Loew's Triboro Theatre

I went to the movies at the Loew's Triboro from 1943 to about 1956 and would like any information I can get on when it was demolished. I loved the place and remember vaudeville performances on Tuesday evenings there. The Triboro shaped my childhood in ways that cannot be measured.

I LIVED ON STEINWAY STREET 1/2 BLOCK FROM THIS THEATER AND ACROSS FROM THE ASTORIA THEATRE LOCATED 1 BLOCK SOUTH OF THE LOEWS..

I SPENT MANY HOURS IN THE LOEWS IT WAS A MAGNIFICENT THEATRE HUGE WITH BALCONIES AND FACADES BUILT WITH THE OUTDOOR THEATRES OF ANCIENT TIMES IN MIND WITH DETAIL OF HAVING THE CEILING REPLICATING THE NIGHT SKY WITH TWINKLING LIGHTS REPRESENTING STARS...

THEY TORE THIS THEATRE DOWN AROUND 1970 TO PUT UP 2 FAMILY HOUSING WITH STORES BELOW THEM..

WHAT A CRIME. WHAT A SHAME. THIS JUST BEFORE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETIES CAME TO THE FOREFRONT...

IF IT WASNT FOR JACKIE ONASSIS WE WOULD HAVE LOST GRAND CENTRAL STATION...SHE SAVED IT AFTER SHE FOUND OUT WHAT THEY DID TO THE GRAND AND ELEGANT PENN STATION....

The theater was demolished in 1974. I was involved in the effort to have the theater designated as a landmark. Landmark Preservation Commission had already voted to make it a landmark.

Unfortunately, like everything in New York, politics entered into it. the decision had already been made before a Board of Estimate meeting by the Queens Borough President ( very anti preservationist) that he would vote against making it a landmark. All the other board members voted lockstep behind him (I scratch your back and you scratch mine etc). Although I helped to obtain over 8000 signatures on petitions to save it, few people showed up at the Board meeting. I feel to this day if more support was shown at the board meeting, the results might have been different. Astoria went downhill after that and now their last movie theater Astoria) just closed. Steinway street once had 4 theaters. Now they have none. an interesting footnote is that the public official (Queens Borough president) who basically killed the landmark designation committed suicide a few years later due to a growing scandal which he though would engulf him

Many thanks to William McQuade and Manny for their help in identifying when the Loew's Triboro was demolished. What a shame, to have lost such a magnificent building and history. I'll have a new book of poems out around 2003 or 2004 called LOEW'S TRIBORO,from New Directions,and I hope the cover will be a photo of the Loew's Triboro.

The Loew's Triboro Theatre was located at Steinway Street and 28th Ave..

Loew's Triboro first opened its doors to the public at 12 Noon on February 21, 1931, with Marie Dressler & Polly Moran in MGM"s "Reducing" on screen, and six acts of vaudeville topped by Mitchell & Durant, Artie Lewis, Peggy Ames, and the Neal Sisters. Advertising claimed "3,800 seats in a palace of dreams!" Amusingly, an ad photo showing part of the stage and adjoining side wall is actually of Loew's Paradise in the Bronx! The two "atmospheric" theatres do have some similarities, but the Triboro was designed by Thomas Lamb, and the Paradise (which opened in 1929) by John Eberson. The Triboro had a complete change of program every Saturday and Wednesday. Its "loew" admission prices started at 25 cents for weekday matinees and ascended to a high of 50 cents at night and all day Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Not surprisingly, the Triboro proved an instant disaster. It was the height of the Depression. Astoria already had about six other theatres and not enough resident population to keep them filled. The area was also too close to Manhattan to be considered for first-run bookings, even for the borough of Queens. Loew's had already given that right to its own Valencia in Jamaica, which was exclusive first-run for Queens. The Triboro would get the movies a week after the Valencia, but at least exclusively and a week ahead of the remaining Loew's theatres in Queens. Vaudeville was quickly dropped from the Triboro in favor of double features. By the end of the Depression, business did improve at the Triboro, as it did for the movie industry generally, and held up through the WWII years and until around 1950 and the onslaught of home TV.

Many thanks to Warren and William for their info on the Loew's Triboro. I lived on 28th avenue, between 41st and 42nd Streets. The Triboro was only a breath away. I started attending Saturday matinees in 1943. My collection of poems, LOEW'S TRIBORO, will be published by New Directions in April 2004. On the cover is a picture of the Triboro marquee, and inside on the frontispiece is a picture of the entire building. JohnAllman

John, it seems possible that we attended the Triboro at the same times. My grandmother often took me there on Saturday matinees circa 1942-49. Some of the movies that I vividly recall seeing there are "The Jungle Book," "The Harvey Girls," "Son of Lassie," "National Velvet," and "Two Years Before the Mast." We always took the subway from Elmhurst. After leaving the station, it was still quite a long walk up Steinway Street to get to the Triboro. I would always insist on stopping to look at the posters and "stills" that were displayed by two theatres that we passed along the way, the Steinway and the Astoria. Nana would get annoyed because she was very punctual and afraid that we'd miss the start of the movie.

