Parthenon Theatre

A few interesting developments – and possibilities – have recently emerged here ……. FIRST, the bingo hall and most of the retail stores on the ground floor, including the old newsstand that moved down the block, have been closed and scaffolding has been erected on the exterior …… SECOND, the reason for this stems from a proposal to establish a gym in the bingo hall area on the second floor and bring in a drug store and a telephone outlet on the ground floor. The gym requires a zoning variance, which is currently before the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals and that will almost certainly be granted …… THIRD, the renovation of the facade raises the possibility that the ugly outer layers that, over the years, have rudely disfigured the building could be stripped off and the Parthenon’s lovely original brick exterior restored to public view. I have raised the possibility of doing this with local Queens Community Board 5 and the Times Newsweekly newspaper. Hopefully, they will be responsive to this proposal ……. I hope to have more to share with you on this shortly.

As an update, I just wanted you to know that, at its most recent meeting, the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals unanimously voted to award the special permit that will enable the owners of the old Parthenon to operate a 24 hour a day gym on this site. The only pertinent condition placed upon the approval was that the owner must vigorously work to combat the graffiti problem that has long plagued this building. (This has been a REAL problem.) While the possible restoration of the old facade was not addressed, there is no reason why it should not be – and very good reasons why it should – as the project proceeds toward implementation. Hopefully the local community board,the press – and whoever else – will register their concerns and recommendations here. Stay tuned.

Graffiti is not just a problem on ground level, the roof level has a severe problem with graffiti too, and it’s been up there for decades, people can see it with every M train that passes the building, it should be removed up there too.

Tapeshare, my guess is that the Parthenon was probably a new construction project that replaced the former buildings on this site. Certainly, the distinctive Greek arch could only have been constructed with the new theater’s name in mind. Still, situations did and do exist where the walls of the previous building are not demolished but are instead incorporated in the new design. So anything is poosible though, in this situation, rather deubtful. Bway and Peter, do you have anything to add on this subject? (And Peter, since the May 5 walking tour fell through, I’m sorry that I will not meet you at that time.)

In all likeliness, the theater was built as new construction on the site of the old Trolley barn. When seeing the original facade of the building, it screams “theater”. There is an old photo that shows the right most upper corner of the building was smashed off, probably when the el was built, and to facilitate the curve for the trains. So I am going to assume the building was built just before the el was placed in front of it. The el used to end at Wyckoff station, and then go down a ramp to ride on the surface to Metropolitan Ave. The el used to not turn right onto Palmetto St like it does now, it went anothe50 or 100 feet further onto Myrtle, and then turnaround a building that used to be at the corner of Myrtle and Palmetto (where the large brick building is now, where Koletti’s used to be). It then came down a ramp around the Ridgewood Grove site, before street running on Palmetto to Onderdonk Ave where it turned down it’s own ROW as the el does. In any event, when the el was extended through Ridgewood in 1914, that’s when the sharper turn was made to go around Palmetto as it does now. It is also quite possible the corner was knocked off even at a later date when they added the catwalk for workers to walk along the track, which isn’t original to the el.