Elmwood Theatre
57-02 Hoffman Drive,
Elmhurst,
NY
11373
57-02 Hoffman Drive,
Elmhurst,
NY
11373
22 people
favorited this theater
Built in 1928, this once proud vaudeville and movie house along Queens Boulevard in the Elmhurst section of Queens closed in early 2002. It is now home to a church in the shadows of the Queens Mall and the Long Island Expressway.
A plan to demolish the theater after the creation of an 18-screen megaplex nearby stalled. Meanwhile, the Elmwood Theatre has recently been reconverted into a single auditorium space after years as a four-screen theater. Other areas of the theater are also in the midst of renovation and restoration as well.
Contributed by
Cinema Treasures, David Kingham
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Recent comments (view all 235 comments)
Two more photos from 1982
Photo1
Photo2
I’ve been reading comments loaded with complaints regarding the fading beauty of the Elmwood. I took a look at the following recent dance recital View link
and can only marvel at the positive energy and commitment to creativity of teens in the video. This is exactly what a theater/church space should be used for. The whining over the physical demise of the structure runs on endlessly, but while the whiners drone on, it seems there is beautiful flowering of community and art within the building.
PG
And they could have had the same “flowering art and positive energy to creativity” within the building without destroying the historic terra cotta exterior as they did. While I am glad the church is in the building, and that it’s still set up like a theater, what we have now instead of a historic beautiful terra ctta building it’s a typical nondescript faux exterior.
I’m with Bway on this one. Not sure where you come from pvgriswold. But everyone is entitled to voice their opinion. It is nice that the building is in use. But if you don’t want to hear complaints about terra cotta destruction I suggest that it might be better for you not to visit historic preservation web sites. Everyone here likely judges this work as butchery, and I don’t think any amount of talk regarding community builiding or the Good Lord is going to change that.
Correct. And no one is upset the church is in there….I think it’s great, and it’s great the building has great use. But that is irrelevant to a discussion on what they did to the exterior of a beautiful old historic building. The building now looks like any other nondescript, “cheap” looking modern building that has a crappy faux stucco exterior. It may as well been built in “2005” as it’s no different than any other crappy construction new building put up. It lost it’s historical beauty.
I second the well-phrased comments of Bway & Life’s Too Shaort. It was a shame how the Rock Church told the media the facade is being restored, and then went behind the public’s back and covered over and removed priceless ornate terra cotta detailing. The theater was “stuccotized.”
Two photos of the renovated exterior can be seen about midpoint in this article about a recent walking tour of the Newtown/Elmhurst area:
View link
Thanks Tinseltoes.
The new “style” of CT removed the original name of Queensboro Theatre, used from 1928 until 1946 re-naming as the Elmwood. Site-wise, are previous names no longer listed in smaller type above the latest?
The previous names are listed on the side.