SWarren, you're right in my zone, even down to calling your grandmother Nana (my mother's mother we called Big Nana, my father's Little Nana). Anyway, I remember, certainly, the Steinway and the Astoria (which closed only couple of years ago). Where the Steinway used to be is now ,I believe, a parking lot. We saw old movies at the Steinway, including some horror classics. The first time I ever went to a movie at night by mself was at the Steinway. And I remember that long walk from the subway which I used to use for commuting back and forth to my job around 1952-1954.
I saw most of the films you mention at the Triboro. "Jungle Book" (with Sabu, right?) and "National Velevet" and "Two Years Before the Mast" (with Alan Ladd) for sure.
Once in a great whille I'm on Steinway Street and marvel at how even more crowded it is than it used to me, esp. on week-ends. And there's a much greater ethnic mix as well. Still a vital place to live.
John

John, the exterior of the Steinway Theatre still stands, but the interior was entirely gutted for a clothing store with two floors. I believe it's called Brothers, or something like that...Had the Triboro survived, I'm sure that it would be used for concerts catering to the many ethnic groups of the area. One night Greek shows, another Italian shows, Hispanic, or whatever.

Warren, Thanks for that on the old Steinway building. Next time I'm there, I'll look for it. You're right about the uses they might have put the Triboro to. A great loss. The interior of the Triboro is still very real in my head.

A descriptive article published in Motion Picture Herald at the time of the Triboro's 1931 opening claims that the exterior facade was in Aztec style, not Mayan (as reported in later generations). The interior, including the atmospheric auditorium, was Italian Renaissance. The cost of the land site, construction and furnishing amounted to around $2 million. Thanks to favorable weather conditions, the building was completed three months ahead of schedule...An unusual feature was two elevators, each capable of taking as many as 55 patrons at a time from the ground floor to the mezzanine and balcony levels. Their use must have been discontinued fairly early because I don't remember them from Triboro visits in the 1940s...The Triboro had a Transvox Enlarging Screen, which was Loew's own version of the Magnascope. Using a special lens plus adjustable masking around the screen, the projected image could be enlarged and shortened at will.

The Astoria theatre which just closed last year could also have been used for live shows, but it has been destroted also. I was amused when I read about the Queens Borough President fighting the Landmark designation. The one who replaced him was no better. I am not sure if you are aware of the Amphitheatre from the 1939 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows park. It had been unused for a few years and finally there was alot of intrest in restoring it and even a promoter willing to contract to put on shows there. Because of a fear from some well connected residents in affluent and somewhat nearby Forest Hills and Kew Gardens all of a sudden an aspestos issue was brought up and the BP used a special fund that required no community board approval to have the structure torn down. These residents were concerned about what kind of concerts would be given there. Meanwhile the amphitheatre is in the middle of a park and not close by to any homes. All this was carried out despite ongoing plans drawn up, meetings and negotiations with the concert promoter. Another Queens landmark destroyed.

I think Warren is right about the elevators in the Loew's Triboro being put out of use by the early 1940s. I started going to the Triboro in 1943 and don't remember ever having seen those elevators. But then I wouldn't have been allowed to go to the mezzanine or balcony unattended. But the restrooms were on the 2nd floor, as I remember. Who could forget all that faux Renaissance interior.

I am a bit younger than you guys (42) but still remember the great times we had going to the Loew's Triboro. Seeing movies from the early 70's like "5 Fingers Of Death", "Mark Of The Devil", "The Chosen Survivors" etc, in that big theatre always brings back great childhood memories. People my age always talk about it being torn down as one of the first bad things we can remember that happened in the community ("remember the Loews Triboro?.."). We're STILL pissed that they built a couple of 2 family homes there... What a slap in the face. The Astoria Theatre was kinda nice back then, but nowhere near a classic like the Triboro. It was more like the first big screen TV you'd ever seen! Then there was the Strand Theatre down on Broadway and Crescent St. It was small but a bit nicer than the Astoria. Until they closed it and made it a furniture store, then a deli.. Hopefully someone will reopen the RKO Keiths in Flushing in it's full glory one day. That was one of the last amazing theatres I was able to go to as a kid. I can't even begin to describe how cool that place was! Apparently some oriental guys have been trashing that one too.. These money grabbing multiplexes of today are one of the reasons that I only rent movies now. Kids growing up today don't know what they missed!

A photo of the 1931 opening day festivities at Loew's Triboro can be seen at www.astorialic.org/photo/steinway_street/sst10.shtm

Marquee, the quarterly journal of the Theatre Historical Society of America, has four pages of B&W photos of the Triboro in its issue for the Third Quarter of 2004 (Volume 36, #3). Thomas Lamb's design is described as "schizoid," since the Triboro's exterior was Aztec, the lobby French, and the auditorium Spanish atmospheric. The Triboro's organ, a Wurlitzer 3/11, Style 235, Op. 1699, came from Loew's Canal in Manhattan, which by the time of the Triboro's 1931 opening no longer had use for it...The original vertical sign carried the theatre's entire name, but it was later reduced to half that size with just Loew's (and no Triboro) to save on electricity and maintenance.

