Forest Hills Theatre

My first visit to this theater in fall 1939 was for "The Wizard of Oz." On the theater's closing night (the reopening night of the Midway around the corner), the film on the upstairs screen was the revival of "The Wizard of Oz."

This was a special local place where the "good movies" would play as opposed to the latest flicks. The concessions, the carpet, and low-key atmosphere made it a very memorably special place

Pointless trivia... the windows you see in the photo over the marquee were actually in the bathrooms on the balcony level. I miss this theater... it really worked as a twin. The balcony theater was fair, but the orchestra theater was really spacious and preserved the original ambience of the theater before it was split. A pity. At least the exterior facade was preserved and restored, despite the garish red Staples and Duane Reade awnings and signage.

You can't really consider this "open". The entire old theater was completely demolished. The only thing preserved was the front facade.

I know it may seem unclear, but we have two definitions for open. If a theater isn't showing movies, "open" can also mean that it's accessible to the public, even if it's no longer a theater.

I loved this theatre I have lived a few blocks away from it all my life and was so saddened when they closed it. It always played better films like Woody Allens pics, La Cage Aux Folles ran six months here. It also opened Return of the Jedi when it was still single screen. Its all in the past now just like the concerts a few blocks away at The Forest Hills Tennis Stadium.

This entry deserves to be changed to the name of Forest Hills Theatre. The current tenant of the site is a Duane Reade drugstore, but it is an entirely new building except for the original theatre facade.

Since this site is for Cinema Treasures and a history of our past and present theatres, I am in agreement with Warren, Walter Reade never being a motion picture theatre or a theatre of any kind but a drugstore the listing should be for the Forest Hills Theatre. There are pitcures available for the Forst Hills Theatre before the destruction of the auditorium and showing the original front entrance as a theatre, before its renovation. It should be listed as the Forst Hills Theatre.

Does anyone who is familiar with theatres in Queens have information on a place that in the 1950s was called the "Inwood Art Theatre" that ran silent films? I have an ad clipping of a run of Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH which had a very long play in 1959. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, with live piano accompaniment, were listed as the upcoming program. The address was 106-03 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills, Queens.

The Inwood has a listing here under its current name of Cinemart.

http://www.viewsof.com/usa/newyorkstate/newyorkcity/queens/foresthills/foresthills.html

This picture should replace the one above, although I am trying to find a picture from before the twinning with the marquee before they altered the sides.

Last year, Newsday ran a feature article about old theatres that showed the Forest Hills with its original marquee. You might be able to find the photo in the Newsday archives.

Thanks Warren I will look into it, I know I have some wild 8mm footage from a blizzard in the late 60's and on the marquee is a revival of "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2".

Is this the theater that was known as the Continental? I had seen many movies at the continental, and it was on Austin St, with another "branch" across the street. Sorry if I sound a bit confused, but it's been at least 15 years since I've been near there.

This was never known as anything but the Forest Hills Theatre. It was originally built by Small & Strausberg (S&S Circuit), which was taken over by William Fox and eventually became part of the Skouras/UATC chain. The Continental was on Austin Street and built in the late 1950s or early 60s. That might be the current Brandon, but I'm not sure. The Brandon's address is 70-20 Austin Street.

That is The Brandon, originally a Walter Reade arthouse. Continental 3 which had 70mm was run into the ground by UA after less thern 10 years and closed. It now has retail.

I worked on and off as an usher/doorman at the theatre from 1975 to 1985. During that time I was able to go behind the screen and explore the back stage and lower levels. There were numerous trapdoors and stage doors leading to nowhere, some elevated. The theatre must have originally been used for live performances, although I don't remember any during my time. They also had closed-circuit broadcasts of boxing. One of the last ones I worked was the final Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton bout. I can remember just about every movie that I worked there during those years and have fond memories of each one. It was a sad day when they tore it down.

I live blocks away and am bitter everytime I walk by. This was a great theatre and suprisingly even for a UA it was well maintained. They booked this more upscale and it did not get the action crowd that wore down the Midway.

Its sad to know they tore down the Forest Hills. I worked there as a doorman/usher in the late 80's and made a lot of friends there. One of the biggest kicks we had was when Mindy Cohen(Facts of life fame) showed up for a movie. I tried to be low key, but of course one of my buddies chased her into the theater "HEY! NATALIE!" I miss those people like crazy,and am sadden to know the place I had such great times is gone...
Robert C

To the best of my knowledge, the Forest Hills never presented vaudeville, but during silent days it had a resident orchestra and organist, sometimes augmented by singers and/or dancers for a prelude to the feature movie.

