the inside. The danger, of course, is the familiar “economic hardship” that the owner can claim. This would be an incredible shame to lose this beautiful theater.
What’s left of the Eagle Theater’s once majestic marquee is rusting. Signs on the Jackson Triplex advertise films the movie house will never show.
Both of the small Jackson Heights movie theaters have closed within the last six months due to financial problems. And though many locals mourn the loss of cinemas in the neighborhood, others see it as a golden opportunity.
“It has awakened a sleeping giant in our community,” said Edwin Westley, president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. “It presents a new opportunity for us to improve the quality of life with a quality, world-class movie house.”
Westley said he wasn’t too disappointed when the theaters closed because they had fallen into disrepair. He would like to see an independent movie theater open in the neighborhood and he’s working with other community members to make it happen.
Several theater operators have expressed interest in opening a new movie house at the site of the Triplex, sources told the Daily News.
The disappearance of small movie houses isn’t a new phenomenon in Jackson Heights. The Polk Theatre on 37th Ave., which showed adult films, closed in 2006.
But the latest losses were devastating for fans of the Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival. The film portion of the fourth annual festival was supposed to have been at the Eagle, said festival founder Bryan Pu-Folkes. When the Eagle went dark, the festival switched the venue to the Triplex, he said.
Several days before the festival, organizers learned the Triplex was also to be shuttered, Pu-Folkes said. It closed Oct. 20.
“It’s very sad and disheartening that we don’t have a theater in the neighborhood,” he said.
But bringing one in is no easy task, said Edward Summer, chairman of the New York State Movie Theatre Corridor, which tries to preserve historic theaters.
It can be extremely difficult for small movie houses to compete with DVD sales and the typically more profitable multiplexes, he said.
These were problems for the Eagle, which was built in 1939, according to the Web site PropertyShark.com.
At one point, it showed pornographic films before specializing in Bollywood films more than a decade ago.
But the cinema was unable to survive the lethal mix of a Bollywood strike in India in April and the renewal of its lease, said former projectionist Amier Khan. The Eagle’s rent was set to more than quadruple, said property manager Judson Ain.
“There were no movies coming out anywhere,” Khan said. “We were losing business.”
The 85-year-old Triplex also struggled to stay afloat, said property broker Suraj (Sonny) Advaney.
It couldn’t compete with the multiplexes, Advaney said, and the owners were unable to pay rent and real estate taxes.
Since the Triplex closed, he has been approached by other cinema operators about the location, he said.
Does anyone have any other information to add about this theater and its future?
Do you know if they are considering exterior AND interior? We still haven’t gotten any real indicator of the condition inside this theater in several years. My hope is that this is the the New York’s hidden treasure that nobody knows about. This is a huge theater and it could be a spectacular restoration in an area that is quickly developing.
This theater seems to be finally up and running again. Today, NY1 did a live shot from the theater to celebrate its return to to regularly scheduled events under new management. Apparently, they have many events lined up from latin Concerts, Gospel choirs and Stephanie Mills among others. They panned the camera through the theater to show how beautiful the renovation is.
It looks like its finally in good hands, or at least better ones. Let’s hope that it is a great success. Next theater up? Loew’s Kings!
Per the article below, the theater is about to be purchased. There si absolutely no constructive mention of the theater in the article. We don’t know if will be destroyed, restored, or incorporated into the new planned development. This story apeared today in The Real Deal (New York’s Real Estate monthly) If anyone else has any additional information, please share with us!
Boymelgreen RKO Keith’s note to sell for less than $20M
October 26, 2009 12:30PM
By Adam Pincus
A rendering of RKO Keith’s A Midtown-based real estate investment firm is in negotiations to take control of the troubled RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater from Boymelgreen Developers by the end of the year.
Venator Capital has agreed to purchase a $20 million note secured by the Flushing, Queens property located at 135-27 Northern Boulevard from Doral Bank, said Sam Suzuki, a principal with Venator, ultimately giving the company full control of the theater.