I can still see it in my head - the artificial sky, with the stars and drifting clouds. If the movie was boring, I would always look at that sky and be entertained. Also, that red velvet curtain in front of the screen. It was all so gorgeous, and I miss it to this day.

I grew up on 41st St. between Astoria blvd. & 25th Ave.
I used to attend the Loews Saturday matinees and once a year they would raffle 2 bikes (girl/boy). My friend "Steve" won the boy's bike 2 years in a row. What are the odds on that? There used to be another Theater on Steinway & 25th Ave named "Olympia". I saw a lot of movies there also. It later turned into a porn theater. The parents on my block would march in front on Saturday mornings with protest signs. That theater was eventually gutted for a clothing & electronics store. Yes, a clothing & electronics store. I don't know what type of business occupies the space now. Right now the most unique theater is in Suffern, NY. (Layfette theater) which still has the original decor and shows big screen classics, including silent films accompanied by a live pipe organ on Saturday mornings for only $6.00. Search for details online.

I think the Triboro was the first atmospheric theater I was ever taken to -- maybe I was four or five. Since my father took me to it on a nice clear Spring or Fall night (when the temperature inside was about the same as the temperature outside), I couldn't figure out if we were really outdoors or whether the inside of the theater was just designed to look that way. I think I tried to ask my father if we were really outdoors or indoors, but he was such a "kidder" I don't think I trusted his answer -- whatever it was!

Thanks mike j h for the name of the Olympia. I remember being taken to it to see an Abbott and Costello movie about 1956 or so. (I think the movie ends with them on some kind of train.)

I liked the movie so much, I asked my father if we could stay and see it again. He "warned" me that if we did, I'd miss the Mickey Mouse Show. (Obviously, we went to the theater in the afternoon.) I heard him, but it didn't really "sink in." So I was upset at myself when we got home, and I realized that I really didn't want to miss the Mickey Mouse show! Ah, another childhood lesson learned!

The Olympia is listed here under its original name of Cameo.

Benjamin-- Abbott and Costello's final film, "Dance with Me Henry," opened on 26 December 1956, so it might have been that film you saw. The juvenile roles in it were played by Gigi Perreau and Rusty Hamer.

This was in an article from the Queens Gazette:

"If you preferred to catch a movie at the Triboro in Astoria, October 1935 was a good month for the cinema. Local residents could see Clark Gable and Loretta Young in "Call of the Wild," Gary Cooper in "The Virginian," Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in "Top Hat," Frederic March and Merle Oberon in "Dark Angel," Paul Robeson in "Sanders of the River," and Maureen O'Sullivan in "The Bishop Misbehaves.

Later in the month Bette Davis was starring in the movie "Special Agent," which promised to show you how "Uncle Sam's T-Men mop up the Moneyed Mobsters!" The gangland movie proved to be almost too popular. On October 28 it was reported, "Yesterday afternoon about 3 o'clock, at the RKO Keith Theatre in Flushing, where the current screen attraction is 'Special Agent' with George Brent and Bette Davis, a 'special agent' (name unknown—as is usual with special agents) mounted on a fiery steed, entered the lobby of the theatre but in view of the fact that he was mounted and had tickets for neither himself nor the horse, Richard King, the amiable doorman, refused them admission.

It seems that the gentleman, who would not give his name, decided to spend his Sunday afternoon horseback riding, and happened on Main Street, which is a pretty busy thoroughfare on any afternoon, even in those days. The horse became frightened and unmanageable and ran away with his rider. He stopped only when halted in the lobby of the theatre when Mr. King demanded admission. Neither the horse nor the rider would purchase tickets to see the picture and went on their way".

Thanks (yet again!) Warren and BoxOfficeBill for the helpful info.

Since I'm not sure where else to place these questions, the Triboro site seems as good a place as any:

1) Does anyone know the name of the movie theater in Astoria on, I believe, 31st St. and Ditmars? I remember being taken there in the mid-1950s by some older neighborhood kids to see some kiddie matinee movie -- maybe even "Our Gang" comedies.

2) Does anyone remember a Mickey Rooney movie where he plays a guardian of a young boy. The boy is rebellious (sp?) and uncooperative. But the kid becomes cooperative all of a sudden when they go to some kind of carnival or circus and get caught in a fire.

Thanks in advance for any info anyone has!

Benjamin;

1. The closest I can get to your 31st St and Ditmars Boulevard address is in my 1950 Film Daily Yearbook, the Ditmars Theatre, 22-68 31st Street which had 597 seats listed. This is not currently listed on Cinema Treasures.

2. Approx what year was the Mickey Rooney movie?

Ken:

Looking at my Hagstrom, I get the impression that 22-68 31st St. would be approximately one subway stop further to the south from where I think the movie theater I'm talking about was. (It's hard for me to read this particular map in my Hagstrom atlas because, wouldn't you know it, the area is interrupted by the book's spiral binding.)

It's funny, and I may be way off, but in my recollection this theater is a "major" movie theater with a big marquee (in my mind, it is just one step below the Triboro in grandeur) and just about at the end of the line of the "elevated" along 31st St. (which even as a kid seemed too "delicious" for a disaster movie scene -- with the "el" trains shooting off the end of the elevated structure).

