Regal UA Midway
108-22 Queens Boulevard,
Forest Hills,
NY
11375
108-22 Queens Boulevard,
Forest Hills,
NY
11375
19 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 154 comments
Nice catch, Bway. I recall sneaking around to various films after seeing the film for which I paid admission. Sometimes a tricky task because there were one or two old timers on patrol in the lobby watching for such shenanigans. It was actually easiest when there were crowds queued up in the ticket lobby for popular films. My friends and I would casually exit from one auditorium into the lobby and visit the men’s room and then wait until we could filter into the crowd as it was allowed to proceed into their auditorium. This sort of thing is so much easier now, with the standard multiplex practice of ripping tickets right by the entrance to the lobby – not to mention the young minimum wage staffers who, by and large, could give a damn if you spend the whole day there migrating from one theater to the next.
Anyway, I was particularly fond of the two upstairs theaters, where we used to sit in the first row with our feet up on the railing due to the comfortable distance to the screen from that vantage point.
I also recall during midnight showings of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” that folks would run out onto the floor beyond the railing in front of the screen to participate in some of the usual audience rituals for those viewings (such as jumping up to “touch” the image of Susan Sarandon’s breasts during the “Touch Me” number). Looking back, I realize now that the floor between the seats and the screen was just a false ceiling erected to seperate the balcony theaters from the orchestra level. It’s a wonder none of the “Rocky Horror” participants ever fell through onto whatever was screening below!
The original description for this theater is incorrect. The first line says “Located in the Forest Hills section of Queens. After decades as a single screen movie palace, the 1942 built; Midway Theatre (named for the famous Battle of Midway) was sold in June 1997 to the Heskel Group……The theater was closed two months later and completely renovated into a nine-screen multiplex.”
While that is true, it did NOT go from a single screen theater “after decades of being a single screen movie palace” to the 9 screens it has today. From the mid to late 80’s to 1997, it was cut up into a quad, with two movie auditoriums in the old balcony, and two movie auditoriums in the orchestra level. I saw many movies in that theater in the quad set up, particularly in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Just went here for the first time in my 13 years living in Queens, saw Bucky Larson, Born to be a Star. Big crowd, 2 people myself included. Theater was quite nice, spiral staircases to the upper theaters, concession stands and bathrooms on both floors. Could never tell theater was 69 years old. But the admission prices compare to the Atlas Mall theather in Glendale. Matinee was $9.50! Nighttime showings are $13.50 with $17.50 tops for 3D!
I agree with joemanfre’s post about his father, Charlie. Not only should a section of the lobby be named for his father but the entire lobby should be named “The Charlie Manfre Lobby”.
Charlie was a great man who worked harder than anyone could ever imagine. His dedication to the Midway Theatre should always be remembered.
Thank you for posting these unique aerial views, Bway!
Getting back to my December 24, 2009 posting, if anyone has any other vintage photos or blueprints, or ads that I have not posted, please e-mail me at This will be part of a preservation campaign. Let’s all be part of this theater’s future. Another theater from one of my favorite and most highly regarded architects, Thomas W. Lamb.
Once again, this is the photoset: View link
Actually, I found a 1980 view, which shows the original roofline. This image however has north on the top, while the Bing one I posted earlier has north on the bottom, so just remember you are looking at it upside down from the bing.com map. Also, notice the old Forest Hill Theater’s roof is also still intact in the 1980’s image.
<img src=“http://www.historicaerials.com/featuredPOIImage.aspx?poi=9346” />
I wish we had an older image to compare, but here’s a view of the roof today:
View link
Yes. The roof was entirely removed, open to the air for a few weeks in the spring. The entire roof is now horizontal, rather than the original stepped shape of the 1942 construction. Perhaps Michael Perlman’s entry (flickr fotoset of Dec 25) can display both. I’ll take a look. The interior shots from the rear of the balcony displayed on previous entries in this blog can give you an idea of the stepped shape.
So I guess what you are saying is that the balcony, which apparently was itself quite large, was only extended beyond its original dimensions to the screen ares during the most recent renovation. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks Paul.