Investors affiliated with Venator are active in the Bronx as well, where they are in contract to buy 16 mostly rent-regulated apartment buildings owned by Ocelot Properties, after buying six earlier this year.
The RKO Keith’s note purchase would be followed by a so-called friendly foreclosure in which Boymelgreen would sign over the deed to the new owner without a protracted court proceeding, Suzuki said.
“We have an agreement for the note and we just have to get certain due diligence done by the end of the year,” Suzuki said. The agreement was signed last week.
The note would be sold at a discount, but Suzuki would not disclose the price.
A senior vice president at Doral Bank, Kenneth DiGregorio, confirmed that negotiations were underway for the security, but, he too, would not disclose the price. An executive with Boymelgreen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Bronx and Queens agreements are examples of long-awaited distressed sales being negotiated in New York City. Such sales have only trickled into the market despite sharp drops in property values.
Boymelgreen has been trying to sell RKO Keith’s since a dispute with local Community Board 7 in 2007 prevented it from altering approved plans. In the spring of 2008, commercial sales firm Massey Knakal Realty Services listed the parcel for $31.5 million. After not selling, Boymelgreen gave the exclusive to brokerage RE/MAX, which had it listed for $24 million.
Boymelgreen bought the property in 2002 from notorious developer Tommy Huang for $15 million, but by 2008 had borrowed $20 million against the property.
Plans approved by the city allow for the development of 200 residential units, 10,000 square feet of retail and 12,500 square feet of community facility space as well as 229 parking spots, city records show.
Venator plans to partner with a developer to build the project, but would not discuss what would be built or specific numbers of units or square feet.
“I can’t say anything until I get possession,” Suzuki said.
In the Bronx, an entity called BXP 2, an affiliate of Hunter Property Management, a company owned by Venator, is in contract to buy 16 buildings that were part of the 24-building portfolio owned by Ocelot.
That sale is pending approval by Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant that holds mortgages on the 16 properties, Suzuki said.
A Hunter Property entity called BXP 1 paid $13.54 million for six Ocelot properties in May, including 1268 Stratford Avenue, city records show.
I also have to add, that I never saw any of these theaters while they were actually showing films. But I was able to enjoy and admire them many times during my “disco” years. I couldn’t even pick a favorite as each was spectacular in its own way; particularly The Palladium, Club USA and of course, The Saint!
Other big church conversions: Loews Metropolitan in Brooklyn,Loews Elmwood in Queens, The Hollywood in Manhattan, and The Stanley in Jersey City! All are restored and, I believe, intact.
While I know others would disagree, I found conversions to discos highly succesful in many high profile efforts. Who can forget the amazing Studio 54 (Gallo Opera House), The Saint (Loews Commodore), Club USA (The Forum), Palladium (Academy of Music), Xenon (Henry Miller), Bond’s International Casino (International Casino). These clubs stand out as among the most illustrious in New York’s history. There was something incredibly special about dancing under the amazing archtecture that these theaters provided. In most cases, these theaters were saved for many years after they would have been torn down as a result of their successful turns as discoteques. Unfortunately, only one, Studio 54, is still around for us to enjoy today as it has been successfully returned to live theater. All of the others, sadly, have been demolished.
Yep, it is now obvious how this theater got its name. This is truly one of the ugliest theaters I have ever seen. It was closed when I was in St. Augustine last week, but it appeared even uglier on the inside. Interestingly, just inside the theater is an old and very large film projector on display. How old is this theater? This can’t be the only theater in the history of St. Augustine, though I found no evidence of any other.
I hear you saps! The only theater that I currently buy tickets to is the Ziegfled. All other theaters, I buy tickets to the movie. Quite a change for the old days.
What a spectacular photo! What a shame. Ironically, this theater still exists in decay because the area around it is still a shambles. The key question is will the area improve enough to draw redevelopment before the theater reaches a point of no return.
Great point Ziggy! I do see the day when, once the interior is completed, the focus can shift to the outside. My preference would be marquee first then the blade. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE theater blades, but the main theater focal point is the marquee and the Jersey had a beauty. The blade would be the feather in the cap so to speak.