In my memory the theater is on the corner, with the big marquee facing the elevated on 31st St. and the left side of the auditorium running along Ditmars. I think there was a "tunnel" foyer/lobby running east-west, until it hit a north-south "real" lobby running across the back of the orchestra level.

2) The Mickey Rooney movie (if there was one, and I haven't mixed different movies/TV shows together in my mind) would have been around 1954, 1955 or 1956. (I once tried looking it up on Imdb, but it was very difficult to do -- it might have been an earlier movie of his that was re-released or on a double-bill?)

P.S. -- I haven't been to that area in ages, but looking at the Hagstom, the particular block that I'm thinking about seems to be a double-sized block. (For some reason, 32nd St. discontinues at 23rd Ave. and then starts up again at Ditmars.)

Benjamin;
Try looking at the Grand Theatre http://www.cinematreasures.org/theater/630/

I was just about to add the Ditmars Theatre but have now held back. My F.D.R. actually gives an address as 22-68 31st Ave but thats quite a way from Ditmars Blvd so I thought it could be a mis-print? Reading what you have just posted here and whats said about the Ditmars on the Grand Theatre page, i'm not so sure now. Maybe as a local you will know better than me and post a correct entry for the Ditmars.

Ken: From reading that webpage, the "Grand" seems to be the theater I'm thinking of (e.g., 2,178 seats seems about the right level of grandeur).

Sorry, that was my mistake regarding the addresses. Although I grew up in Queens, the street numbering system has always given me a problem, and with my map being cut in half, I read the map wrong.

Looking at the map again, Ditmars seems to be the equivalent of a 22nd Ave., and the next street to the south is 23rd Ave. I think the hyphenated addres works as follows: the first number reflects the number of the cross street at the north end of the block, and the number after the hypen relfects how far that building is from the northern end of the block (with odd numbers being on the eastern side of the street).

So, if I'm reading the map correctly this time, an address for the "Grand" at 22-15 (closer to 22nd St. and on the eastern side of 31st St.) and for the "Ditmars" at 22-68 (further away from 22nd St. and on the western side of 31st St.) would seem about right. (Although I don't have any personal recollection of the "Ditmars" at all.)

Thanks again for your help! It seemed so strange that such a large theater (which was so bustling and full of life in my memory of it in the mid-1950s) was so much "under the radar." But since it apparently closed in the mid-1950s, one can see how it more or less fell off the map. But I guess it's the same as the Jamaica Theater west of Parsons Blvd. on Jamaica Ave. -- except that that one closed before I ever saw it in operation.

Benjamin-- here's M. Rooney's filmography for '53-'57: "Off Limits" (a Bob Hope service comedy), "Drive a Crooked Road" (M as race-car driver), "Atomic Kid" (M filled-up with uranium), "Bridges at Toko-Ri," "Bold and the Brave" (war action), "Francis in the Haunted House," "Operation Mad Ball" (Jack Lemmon service comedy),"Baby Face Nelson" (gangster bio). None of these fits your description. In 1950, Rooney acted in "Quicksand" as a hapless car mechanic needled by Peter Lorree, who runs a penny arcade. I don't know whether the arcade bursts into flame at the end, or whether there's a child actor involved.

The Grand is probably the theatre mentioned by Benjamin. It was operated by the Skouras circuit for almost all of its theatrical life. The Ditmars was not far away, but a much smaller "indie" theatre. Both theatres were close to the Ditmars Boulevard station, which is the first/last stop on the elevated BMT subway (current N and W trains).

BoxOfficeBill: Thanks for the Mickey Rooney suggestions. I looked up "Quicksand" on Amazon, and it doesn't seem to be the movie I'm thinking of. I wonder if I've mixed up Mickey Rooney with another actor? Or perhaps it wasn't a carnival or circus, but something else that seemed to me -- a kid -- to be a carnival or circus side show? (Maybe it was a horse racing stable?)

It's funny how memories are, though. In my mind it is a relatively vivid image (I can see them in some kind of hayloft), and I distinctly remember being none too pleased with the fact that my father seemed to be laughing so much and so thoroughly enjoying this scene in the movie (as though he was putting all kids -- including me -- into the same category as the kid on the screen).

I have lived in Astoria since '87 and didn't know there were four theatres on Steinway! Only the dreadful Astoria six-'plex was open when I moved here and now that is closed.

I noticed that the theatre on Crescent & Broadway was mentioned. That was the Strand.

I take it that the Triboro was on the northwest corner of Steinway & 28th Avenue. Those apartments are the pits, though there is nice coffee shop/bar on the corner.

What block was the Steinway? I don't recall a Brothers store off the top of my head, but the building on the southwest corner of 30th Avenue and Steinway looks like it could have been a theatre at one time.

Then there was the Olympia on Steinway & 25th Street. That must be just south of the Grand Central on the same block where the Triboro used to be.

Where was the fourth Steinway Street Cinema located?

And there must have been a cinema on the corner of 32nd Street and Broadway, now the site of a bank. The building looks like it was a cinema at one time.