One question, however. What exactly did you mean when you said that the “sloping roof” was removed? Did they literally “eaise the roof? If yes, what exactly did the original look like?
The entire building was enlarged. The sloping roof was removed and extended to the end of the structure. The original balcony provided the stadium seating for the two largest theaters. The expansion of the theater in front of the original balcony allows three smaller theaters on the balcony level.
Bway, I think the elegant railing is original. Its Art Moderne design preferred neat lines over ornate flourishes. As a great popular architect, Lamb was able to provide designs that reflected the differing tastes of the times – and he really excelled in designing this lobby.
While I could only take a peek at the balcony theaters, it seemed clear to me that they were carved out of the old balcony – which was extended to the old stage – and not adapted from other space. But I can be mistaken and further research is necessary.
Thanks John! I was wondering how they did it. How did they break up the balcony? is it 5 theaters next to eachother in the old balcony? The downstairs theaters…it’s sounds like some are looking totally backwards from the original screen?
The railing you mentioned…is that original? I remember a fairly ornate railing upstairs in the balcony level of the lobby. I was wondering if that was still there. It doesn’t appear to be on the stairway anymore like it used to be.
Perhaps the Atlas Mall restaurant ad is part of a generic video produced for both Regal/UA theaters. Kudos to Michael Perlman for a very effective link of comprehensive materials.
Earlier today, my wife and I saw “Up in the Air” at the Midway. I strongly recommend it.
During the visit, I took a little time to investigate the lay-out of the place. Specifically, there are now four theaters on the ground floor and five at the balcony level. They basically divided the ground floor space into four quadrants, with the entrance to all situated about midway down the original center aisle. (We saw the movie in the far-east quadrant, which bordered the original movie screen.) All four theaters have been radically altered and possess little, if anything, of the original theater. The two theaters situated nearer to the lobby, in fact, reversed the original slant to accommodate the new sight lines. The seating, however, was very comfortable and well laid out.
I was also able to take a very quick peek into the upstairs theaters, all of which were carved out of the heavily renovated and extended old balcony. These are all very modern theaters with not a hint of Lamb. Even the ceilings have been dropped.
The one interior area of the Midway that remains relatively untouched is the central lobby, which was probably one of the old Midway’s most impressive features. Even here, however, the management has insisted upon placing large and very obstructive advertisements of future showings along Lamb’s beautiful second floor railing. But I guess they need to promote their product in these difficult times.
One final note. In its commendable efforts to aggressively promote this theater, the management has been urging local businesses to advertise their products between showings of the feature film. One of the businesses that took them up on this was a Japanese restaurant situated – at the Atlas Mall. I guess the mall’s local multi-plex is not drawing sufficient business to help this restaurant survive on its own. (And we all thought the mall would be the Cinemart’s death knell!)
Hope you find this interesting – and have a Happy New Year!
Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of the Midway from before the rebuild. I do remember the two story lobby, and it was sort of an ornate iron railing that went up to the second floor on the stairway. Upstairs, they had an area with video games.
I remember the Midway being “old”, but very well kept when I used to go in the 80’s and early 90’s. it was always clean.
Hi Bway! Happy holidays!!! Do you have any photos from the time you patronized the Midway? It would be helpful, since I’d like to add as many noteworthy semi-vintage and vintage photos as possible, and give you and other parties credit on my Midway Theatre flickr photoset. I look forward to hearing from many other Cinema Treasures members on this thread. E-mail
I remember it being a quad theater as well, when I was younger. I am not sure if the screens were gutted completely in the late 90s. I assume that they took each of the 4 screens and divided them in half to bring us to 8 screens, and then was able to provide an additional screen by using a storage space, or carving one space of the quad into 3 rather. Thoughts, anyone?
Thanks! It looks great….I haven’t been in the Midway since it was still a 4/plex cut up from the original. I haven’t been in there since the rebuild.
The lobby, looks somewhat similar to what I remember, although much more modern now of course, but I remember the two levels like that.