This restoration adds yet another spectacular restored Movie Palace to New York. No other city (except perhaps Los Angeles) can rival the number and quality of these restored palaces. Radio City, The New Amsterdam, The Hollywood, The Beacon, Loew’s 175th Street, The Ziegfeld, Loews Paradise, Loews Valencia, Loews Jersey, The Stanley (yes, I know the last 2 are in Jersey City but they are close enough), The Elmwood, Loews Metropolitan, The St. George. Loews Kings will take its place among the absolute best of restored palaces in the entire country if not the world.
Still to come…..Staten Island’s Paramount, The Brooklyn Paramount and what I think will be the biggest surprise of all, Loews Canal!
Agreed John! One need look no further than the fates of The Roxy, The Capitol, The Center, The Forum, The Paramount, The original Ziegfeld, The Hammerstein, The Olympia, and on and on.
The Loews Kings is most likely still with us because it is in Flatbush.
On the NY Times web site there is a small slide show. one of them shows a rendering of the renovated exterior. It shows the current boxy marquee removed and replaced with a marquee in the style of the beautiful original. Even better, it shows a Blade where the original “Loews” blade was. we can’t make out what it says, but I doubt it will say Loew’s. I wish it did. This is very exciting.
As wonderful as the restoration of the Loews Jersey has been, the icing on that cake would be the removal of its current hideous marquee with a recreation of the original + Blade which was similar in style to the Kings.
YAY!!!!! What wonderful news! Though the theater is not expected to formally reopen until 2014, the news that it will reopen at all is incredible! There is much work to be done and $70MM should be enough. That was about the amount of money spent on Radio City during its original restoration many years ago.
I was always confident this theater would be saved when others were so negative. I attended two for the theater tours conducted by the city for interested developers. My observations of those visits are posted above. This theater is truly spectacular and will be a jewel for Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has a population of 2.6MM and has just 2 significant performing arts venues. The Brooklyn Academy of Music and the PAC at Brooklyn College. There is room more much more.
Now that the Kings is on its way to recover, it is time to press Long Island Univertity on how it is going to restore The Brooklyn Paramount!
Yes, Bway. The quote is very encouraging! I can’t wait to see the evidence!
Based on what I have read on the Delancey’s page and elsewhere, I beileve that the interior has been virtually totally gutted.
That’s what makes the Canal so valuable. It is Manhattan’s one remaining unrenovated true palace that may still have most of its ornamentation in place. It’s just sitting there waiting to be “discovered” and reborn.
I am cautiously optomistic. I believe this theater is New York’s lone remaining theater “secret”. It’s a huge and architecturally significant theater that virtually no one knows exists. The big questions: How much of the original ornamentation is left? How much is the owner willing to spend to restore it? Will other organizations, city agencies, civic institutions pitch in to help with the cost? We still don’t really know the condition of the inside of this theater and it’s driving me nuts! :–)
Just visited Galveston last weekend and this theater is in bad shape. It’s a shame. Postings above indicate that this theater may be demolished for a parking lot. If there is anything this town needs less of it is more parking lots. Galveston still has a fair number of historic structures. However, there a way too many vacant lots making it look kind of desolate. These lots need to be filled in by architecturally sympathetic structures. of course that takes money, and this being Texas, which doesn’t seem to like zoning, it will never happen. It’s too bad, because Galveston has the right bones for a thriving historic district. A theater is important to get people downtown. Here is an empty one in a prime location, but again, this being Texas, they’ll tear it down.
I was just in Galveston and, yes, this theater is no longer there. The status should be changed to “Demolished”
Hi Bway, I’ve seen photos posted on this page and they were pretty amazing. I don’t know if the links still work, but other comments above implied that most of the interior was still there. I’m acutally busy at work righ now and don’t have the time to investigate, but I intend to. :–)
Isn’t this theater much more adorned and architecturally significant than the Ridgewood? Certainly it is on the inside. The danger, of course, is the familiar “economic hardship” that the owner can claim. This would be an incredible shame to lose this beautiful theater.
