Continental 3
6939 Austin Street,
Forest Hills,
NY
11375
6939 Austin Street,
Forest Hills,
NY
11375
2 people
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The UA Continental 3 was located just up the block, across the street from the Brandon Twin Cinemas, formerly known as the Continental 1 & 2. It has since been gutted and turned into The Gap.
Please commment if you know anything about this former theater.
Contributed by
SteveSmith
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
I remember the Continental in the 60’s when it was a single screen member of the Walter Reade chain and showed mainly foreign and art films. As a kid at the time, my main experience of the theater was when it showed “Goldfinger” in Spring 1965. Yes, there was a time when James Bond films were considered as somewhat exotic imports which played exclusive engagements in Manhattan and then came to a few select venues in the boros. The Continental was the only theater anywhere near my neighborhood to play Goldfinger, which I went to see every weekend for its entire run, which I think was a month long.
Once the Bond Craze took off, right after the release of Goldfinger, the first 3 films were repeatedly re-released in wide distribution, and in various combinations, over the next couple of years.
Another Continental memory is Mel Brooks “The Producers” which had a long run in Summer 1968.
Yes indeed. I travelled from Brooklyn to stand in a long line to see Goldfinger at The Continental. If i recall correctly it played many times each day and you had to get lucky to get a seat. robbie
Robbie… I think your comment (as well as the one from nearly two years ago by stukgh) belongs on the page for the original Continental Theater (now the UA Brandon Cinemas) that was located across the street and down the block from this one. The Continental 3 was an annex to the old Continental, and opened in a separate building on the other side of Austin, carved from former retail space sometime in the early ‘80’s.
Anyway, from retail space it came and to retail space it has returned.
The first c/o for a motion picture theater at 6937-39 Austin St is dated May of 1984. There were 648 seats. This should be the address above:
6939 Austin St
Queens, NY 11375
I remember this theater well from the 80’s. I used the Continental 1 and 2 across the street a lot, but was happy when a movie I wanted to see was in the Continental 3, as the screen was so large.
Lots of memories here.
We have an address per Lost Memory’s post on Jun 7th, 2006.
I only made it to the Continental 3 on one occasion, when I saw Stanley Kubrik’s Full Metal Jacket, right after its release. The big screen, excellent sound set up really worked to enhance my enjoyment of this film. The demise of this theater is certainly to be regretted.
I always wanted to see a movie at the Continental 3, but never got to it. I often went to the Continental 1 and 2 (now Brandon), but there was never usually a movie I wanted to see at the 3.
While I don’t know the exact address for this theater, the street should be Austin St, this theater was right across from the Continental 1 2, now Brandon.
The Continental “Triplex” was the last stop for me in my stint with UA. I was the manager for just three months in 1988 before throwing in the towel.
Continental number 3 was a beautiful theatre. It possessed a large auditorium, 70mm capability and dolby sound. The theatre was very young and in great condition.
Continental 1 and 2 was a dump. Old beat up seats, the screens were mounted up too high to comfortably watch a movie and the projection booth was pre-historic. I also remember the concession stand was positioned so that there was maybe a four-foot wide space between the stand and theatre doors.
Closing theatre number 3 and keeping Continental 1&2 open was in my opinion a mistake.