RobertC
Mindy was also a regular at The Cinemart, as was Ron Eldard and Annabella Scignoria (Im sure I spelled her name wrong)

Here is a small picture of the facade from it's theatre days.

http://www.hotcakes.net/travel/Forest%20Hills/cinema.html

I well recall the Forest Hills Theater. It was a very well run movie house which ran mainstream films and "art" films before the art market was taken over by the Continental.

The Forest Hils always had a slightly more discriminating audience that that of the popular Midway around the corner. Here I saw many of the great films of the sixties and seventies.

I seem to recall that the rather small lobby was red.

Jp

I just noticed the status says closed/demolished which is not true. It was adapted to retail.

I know they were both Fox releases but how weird is "Planet of the Apes" paired with "Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines"? It's a long double bill, thats for sure.
http://photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/?action=view¤t=1969.jpg

The theatre was demolished except for the decorative front wall facing on Continental Avenue, which was saved under pressure from local historians. Everything behind the facade is new.

The theatre was demolished except for the decorative front wall facing on Continental Avenue, which was saved under pressure from local historians. Everything behind the facade is new.

Are you sure? I thought only the back wall was removed? Funny I live a few blocks away but was so annoyed when the theatre closed I barely walked by it.

Hmmm, according to the original entry on the site, it says that Duane reade opened in the old auditorium, and that Staples opened up in the upper part of the building. Why would they tear the other three walls of the old building down, just to build a similar building behind the original front wall?
--I haven't a clue, but I am just speculating here.

The original entry obviously needs to be corrected. The theatre was in very decrepit condition and not conducive to re-modelling. It was easier and cheaper to demolish the structure and build a new one.

I don't want to get in the middle of this controversy but I'll tell you what the records show. There was another building located here prior to this theater. It was built in 1913. I have no idea what it was used for. That building must have been demolished because NYC gives the current building a build date of 1926. Some records are vague and others are missing which is pretty typical of commercial property in NYC.
In 1941 the owner of this theater is listed as the Eaton Theatre Corp. United Artist sold this building in September of 1997. In 1998, an easement was requested and one was granted to extend the rear wall by 15 Ft. The architect that signed the document was Lawrence M Rosenbloom. This building now fills the entire lot.
To be listed as demolished, all four walls have to be torn down. Then a new build date would be issued. Otherwise, it is listed as a remodel. From what I have read, it appears that three of the exterior walls still stand. Or at least a good portion of the walls remain. Also, this building is listed as 71st Avenue today.

I don't know what was decrepit about it, it was and is a brick building. Even the interior of the theatre was not too bad when UA closed it. This was always booked with upscale product so it never got as rundown as the Midway and Continental did.

I have no idea what happened to the Forest Hills Theater, but anyone familiar with the old RKO Bushwick Theater, and how decrepit that was, and if they were able to save the shell of that for a school, and it looks great now, I would assume they could save almost anything. But again, I don't know the circumstances of this theater, so can't say.

The Forest Hills closed as a theatre and immediately they began pulling it apart. It was never abandoned like the RKO Bushwick.

Don't judge anything solely on "official" NYC records of any type. They are riddled with errors. If you go to the Forest Hills site during daytime, you can plainly see that a new building was erected behind the facade. To get even better views, take a walk around the block and also go up on the west-bound platform of the LIRR station.

I'm too far away to check out that building so I'll take your word for it. I'm finding that the NYC records are about as accurate as those FDY books. Use the info as a guide but don't bet the farm on the info contained in them.

I will walk over there this weekend.

I only mentioned the RKO Bushwick, because if they were able to save that building, which sat derilict for decades, and I can't imagine that the Forest Hills theater, that was being used for movies just the year prior would be in such bad condition that they couldn't use the shell.
However, perhaps, construction costs to convert would have been higher to convert as opposed to demolish and rebuild, so I guess that;s why they did it that way.

A Wurlitzer organ Opus 544 Style D was installed in the Forest Hills Theater. No date given. Status of organ: Sold.