This article appeared in today’s Daily News:
What’s left of the Eagle Theater’s once majestic marquee is rusting. Signs on the Jackson Triplex advertise films the movie house will never show.
Both of the small Jackson Heights movie theaters have closed within the last six months due to financial problems. And though many locals mourn the loss of cinemas in the neighborhood, others see it as a golden opportunity.
“It has awakened a sleeping giant in our community,” said Edwin Westley, president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. “It presents a new opportunity for us to improve the quality of life with a quality, world-class movie house.”
Westley said he wasn’t too disappointed when the theaters closed because they had fallen into disrepair. He would like to see an independent movie theater open in the neighborhood and he’s working with other community members to make it happen.
Several theater operators have expressed interest in opening a new movie house at the site of the Triplex, sources told the Daily News.
The disappearance of small movie houses isn’t a new phenomenon in Jackson Heights. The Polk Theatre on 37th Ave., which showed adult films, closed in 2006.
But the latest losses were devastating for fans of the Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival. The film portion of the fourth annual festival was supposed to have been at the Eagle, said festival founder Bryan Pu-Folkes. When the Eagle went dark, the festival switched the venue to the Triplex, he said.
Several days before the festival, organizers learned the Triplex was also to be shuttered, Pu-Folkes said. It closed Oct. 20.
“It’s very sad and disheartening that we don’t have a theater in the neighborhood,” he said.
But bringing one in is no easy task, said Edward Summer, chairman of the New York State Movie Theatre Corridor, which tries to preserve historic theaters.
It can be extremely difficult for small movie houses to compete with DVD sales and the typically more profitable multiplexes, he said.
These were problems for the Eagle, which was built in 1939, according to the Web site PropertyShark.com.
At one point, it showed pornographic films before specializing in Bollywood films more than a decade ago.
But the cinema was unable to survive the lethal mix of a Bollywood strike in India in April and the renewal of its lease, said former projectionist Amier Khan. The Eagle’s rent was set to more than quadruple, said property manager Judson Ain.
“There were no movies coming out anywhere,” Khan said. “We were losing business.”
The 85-year-old Triplex also struggled to stay afloat, said property broker Suraj (Sonny) Advaney.
It couldn’t compete with the multiplexes, Advaney said, and the owners were unable to pay rent and real estate taxes.
Since the Triplex closed, he has been approached by other cinema operators about the location, he said.
Does anyone have any other information to add about this theater and its future?
Do you know if they are considering exterior AND interior? We still haven’t gotten any real indicator of the condition inside this theater in several years. My hope is that this is the the New York’s hidden treasure that nobody knows about. This is a huge theater and it could be a spectacular restoration in an area that is quickly developing.
This theater seems to be finally up and running again. Today, NY1 did a live shot from the theater to celebrate its return to to regularly scheduled events under new management. Apparently, they have many events lined up from latin Concerts, Gospel choirs and Stephanie Mills among others. They panned the camera through the theater to show how beautiful the renovation is.
It looks like its finally in good hands, or at least better ones. Let’s hope that it is a great success. Next theater up? Loew’s Kings!
Per the article below, the theater is about to be purchased. There si absolutely no constructive mention of the theater in the article. We don’t know if will be destroyed, restored, or incorporated into the new planned development. This story apeared today in The Real Deal (New York’s Real Estate monthly) If anyone else has any additional information, please share with us!
Boymelgreen RKO Keith’s note to sell for less than $20M
October 26, 2009 12:30PM
By Adam Pincus
A rendering of RKO Keith’s A Midtown-based real estate investment firm is in negotiations to take control of the troubled RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater from Boymelgreen Developers by the end of the year.
Venator Capital has agreed to purchase a $20 million note secured by the Flushing, Queens property located at 135-27 Northern Boulevard from Doral Bank, said Sam Suzuki, a principal with Venator, ultimately giving the company full control of the theater.
Investors affiliated with Venator are active in the Bronx as well, where they are in contract to buy 16 mostly rent-regulated apartment buildings owned by Ocelot Properties, after buying six earlier this year.