The only theatres on Broadway in Astoria were the Broadway, which is near the Broadway elevated subway station and now a catering hall, and the Strand, which is several blocks west of the el station. I don't know what the Strand is used for, if anything. The entrance was converted to retail.

Ah, that answers the question. The Broadway is the cinemas that was on Broadway between 31st and 32nd Streets just east of the subway stop. The Strand at one time was I believe some sort of studio, like Kaufman/Astoria Studios. What they filmed, or still film, there I don't know; I never went in there. There were (and are) retail stores in the building that must have been the Strand. There was also a bowling alley at one time in the same complex I believe that was in the basement and that closed some time since I moved to Astoria in the 1970s.

How can I find out when the Strand and Broadway closed?

I grew up in the triboro. it was beautiful, fun place to see a movie. not only did i see movies there but my graduation form bryant
high school was held in the triboro. i still miss it.

Here is a shot of the marquee at night.

Here is a photo of the awe-inspiring buildings that replaced Loew's Triboro. Gratitude should be given to Queens borough president Donald Mannes, who, thankfully, committed suicide in the wake of the scandal that followed:
[url=http://www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/108-0888_IMG.jpg]

Here is a photo of the awe-inspiring buildings that replaced Loew's Triboro. Gratitude should be given to Queens borough president Donald Mannes, who, thankfully, committed suicide in the wake of the scandal that followed:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/108-0888_IMG.jpg

Here's an opening ad for Loew's Triboro from a Queens newspaper. Interestingly, the atmospheric auditorium shown at the top belongs to Loew's Paradise! Perhaps Loew's felt that the public wouldn't know the difference, even though the two theatres are by different architects:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/123-2360_IMG.jpg

The Triboro (which I'm too young to have attended) was torn down for THOSE?!? What... a... disgrace...

I read that there was a Triboro Theater on 125th St in Manhattan? Was it a movie theater? I was reading an article about a 1950's singing group called the Fiestas' and how they were "discovered" singing in the bathroom of the Triboro Theater. This is the part of the article that concerns the Triboro:

"They were signed to Old Town by owner Hy Weiss in 1959 after he heard the group singing "So Fine" in the bathroom next to his office (which was run out of the cloak room of the Triboro Theatre on 125th Street and Third Avenue in Harlem). The single shot onto the charts immediately".

The Triboro Theatre located on 125th Street, Harlem was known as the Gotham Theatre, already listed here http://cinematreasures.org/theatre/6523/

That's a great photo of today's Steinway and 28th Street. I recently circumnavigated the neighborhood looking for the great Titan Greek Supermarket, all the while wondering where the Triboro had once stood. This block of rowhouses would never have occured to me as the location.

Thanks Ken. I thought I found another theater to add.

Nobody has added the Manhattan Roosevelt on 145 St see the ad I have posted on the 125 St Apollo and Cinerama site.

Here are two images of the auditorium, which was similar to Lamb's earlier Pitkin in Brooklyn, but less extravagant. The arrival of the Depression caused Loew's to cut the Triboro's budget:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/128-2851_IMG.jpg

Thnaks for the photos of the inside of the theater, it brings back alot of memories. What a glorious theater it was, and what a disgrace politics allowed to be razed for a bunch of rowhouses. I recall hearing during 1974 that there was going to be a large department store built in it's place, so I was very suprised when houses went up in it's place. What a waste. Go figure.

1938 billboard:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triboroad.jpg

The seldom photographed north side of the marquee can be seen in this 1943 photo. According to a hanging sign, vaudeville was being presented on stage that night. The parade float mentions that the next "Miss Steinway" will be selected in ceremonies on the Triboro's stage on October 19:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/trisahara.jpg

This website has two photos of the Loew's Triboro Theater. One is here. And the second photo is here.

The second photo has been on view here above since May 21, 2004, well over a year. It shows some of the opening day festivities.

The first photo shows how Loew's drastically reduced the size of the vertical sign to save on electricity and maintenance. The original can be seen in the photo in the introductory section.

Warren THANK YOU THANK YOU< it was great to see the inside again.

Betty Hutton seems about to burst loose from this 1949 ad:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/lohutton.jpg

Great ad Warren. Thanks for sharing it.

What is on the current site of the former Loews Triboro?

One the Steinway Street side (the front) there is a row of stores with two stories of apartments above. One the back side (38th street) is a row of two family homes. Today the tought of tearing down the Loews Triboro for something so mundane and ordinary boggles the mind.

This is one old photo of the Loew's Triboro Theater and here is the other photo.

Note: These photos have been posted here before. The links to these photos keep changing so view them while you can.

A pair of Jerry Lewis re-releases were running at the Triboro the weekend JFK was assassinated:
Fab-u-Lewis - LI Star Journal 11/23/63

I bet the prospect of back-to-back Lewis features was a lot scarier than the alleged horror twin bill that was advertised as coming to the Triboro the following Wednesday.

