In 1978 I saw “The Wild Geese” there (Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris). It was still an undivided theater. Smoking was restricted to the balcony.
Almost makes me cry to see homeless sleeping in front of this once-beautiful, now decrepit theater. The marquee is still advertising “Thor: The Dark World” and “Frozen.” All the retail stores physically connected to it are empty; maybe the whole structure will be demolished. It almost certainly will never re-open as a theater. But I can dream … I remember seeing “The Wild Geese” (Richard Burton, Richard Harris) with friends in 1978. We had to sit in the balcony because one of them was a smoker. (:D) Joey D’s pizzeria across the street, also gone with the wind.
I wish to corroborate Ed’s memory. The Google street view that I have (1/15/13) is dated June 2011, so if the structure was demolished, it happened in the last 18 months. In the 1960s, on the corner of Beach and Randall Avenues where that pharmacy and medical office now stands, was a luncheonette. Somewhere in the middle of the Beach Theater block was a pizzeria, where I would go after school (Holy Cross) almost daily. Just north of the theater, where there is now a parking lot, was a hilly, undeveloped lot with a tree that we could throw a rope around and swing from. I remember the frenzied crowds in 1966 when the Adam West “Batman” movie opened there and someone dressed as the Caped Crusader (West himself?) was mobbed. I didn’t move out of that area until 1975, but I just don’t remember its conversion to a church, apparently in 1969. Great memories of watching flicks there from about 1963 to 1968 (“Bye Bye Birdie,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “Jason and Argonauts” stand out.)
SlimFocus, wasn’t the bookstore (which I barely remember) on Ithaca and Baxter (where a Chipotle’s now stands)?
In 1978 I saw “The Wild Geese” there (Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris). It was still an undivided theater. Smoking was restricted to the balcony.
In 1925, it was oriented toward the new neighborhood, Jackson Heights, but it was clearly in Elmhurst, no?
Almost makes me cry to see homeless sleeping in front of this once-beautiful, now decrepit theater. The marquee is still advertising “Thor: The Dark World” and “Frozen.” All the retail stores physically connected to it are empty; maybe the whole structure will be demolished. It almost certainly will never re-open as a theater. But I can dream … I remember seeing “The Wild Geese” (Richard Burton, Richard Harris) with friends in 1978. We had to sit in the balcony because one of them was a smoker. (:D) Joey D’s pizzeria across the street, also gone with the wind.
I wish to corroborate Ed’s memory. The Google street view that I have (1/15/13) is dated June 2011, so if the structure was demolished, it happened in the last 18 months. In the 1960s, on the corner of Beach and Randall Avenues where that pharmacy and medical office now stands, was a luncheonette. Somewhere in the middle of the Beach Theater block was a pizzeria, where I would go after school (Holy Cross) almost daily. Just north of the theater, where there is now a parking lot, was a hilly, undeveloped lot with a tree that we could throw a rope around and swing from. I remember the frenzied crowds in 1966 when the Adam West “Batman” movie opened there and someone dressed as the Caped Crusader (West himself?) was mobbed. I didn’t move out of that area until 1975, but I just don’t remember its conversion to a church, apparently in 1969. Great memories of watching flicks there from about 1963 to 1968 (“Bye Bye Birdie,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “Jason and Argonauts” stand out.)