I saw a couple of films here in the '80's. I recall seeing The Beastmaster in the upstairs theater in the summer of 1982. I had met a friend for dinner on Austin Ave (any locals remember the French restaurant Le Crepe?) and found myself walking towards the subway when I decided it was too early to go home and ducked inside to catch the 9 o'clock showing. I distinctly remember hearing the faint but recognizable hook from the song "Abacab" ringing in the distance as the band Genesis was playing an open air concert at the nearby Forest Hills Tennis Stadium (actually the "West Side Tennis Club" as locals will correct me).

I also caught "Trainspotting" in the upstairs theater. I remember the bathrooms were located upstairs in the front of the building and had windows facing the street (clearly visible in the stills of the front facade provided here) above the marquee.

This snow-touched image from December, 1940 recently turned up in the weekly Queens Chronicle:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/fhills40.jpg

A rather fuzzy image from the 1920s:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/fhfuzzy.jpg

A 1945 picture
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Theatres/FHTheatre1945.jpg

The photo from "1945" is incorrectly dated. The double bill of "Caesar & Cleopatra" and "The Bachelor's Daughters" originated on the Loew's circuit and opened there in the first week of January, 1947. In those days, the Skouras Forest Hills did not get those programs until they'd finished their runs at all the Loew's theatres in Queens, so the photo is probably from late January or even February, 1947. The double bill would have played a week at Loew's Valencia, then a week at Loew's Triboro, then a week at Loew's Hillside, Willard, Prospect, Plaza, and Woodside. There was then a gap of at least a week before the program moved on to non-Loew's theatres.

Wow, what a nice classic marquee the Forest Hills had!

These January, 1947 ads from the NYT show the start of the Loew's double bill that eventually landed at the Skouras Forest Hills in the photo posted by RobertR on May 2, 2006. Note that the rival Midway Theatre was then under the banner of RKO, which was jointly owned by RKO and Skouras and moved back and forth between the two managements in its first decade of operation:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/1947ads.jpg

Please disregard the last sentence of my 9:24am post and substitute: "Note that the rival Midway was then under the banner of RKO, which jointly owned the theatre with Skouras. The Midway moved back and forth between the two managements in its first decade of operation."

A pair of Troy Donahue re-issues.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Ads/TroyDonahueDoubleBill.jpg

On December 22, 1981 a c/o was issued to a twin theater at this address. The seating is given as:

Theater #1-484
Theater #2-285

Total seats: 769

Shouldn't the number of screens above be two?

Yes, I think it was 2 screens when it closed.

In her autobiography Limelight and After, actress Claire Bloom wrote about the WWII years after having left England to live in the U.S. With her mother she lived in Forest Hills on 113th Street for a time. She wrote of going to the movies at a theatre on Continental Avenue, which sounds like it might have been the Forest Hills Theatre. Quoting:
"We read Screen Romances and Movie Life, and when the money was found, rushed to the movie house on Continental Avenue to see the wonderful South Sea Island films with Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour---Volcano, Tornado, Hurricane. Hibiscus flowers and mountains of lava. Blue grottoes and mysterious idols. Total escape and immeasurable joy." (page 32)

I was walking along Continental Ave. on a sunny afternoon and was stopped outside the theater and offered free ticketd to a new movie being screened there that evening. I managed to get four tickets to the unknown movie and returned later that evening with my girlfriend, her sister and her boyfriend. The movie was E.T.! I have fond memories of the Forest Hills and it is sad that it is gone. I was there watching the Wizard of Oz, the last performance, the night it closed.

By the time I reached my mid-twenties, practically all the movie theaters in Greenpoint, where I lived, had closed. So, instead of trekking into Manhattan, I started to take the G train to Continental Ave. - and less often, Steinway St. - to catch a show. By the mid-1970's most of the first run movies were being shown throughout the City upon their release, so it really did not make a difference where I went. In this way, I got to discover the Continental/Austin district which, besides hosting a bevy of movie theaters, was - and still is - the center of a lovely neighborhood. I now make it my home. The only downside is that I can no longer visit the Forest Hills Theatre, unless I want to fill a prescription!

Of all the theaters in the area that I frequented - unfortunately, I never made it to the Trylon - the Forest Hills was the most impressive and the one that I most enjoyed visiting.

I was just wondering if any other former or current Greenpoint residents also took the G to Forest Hills after the local options had cease to exist. I doubt that I was the only one doing this.

I lived in Ridgewood, and by the time my friends and I were old enough to take the subway on our own, we stopped going to the Ridgewood Theater, and often began taking the subway to the Forest Hills Theaters....The Midway, Continental (at the time), Trylon....although I never visited the Forest Hills Theater.
Of course in our case we had to take the L train to Lorimer ST for the G to Forest Hills.