The RKO Keith’s note purchase would be followed by a so-called friendly foreclosure in which Boymelgreen would sign over the deed to the new owner without a protracted court proceeding, Suzuki said.
“We have an agreement for the note and we just have to get certain due diligence done by the end of the year,” Suzuki said. The agreement was signed last week.
The note would be sold at a discount, but Suzuki would not disclose the price.
A senior vice president at Doral Bank, Kenneth DiGregorio, confirmed that negotiations were underway for the security, but, he too, would not disclose the price. An executive with Boymelgreen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Bronx and Queens agreements are examples of long-awaited distressed sales being negotiated in New York City. Such sales have only trickled into the market despite sharp drops in property values.
Boymelgreen has been trying to sell RKO Keith’s since a dispute with local Community Board 7 in 2007 prevented it from altering approved plans. In the spring of 2008, commercial sales firm Massey Knakal Realty Services listed the parcel for $31.5 million. After not selling, Boymelgreen gave the exclusive to brokerage RE/MAX, which had it listed for $24 million.
Boymelgreen bought the property in 2002 from notorious developer Tommy Huang for $15 million, but by 2008 had borrowed $20 million against the property.
Plans approved by the city allow for the development of 200 residential units, 10,000 square feet of retail and 12,500 square feet of community facility space as well as 229 parking spots, city records show.
Venator plans to partner with a developer to build the project, but would not discuss what would be built or specific numbers of units or square feet.
“I can’t say anything until I get possession,” Suzuki said.
In the Bronx, an entity called BXP 2, an affiliate of Hunter Property Management, a company owned by Venator, is in contract to buy 16 buildings that were part of the 24-building portfolio owned by Ocelot.
That sale is pending approval by Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant that holds mortgages on the 16 properties, Suzuki said.
A Hunter Property entity called BXP 1 paid $13.54 million for six Ocelot properties in May, including 1268 Stratford Avenue, city records show.
I also have to add, that I never saw any of these theaters while they were actually showing films. But I was able to enjoy and admire them many times during my “disco” years. I couldn’t even pick a favorite as each was spectacular in its own way; particularly The Palladium, Club USA and of course, The Saint!
Other big church conversions: Loews Metropolitan in Brooklyn,Loews Elmwood in Queens, The Hollywood in Manhattan, and The Stanley in Jersey City! All are restored and, I believe, intact.
While I know others would disagree, I found conversions to discos highly succesful in many high profile efforts. Who can forget the amazing Studio 54 (Gallo Opera House), The Saint (Loews Commodore), Club USA (The Forum), Palladium (Academy of Music), Xenon (Henry Miller), Bond’s International Casino (International Casino). These clubs stand out as among the most illustrious in New York’s history. There was something incredibly special about dancing under the amazing archtecture that these theaters provided. In most cases, these theaters were saved for many years after they would have been torn down as a result of their successful turns as discoteques. Unfortunately, only one, Studio 54, is still around for us to enjoy today as it has been successfully returned to live theater. All of the others, sadly, have been demolished.
Yep, it is now obvious how this theater got its name. This is truly one of the ugliest theaters I have ever seen. It was closed when I was in St. Augustine last week, but it appeared even uglier on the inside. Interestingly, just inside the theater is an old and very large film projector on display. How old is this theater? This can’t be the only theater in the history of St. Augustine, though I found no evidence of any other.
I hear you saps! The only theater that I currently buy tickets to is the Ziegfled. All other theaters, I buy tickets to the movie. Quite a change for the old days.
What a spectacular photo! What a shame. Ironically, this theater still exists in decay because the area around it is still a shambles. The key question is will the area improve enough to draw redevelopment before the theater reaches a point of no return.
registering
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The link above has expired. Does anyone know if this theater has completed its restoration?
registering for comments
Great point Ziggy! I do see the day when, once the interior is completed, the focus can shift to the outside. My preference would be marquee first then the blade. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE theater blades, but the main theater focal point is the marquee and the Jersey had a beauty. The blade would be the feather in the cap so to speak.