The Triboro dropped vaudeville on December 1, 1932, after a run of one year, nine months and 11 days. The final stage bill supported "Cabin in the Cotton," in which rising star Bette Davis drawled the now immortal "I'd like to kiss you but I just washed my hair." The Triboro's new policy of "All The Show On The Screen" started with the Clark Gable-Jean Harlow sizzler "Red Dust" and assorted short subjects. To help the Depression afflicted, admission prices were substantially reduced:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triboro32.jpg

A classic Loew's circuit ad from the World War II era:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/loews43.jpg

This photo from April, 1974, must have been taken not too long before the theatre closed for demolition. The original marquee was little changed from 1931 except for the lighter-colored backgrounds of the sections with "Loew's" and "Loew's Triboro." An attraction board above the entrance doors reads "Join Loew's Golden Age Movie Club...Membership Cards At Our Box Office Now." I wonder what that was all about? Perhaps a discount scheme for senior citizens?
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triboro1974.jpg

Thanks Warren that was a great shot!!

Great photo Warren, brings back memories of how I remembered the theater. I recall this theater and the RKO Keith were the only ones where I used to prefer to sit in the balcony section to see the features so I could admire the architectural reliefs on the walls and ceiling.

What a shame. It seems like it was quite original.

Cancel my subscription to the Queens Gazette. On the cover of the current issue, there's a small photo of the theatre (appparently copied from the one displayed in the Cinema Treasures introduction) with the headline "What's Playing At the Triborough." Doesn't the paper employ proofreaders? All they had to do was look at the photo to recognize the correct spelling. Fortunately, "Triboro" is spelled correctly in the story on page 50, which is merely a summary of LI Star-Journal news items and advertising in December, 1955. The Triboro is reported to be showing a return engagement "by popular demand" of "The Country Girl," while the Astoria had "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (both, almost certainly, as part of double features).

Loew's Wishes You and Yours a Merry Christmas (1952):
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/loews52.jpg

The underlying ground was previously occupied by a factory where the first Hellman's Mayonnaise was manufactured in 1912. By 1929, the product was so popular that Richard Hellman moved to larger quarters and sold the 150' x 190' corner site to Loew's Theatres. Due to the onset of the Depression, construction of a new theatre was delayed, but when building actually started in the summer of 1930, it took only seven months for Loew's Triboro to be completed.

Warren Thank You very much for the above info, i never knew that.

Who would have ever guessed a mayonnais factory preceeded the Loew's Triboro Theater at that site? Isn't history amazing?

Loew's considered the Triboro as one of its "Wonder Theatres" and advertised it as such when it opened in 1931. The Triboro cost $2 million to build (including the price of the land site). A front-page story in the LI Daily Star described the Triboro's exterior as a modern interpretation of Aztec Indian, and the interior as Italian Renaissance. Here are two ads with the "Wonder Theatre" designation:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triwonder1.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triwonder2.jpg

Warren You always have great stuff, and again I thank you!!

After Loew's sold the Triboro in 1974, the new owner used the marquee and its original lettering system to display this message in all three panels:
COLEMAN HOMES PRESENTS
STORES-HOUSING SPRING OCCUPANCY 1975
D. COLEMAN BUILDER 278-3955 H.PROPSI AGENT
Each line of lettering was centered above the other, but I can't seem to do it in re-typing the message here. There was also more space between the telephone number and the name of the agent.

I heard that lowlife Coleman went bankrupt, is that true?

When David Coleman opposed the Landmarking plans, he claimed that he bought the Triboro for about $500,000, which was only one fourth of its original reported cost of $2 million. Coleman told The New York Times that "We have retained counsel who will represent us before the Board of Estimate in September [1974]. "The law says a property must earn 6 per cent on its assessed valuation and we fail to see how our property can earn anything if there are no seats or projection equipment left. All that was taken out by the previous owner, Loew's. If we put 20 various buildings on that spot (10 commercial and 10 residential), the city would gain more than $50,000 per year in real estate taxes. That wouldn't include occupancy taxes, sales taxes, and the rest. Not only are we losing, but the citizens of New York are too." On September 12th, the Board of Estimate ruled in Coleman's favor by rejecting the proposal of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. It was the first time that the Board of Estimate had reversed the Commission since the landmarks program began in 1965. By January, 1975, Loew's Triboro had been leveled to the ground.

This 1931 article describes the advantages of the Triboro's magnascopic screen: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/tritransvox.jpg

I recall in the early 40's that the Triboro and the Valencia had far smaller screens than the type described in the article above. Was there a shortage of carbon during WW2 and did that have any effect on screen size? The screens had rounded corners.

I don't think that the magnascopic screens were ever used to their largest size throughout the entire length of a feature. They would be just used to highlight a key scene and then shrink back to normal size. Soemtimes the screen would expand just during the opening credits of a major film and then diminish when the story started...During WWII, there was a manpower shortage, and it's possible that caused some theatres to neglect using the magnascope.

Although Loew's spent a reported $2 million on building the Triboro, it also economized by bringing over the Wurlitzer organ from its Canal Theatre on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Located near the Bowery, Loew's Canal had developed into a late-run "nabe" that could not afford the luxury of a splendid instrument like its 111/13 "Style 235 Special" Wurlitzer Op. 1699 (1927). In its new installation at the Triboro, the console was mounted on a turntable so that, at the push of a button, the organist could turn around and face the audience while playing and/or talking.