What are the theaters carved out of? Was the whold theater gutted to a shell, or are there some semblance of where the old balcony was, and the cut up orchestra level? It was easy to tell where they got the “4 theaters” from in the original cutting up, but where did they get the extra 5 from?
This is an updated photoset courtesy of Michael Perlman, Chair of Rego-Forest Preservation Council. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge each photo, and choose the resolution/size you prefer to view them in. It consists of facade photos in day & night, detailed theater lobby/foyer images, vintage images, and vintage ads. It will be updated on a gradual basis. If you have any other vintage photos or blueprints, or ads that we may not already have, please e-mail
Enjoy the photoset: View link
This is a Midway Theatre photoset courtesy of Rego-Forest Preservation Council. The photos can be viewed in various resolutions and downloaded for future reference: View link
I will update it with interior views shortly.
I haven’t been in the midway since the early 90’s, before the renovation, it was still a 4-plex last I was in it. It was always clean and well kept. I do vaguely remember the lobby, and it had a nice ornate railing going up to the second floor. That’s about all I remember though…
My wife and I just saw a performance of District 9 in one of the Midway’s small second floor theaters earlier today. We recommend both the movie as well as the theater.
It is interesting how Lamb creatively adapted his designs to conform to different tastes. While far less opulent than many of his other creations, the Midway lobby, which is mostly intact, makes a wonderful impression by saying more with less.
If I remember correctly, you could also see down in the lobby from the balcony level even before the rebuild, but my memory on the Midway is a little fuzzy, as I haven’t been in it since about 1993 or so.
In the rebuild, what was done? Was it gutted to the walls? Where did they get the space for the extra auditoriums they have now (for example, before the rebuild I think it was two balcony theaters and two orchestra level theaters)? Is anything of the original theater intact inside?
I first attended the Midway in the late 1980s, and I hated going to the long tunnel-like main floor theatres that ended in little tiny screens with sometimes tinny sound. The balcony theatres were nicer as others have pointed out above because of the stadium-type raking and the larger screens. But as in so many of the conversions of this type, the geography of balcony seats facing toward the wall in the middle of the theater while the projection booth threw an image out from the center toward a screen curved toward the middle required a head tilt during the entire movie. I don’t get out there all that often now since the part of Queens I’m in now is more convenient to Manhattan than to Forest Hills, but every time I do (and I saw two films there yesterday) I am reminded of how good a job they did when they rebuilt the theatre in the late 1997. The auditoriums aren’t particularly big, but they’re more pleasant than 11 of the screens at the Kips Bay or any of the screens at the Kaufman Astoria and many other newer theatres. Comfy seats, nice sound, decent size screens even in the small auditoriums. And still with a grand staircase in the lobby and the nice people watching from the balcony level.
I used to love this theater when I was a teenager, and it was always well kept back then, even after it was sliced up into 4 theaters.
To all of those who worked at the UA Midway during the 1970’s, who could forget the great movies, i.e. Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, The Sting, just to name a few, but also the great fights on closed circuit television, i.e. the Thrilla in Manilla! But no one who worked with him or knew of him could ever forget the man, none other than Salvatore “Charlie” Manfre'. An icon at this enormous hot spot of entertainment, Charlie put all he had, and then some, into what he did, and many a person loved him for it. Besides being the unofficial manager of the theatre, he was the unofficial mayor of Forest Hills, admired by everyone, and every vendor within 3-5 blocks of the place went out of their way for him! Charlie was like family!For those who have wrote some nice things about him in the comments, i.e. Rob B and Nick P, thank you and god bless. He was all you said and implied! And for the current owners, who knew him very well, a place in the Lobby of the current theatre should be dedicated to Charlie because of all he did and meant to that place for 30+ years. There will never again be a person like him to grace that facility. A treasure worth the dedication! Alas, we lost Charlie back in 1998, but I’m sure he’s running God’s movie theatre on 1 Heavenly Drive! Here’s to you, Pop, and give a big kiss to Mom.
Your son,
Joey