It is unfortunate that the Forest Hills Theatre was gutted for a typical Duane Reade and Staples, but I am thankful that the facade is still present for passersby and theater buffs to cherish. I recall seeing many movies in that theater growing up, and remember marveling over its architecture even at a young age. The marble staircase was great. Here's a link I came across for all of you to enjoy. It contains a brief history, a photo, and interesting information on its organ installation:

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Qns/html/ForestHillsTheatre.html

Are you sure that the Forest Hills Theatre was gutted? I've been told that only the front wall was retained, and that everything behind it is an entirely new building.

Hi Warren,

Please let me know if you received my e-mail on this theater & follow-up on the Midway.

As apparent from the following work permits, the structure was gutted and partly demolished in the late 90s. Work was coordinated under an alteration permit, rather than a demolition permit:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PermitsInProcessIssuedByBinServlet?requestid=1&allbin=4454211

Here are new links to two exterior images, the first from the 1920s and the second from the 1940s:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/fhfuzzy.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/fhills40.jpg

The introductory information needs to be changed. The Forest Hills Theatre no longer exists, so it "was" located around the corner from the Midway (not "is"). Also, the Forest Hill was at least twenty years old by the time that the Midway opened, so there was no theatre "around the corner" until 1942.

Has the theater really been demolished behind the facade? It appears the roof has been changed, but have the other walls been completely taken down? I don't really know if this could be called "demolished", as while yes, parts of the building have been removed, it "hasn't" been completely demolished. I think that calling it "demolished" is incorrect. Is it intact? No. But it's not "demolished" either, and that is misleading.
By the way, you can see the different aerial views of the building on http://www.historicaerials.com/

I seem to remember seeing The Time Machine at the Forest Hills Theatre in 1960. Can anyone verify this?

Verify what? That "The Time Machine" played at the Forest Hills Theatre, or that you saw the movie there? If you check newspaper advertising for that year, you should be able to find if "Time Machine" played there. I don't know how you would verify your attendance unless someone else remembers it or you were photographed entering or leaving the theatre.

Ouch!

I meant if anyone else remembers seeing the Time Machine at the Forest Hills Theatre. I don't have the time right now to check newspaper ads from 1960.

Since 1960 was prior to the introduction of the "Premiere Showcase" concept, I'd be willing to bet that "The Time Machine" played at the Forest Hills Theatre, which ran the double bills that were packaged for the Loew's circuit (the Midway showed the RKO circuit programs). The second feature with "The Time Machine" was "Battle in Outer Space." I suspect that the Forest Hills booking was in the first week of October.

Thank you.

Neglected to mention that "The Time Machine" had its NYC premiere engagement at the midtown Warner (ex-Strand) Theatre, where it opened on August 17th, 1960. By that time, the Warner was no longer a showcase for Cinerama roadshows.

Does the lobby part of the building exist, or just the exterior facade?

This should settle any doubts about the demolition of the Forest Hills Theatre. Only the facade was retained, with a new building constructed behind it: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ryderconstruction.com/images/duanereadelrg1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ryderconstruction.com/samples/duanereade1.htm&usg=__OtTRxhncdS_7k7r05Snj4-y18rY=&h=340&w=393&sz=43&hl=EN&start=15&tbnid=kJsp43eOUMSfMM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtheatre,%2BForest%2BHills%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3DEN%26sa%3DG

The Forest Hills Theater can be seen in this 1924 photo.

The Forest Hills Theatre can be seen at left in this vintage photo of the intersection of Continental Avenue and Ausin Street. The image comes from historian Ron Marzlock, who recently opened an art gallery in Kew Gardens that specializes in Queens memorabilia. Starting December 11, he will be having a special show of material covering Middle Village and Maspeth. Marzlock is probably best known for his weekly "I Have Often Walked" feature in the Queens Chronicle:
http://qgardensgallery.com/index.html

Hi Everyone! This is my Forest Hills Theatre flickr photoset, courtesy of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, which I founded and chair:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/sets/72157605757978947/

You can click the thumbnails to enlarge the photos, and view them in a low, medium, high resolution, or original (maximum) resolution, as well as download them for future reference.

If anyone can contribute any vintage photos or ads to this photoset, I will be happy to give you credit. All images help preserve the spirit of the former Forest Hills Theatre, and may contribute to other great preservation projects. Let's be proactive!