A bomb exploded in the balcony of Loew's Triboro on January 28th, 1956, but only four persons were slightly injured and the show was permitted to continue, said a report in the next day's issue of The New York Times: "Several hundred patrons were viewing a double feature in the house, at Twenty-eighth and Steinway Avenues, at 10:52 P.M. when a two-inch cartridge filled with carbon dioxide blew up in the rear of the top balcony. The cartridge had been placed in a wall niche behind a curtain in which a house phone was located. It was of the type used to power toy airplanes and to inflate life rafts. The only damage to the theatre was a splintering of the wall around the spot of the explosion. The persons injured were struck by fragments. The Bomb Squad took the cartridge to the Police Laboratory to see if explosive substances other than carbon dioxide had been added. The injured persons were treated at the theatre by ambulance physicians and then sent home." Luckily, the Triboro must have been nearly empty that night, despite it being a Saturday and traditionally the busiest of the week. "Several hundred persons," if liberally interpreted as 400, would be about 10% of the total seating capacity of roughtly 3,500. The reason might have been a "bomb" of a B&W double bill from Columbia Pictures: "Queen Bee" (with Joan Crawford & Barry Sullivan) and "Three Stripes in the Sun" (Aldo Ray & Phil Carey). The booking was exclusive for the borough of Queens, but had played the previous week at Loew's Valencia in Jamaica, where it had also done poorly, but not that bad.

I was a child when bomb exploded in the Triboro, but I seem to remember a Daily News headline that claimed it was the work of The Mad Bomber who set explosives in several NYC theaters. From the CO2 cartridge description, however, that would not have been true.

I grew up on 42nd Street near 28th Avenue and could see the Triboro from my window. My dad told me that the Hellman's mayonnaise was made there, but if I remember correctly he said the Hellmans had a deli there and the mayonnaise was just one product, though it later became their main product. He also told me that before the enclosed movie theaters were built on Steinway, there were several open-air "theaters" that showed movies. One I believe he said was on the west side of Steinway at the intersection of 25th Avenue (across from where the Cameo/Olympia was built).

I posted about Hellman's on 2/7/07 (see above). Some of the early Astoria cinemas have listings here, such as the Arena and Arcade. Others have not been listed for lack of information and specific addresses. Some seem to have been conversions of existing assembly halls or beer gardens.

I only visited this movie palace on one occasion - it was on April 8, 1970. I was going to college at the time and drove up with my parents from Greenpoint on a non-school weekday to see "The Prime of Miss Jeanne Brodie" Maggie Smith had just won the best actress award for the role, and we wanted to check it out.

I guess in the rush to get our tickets, I did not pay much attention to the outstanding exterior, which I certainly now regret. The interior was another thing, and it really overwhelmed me. I had never seen anything so opulent in a movie theater - especially one situated away from Manhattan. The fact that the Triboro had not been separated into a multi-screen complex enabled me to experience its full, originally intended, grandeur. The fact that the place was nearly empty gave me a sense that this situation would not continue to last for long.

As was common at the time, we entered the theater after the performance had begun, and my parents then watched the portion we had missed before leaving. Since I really enjoyed the movie - and the ambiance of the house - I stayed to see the entire show until the end. While Smith was terrific, I remember being particularly impressed with the performance of Pamela Franklin, who played Miss Brodie's "assassin". The scene between the two near the end was particularly compelling and was something I did wish to view again. (At the time, I really thought that Ms. Franklin would enjoy an outstanding cinematic career. Unfortunately, it quickly petered out in the wake of several awful movie and forgettable TV roles.)

After finally leaving, I walked back to the nearest "G" train station and passed a news stand. Reading the headline of the NY Post, which was then an afternoon paper that was as stridently liberal as it is now relentlessly conservative, I learned that Harrold Carrswell's nomination to the the Supreme Court had surprisingly been rejected by the Senate. (As a Political Science major, I was particularly interested in this issue - and elated by the result.) This is why I can reference my visit to this exact date.

Several years later, I found myself on Steinway St. and decided to check out the Triboro. Walking up from the subway station, I noticed that the huge sign announcing the "Loew's Triboro" was not there. After passing a small development of newly constructed apartments and still finding no Triboro, I was forced to conclude that I had just walked by the old movie theater. While I was - and remain - saddened that the Triboro is history, I will always fondly remember my one visit to it.

John, thanks for sharing your memorable experience at the Loew's Triboro Theater, I enjoyed reading about it.

The Olympia Theatre showed dirty movies. I don't remember where it was.
The Strand was located on the north side of Broadway just past Crescent St. It later became a lower level bowling alley. It might still be.
There was a theatre under the L on 31st St. between Ditmars & 23rd Ave., approx. where McDonald's is now, that showed Greek movies in my childhood.
The Astoria Theatre on 30th Ave. & Steinway St. was ok, not very well kept. But Loew's down the block on 28th Ave. was spectacular and grandiose. I must have been around 12 yrs old when they tore it down, and even then I thought why on earth, with the twinkling ceiling and ornate balconies and all?? If they had to tear one down, it should've been the Astoria.

