Loew's Valencia Theatre
165-11 Jamaica Avenue,
Jamaica,
NY
11432
165-11 Jamaica Avenue,
Jamaica,
NY
11432
36 people
favorited this theater
Showing 201 - 225 of 480 comments
It’s a bit before my time to remember that show’s original sponsor.
Dorothy Kilgallen had no armpits ?
What about Tom Posten ?
Stopette served as the original sponsor of that show, no? It always seemed difficult to imagine Ms Kilgallen applying it to hereself. Arlene Francis, o.k., and Bennett Cerf, sure; John Daly, definitely. But Dorothy?
Possibly. The reference was to Dorothy Kilgallen’s famous question on “What’s My Line ?” : “Is it bigger than a breadbox ?”
Stopette, Sure, Mitchum, Right Guard …
Or, they could have had their underarm sweat glands excised.
Or maybe they flew on their brooms …
That breadbox must’ve had wings to transport those ladies from the Kings to the Valencia between 9:30 and 10:30 pm. The interview couldn’t have lasted more than fifteen or twenty minutes, no? The mad dash would have made them grateful for Stopette Deodorant, yes?
Cool ! I guess the severed head is smaller than a breadbox !
First Run at COOL Loews Near Your Home
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It’s hard to be neutral, mikemovies, when your last comment cracks me up like this! ROFLMFAO!
I bet $10 on the monkey. haha
Interesting that the Valencia part of the ad, under “Vaudeville”, mentions Borrah Minevitch, with, presumably, his “Harmonica Rascals”.
“South Pacific” enjoyed a re-release at the two big Loew’s houses in Queens, late spring of ‘64:
Showcase Presentation – LI Star Journal 5/18/64
This “Showcase Presentation” also included bookings into a number of Century’s Theaters, according to another ad elsewhere in that paper.
She could, but it all depends on how old she was at the time. If she was a teenager, she could still be alive. Chances are slimer and slimer that she’s still alive if she was any older than a teenager.
Welcome, Wasu ! Thanks for posting your experience here. I have heard from others about how magical the Valencia Theatre was. We could very much use someone here of your age and experience. I hope you enjoy, and continue to contribute to, this site.
You might be of particular help to some of us younger members who are trying to probe and figure out the past, such as the Ridgewood Follies Theater, or the Gem or Embassy Theaters in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn.
As you are about my father’s age, I would appreciate any help you may have to offer about the Bushwick, Bklyn theaters he remembers attending, such as the Decatur, the Monroe, and larger movie houses like the RKO Bushwick, Loews Gates, and the Colonial.
I saw Tarzan the Ape Man at the Valencia in Jamaica in 1932. I was thirteen years old.
I don’t know what thrilled me the most, the movie or that magical ceiling with its movable clouds and stars.
I have never had a theatrical experience to equal it.
WASU
I agree Warren. Perhaps “restoration” was the wrong word. I guess I should have said “renovation”, as of course the building is being very well maintained. The colors are pretty gaudy, but again, at least the paint protects the plaster, and it’s just paint, who knows, one day, it could be “restored”. And of course, as I mentioned somewhere else (I think in the Elmwood page), the church has to make the building suitable for their needs, and that of course means flooding the interior with a lot more light than was necessary as a movie theater. The atmospheric design may have worked for people entering the building and sitting, waiting for a movie or performance to begin, but that may not be apropriate or needed for people coming to religious service.
At least the building is being maintained. It’s not ideal that it’s interior has those really wild colors, the chandelier there, and not showing movies, but it’s obviously a lot better than the alternative. In the meantime, the building is being cared for, and who knows, one day very very far in the future……. That’s a lot more than so many other theaters can ever hope for which are lost forever.
Pam Grier was “Foxy Brown”. And let’s not forget Rosalind Cash in 1971’s “The Omega Man”.
I passed by there today… One day I’ll have to go in for a peak around and maybe enjoy the choir. And BrooklynJim, don’t forget the sequel to “Blacula”… “Scream Blacula Scream” featuring the lovely Pam Grier as a modern day voodoo priestess!
True, well the stage becomes the altar, just with the screen removed. At the Valencia, the Choir sings from the stage, at least that’s what it looks like from the photos.
Or a pulpit. Sometimes the stage remains, or is refurbished, and is used for live singing (choir) or dance productions.
Jim, it’s unfortunate that the Valencia is no longer a theater, however, at least the building survives. The church takes very good care of the building, and has actually renovated and restored the interior. There are photos linked far above on this page.
They have chosen extrememly garish and gaudy color schemes for the interior of the Valencia, however, at least it is being well maintained, as the alternative would have been a shame to see it rot like the RKO Keith’s Flushing, or the Kings in Brooklyn, or worse, demolished.
Churches lend themselves well as an after theater use, as they need much of the same features a theater needs. Most of the time, they won’t look all that different when you go into them after conversion to a church, as all the seats remain, the ornamentation, etc. The only thing absent is the screen replaced with an altar.
Try looking for “Blacula” on DVD or VHS.
Dang, Peter, I never got to see “Blacula.” Rats! Mebbe before I head for that big Box Office in the Sky…
Thanks for your input on the Valencia, BrooklynJim. Yes, there was also a Merrick Theatre, not far from the Alden. They, along with the Hillside, all have pages on this site.
There is plenty of material on this page about the Valencia as a church, The Tabernacle Of Prayer For All People.
I remember the “blaxploitation” films very well, including “Shaft” and “Foxy Brown” : “She’s sweet brown sugar and spice, who’ll put your ass on ice !” or some such slogan. Also William Marshall as “Blacula”, 1969’s “Change Of Mind”, about a black-white brain transplant, starring Raymond St. Jacques and Susan Oliver, and November 1974’s “Abby”, the blaxploitation cash-in on “The Exorcist” :
“Abby doesn’t need a man any more … the Devil is her lover now !”
The Valencia, for years hidden in shadows of the 168th St. station, was IMHO one of the classiest theaters in Queens, not just Jamaica. I started attending St. John’s in ‘63, so this, the RKO Alden and the Hillside on Sutphin Blvd. (was there a Merrick Theater too?) were added to my list of movie haunts. Sadly, other than the earliest James Bond films with Sean Connery, I cannot remember too many other specific movies that I saw there.
What I do vividly recall are more atmospheric memories. For example, Cassius Clay a.k.a. Muhummad Ali connected with many a black movie-goer by having some of his fights shown at this theater on closed circuit TV, very much like today’s Pay-Per-View. It was a bit out of my price range, so I never got to attend any of those.
Jamaica and other parts of Queens were changing ethnically and demographically, so the latter part of the ‘60s and the early '70s had a glut of the so-called “blaxploitation” films. In a way, this was good for black movie makers and chain theater operators, but white folks seemed to be out of their comfort zone with this. Sad, because there were a couple of real gems they missed, but maybe they caught up with later on TV or home video: “Foxy Brown” with Pam Grier and Richard Roundtree’s/Gordon Parks’ “Shaft” to name just two.
Jamaica Ave. doesn’t look the same to me without the el, and I saw that the Valencia is now a gospel-type church. Praise da Lord! Amen!
Thanks for the heads-up, Warren!
It seems from what you’ve written, Warren, that, in 1934, Jamaica needed a new store more than a new theatre.