The Olympia Theatre showed dirty movies. I don't remember where it was.
The Strand was located on the north side of Broadway just past Crescent St. It later became a lower level bowling alley. It might still be.
There was a theatre under the L on 31st St. between Ditmars & 23rd Ave., approx. where McDonald's is now, that showed Greek movies in my childhood.
The Astoria Theatre on 30th Ave. & Steinway St. was ok, not very well kept. But Loew's down the block on 28th Ave. was spectacular and grandiose. I must have been around 12 yrs old when they tore it down, and even then I thought why on earth, with the twinkling ceiling and ornate balconies and all?? If they had to tear one down, it should've been the Astoria.

All those theatres are listed on this site, alexandi. You may want to track them down and post any memories you wish to share. At the top left of this page, there is a Search button. If you click the selection for "theaters" and then click the Search button, a page will open where you can enter "Astoria" and search "by City." A list of all the movie theatres filed on Cinema Treasures as having existed (or as currently existing) in Astoria will open up.

The Olympia was located on steinway street Between 28th and 25th aves
Closer to 25th. at one time it was called the Cameo, and played regular films

Thank you astrocks!! Ed Solero said i could find all theatres here, but i didn't find the Olympia. It was located on the west side of the street i believe. I can visualize the pink neon "Olympia" sign, in script. I don't remember the Cameo at all tho.

Cameo was another name for the Olympia Theater. Click here for the Olympia/Cameo page on Cinema Treasures.

Thank you Lost Memory. Come to think of it, it was located on the opposite side of the street. Cameo was before my time. But I was right about the Olympia showing adult movies.

New direct links to previously posted images:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/128-2851_IMG.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triwonder1.jpg

Here are two interior views taken in the late 1960s that show the left and right sides of the auditorium. The color quality leaves much to be desired, but I couldn't correct it more than I have. The left side view is truer, especially in the blue of the atmospheric ceiling:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triboroleft.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/tribororight.jpg

Warren, thanks so much for the pictures. What a loss!!

There was a small movie theatre on Steinway near 34th Avenue
in ancient times that is now a Lucille Roberts Gym. This theatre
I remember as a child showed Saturday serials, B movies and as
I recall my Italian uncle had said he saw the first viewing
of Rosselini's Open City.
Is there any documentation of this
early Astoria landmark?
Quizzically,
Giuseppe

There's currently a Lucille Roberts Gym in Astoria at 32-62 Steinway Street, which is just south of Broadway. I don't recall any cinema at that location. Could you perhaps be thinking of the Skouras Broadway Theatre, which did sometimes show Italian movies but was located on Broadway near the elevated subway station? The nearest cinema on Steinway Street to 32-62 was the Skouras Steinway, which also might be the theatre you're thinking of. I don't think that the Steinway often showed Italian movies, but "Open City" might have been an exeption due to its popularity at the time.

I do not believe that this building (32-62) was ever anything else but retail. It was a toy store named Valco's from (at least) the 60's/ early 70's to 1991 when it closed. I used to work here as a teenager and the first and second floors (second used as storage) appeared original, with old wood plank floors and pressed tin ceilings. Also there were no rear or side fire exits.

I remember when they installed the new vertical in the late 50's. Traffic really stopped on Steinway street. As far as it being more economical, per a prior posting, it was large, even tho it only said LOEWS. The letters were five or more neon lights in depth and could be illumated one at a time (top to bottom) or all together.

Here's a new link to an exterior photo of Loew's Triboro on opening day in 1931: http://astoriahistory.smugmug.com/gallery/6294419_ViKcN/1/381344753_fAfXd/Original

Thanks Warren. I went looking through the other photographs on the site and came across this one of the Triboro's auditorium.

http://astoriahistory.smugmug.com/gallery/6294419_ViKcN/1/391423786_En8cv/Large

That photo would date from mid 1950's on.

I don't doubt your claim William. But how can you tell?

Ah. I think I figured it out. Still interested in your response, however.

The photo shows that the theatre was equipped to run 4-Track Magnetic Stereo films. You can see in that photo four of the surround speakers mounted on the left side of the auditorium wall. Most of the main installs happened during the mid 50's will CinemaScope.

Yeah, I had to stare at it for a minute. But I spotted the speaker boxes. Aside from that the theatre looked to be quite original.

Here is a 1969 photo.

Here is a photo circa 1943:
http://tinyurl.com/cftc5e

Here is another photo from the same source:
http://tinyurl.com/d4hg8t

Here's a new link to a 1974 view of the corner entrance. Loew's had never bothered to change the original marquee display system, using frosted white letters against a black background:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/triboro1974.jpg

Here is a street view of the Triboro. (From the Greater Astoria Historical Society - great website) Judging from the traffic light and the no parking sign, I would guess It was taken later on in the theatre's life. http://astoriahistory.smugmug.com/gallery/6294419_ViKcN/2/402095226_5DM7s/Large

Loved those old pictures wish I could have been there.