Acme Theatre
67-14 Myrtle Avenue,
Glendale,
NY
11385
67-14 Myrtle Avenue,
Glendale,
NY
11385
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 80 comments found
Sometimes the label seemed inappropriate. I remember reading a posting about one theatre that was known as “The Itch” in less than six months of it’s opening.
I noticed today a small theater along Myrtle Avenue. It still has the marquee but it is some kind of computer repair business.
Haha, I think a lot of run down theaters were called “The Itch”!
The Acme was also known as “The Itch”.
I think the Pink Panther also always used “Acme” businesses.
Acme
[from Greek akme highest point of perfection or achievement] The canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry â€" where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop. The name has been humorously expanded as A (or American) Company Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as an “Acme X†either means “This is insanely greatâ€, or, more likely, “This looks insanely great on paper, but in practice it’s really easy to shoot yourself in the foot with it.†Compare pistol.
This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner Brothers' series of “Road-runner†cartoons. In these cartoons, the famished Wile E. Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the Road-runner. His attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube Goldberg devices â€" rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in large wooden crates labeled prominently with the Acme name â€" which, probably not by coincidence, was the trade name of a peg bar system for superimposing animation cels used by cartoonists since forever. Acme devices invariably malfunctioned in improbable and violent ways.
Yes, it was a church for a while apparently, perhaps since the name was so close, I didn’t notice. I heard it was some sort of Pentecostal congregation.
The supermarket only opened over the last two months or so, so it hasn’t been that long….I posted a photo of the Met supermarket up above….
I also remember a church, Victory House, at the Acme in the latter 1980’s, its name apparently based on its predecessor, Victorian House Caterers. I have never been inside the supermarket that is there now, though.
There were boarded up windows according to my photos from Oct 6, 2004 (posted above), so they probably just opened them, and put new windows in.
Did the supermarket install windows on each side of the entrance or were the windows there and covered over in the 2004 photo? A May 2007 permit was issued for the following work and doesn’t mention the windows:
Propose to convert existing photograph equipment manufacture use on first and second floors to a supermarket use on first floor and storage/office use on second floor. Interior renovation throughout the building, new partitions and new plumbing fixtures as per plans.
Here’s a photo of the Acme Theater taken yesterday….now a Mets Food Supermarket:
Click here for photo taken yesterday
Compare to the wreck it used to look like when I took a photo of the building back in 2004….see my Oct 6, 2004 post on this page for a photo of the building then.
Its obvious the marquee is the remnant that stands out most, but regarding the floor, which is constructed of etched quarry tile, is sloped as you enter, if it was a newer floor, the slope would have been straightened, (like The Belvedere).Quarry tile floors were used in many 20’s era buildings, mostly for its good looks and durability.
Perhaps the renovation had the floor steamed ad/or painted.
Regarding the moldings, I was referring to the area in the food aisles along the walls where it meets the ceiling,they do look original. As for the ceiling beams aforementioned, I do not recall seeing any. I may have to take another look myself!
I was just reading some of the comments above, and I did see the floor too. It looked so remarkably good, that I didn’t think it was original (and still can’t be sure, I’ll have to check it out again). I also thought the molding was original around those big columns, but closer looking at it looks like sheetrock with newer molding installed around it. I was fooled at first too….but as I looked closer it looks too good to be original, but I certainly can be mistaken….
By the way, the place does look great. (or at least so good compared to the images I posted in Oct 2004 above). The Met Food signs use all three sides of the marquee, and the building has a fresh look all painted up. They took out the bushes in front, and that’s where all the shopping carts are stored. You enter the store right under the marquee doors.
The exterior has been painted yellow.
I went inside this morning to get a look, and aside from some large ceiling beams, that may have been “theater like”, that’s the only thing that I saw that may look like a left over from the theater days. I forgot to look at the deli counter. The Inside seems small, so it couldn’t be that big of a theater. I was never in the Vicotia house, so don’t really know what was left from it’s theater days when the Victoria house operated there.
Sadly when they repainted the building they covered up the Acme sign that had been etched into the top of the concrete all these years :(
Tonino,
I have passed by this building many times during the 70’s when it was the Victorian House, although I never went inside until last month, the placement and construction of the deli counter does seem to indicate it served purpose as the concession stand.
Rollo
The 2nd sentence of my first paragraph should read as follows: “My recollection was that it had been totally transformed into a 50s Soprano’s-style catering house.”
I am amazed that so many of the Acme’s original features are still intact. I went to the Victorian House on a number of occasions, but do not recall seeing anything you’ve mentioned. My recollection was that it had been totally rehabilitated into a 50s Soprano’s-style catering house.
The “Itch” was my co-babysitter for the better part of two summers. Depending on the shows, I went to the Belvedere every other day.
Can anyone confirm that the ticket booth and concession stand were there when it was the Victorian House?
Shalom, caio, and excelsior
The former Acme theater and Victorian House has been re-opened! As of early May, it is now a Met food store. I visited recently and found a lot of the theater’s distinct features still in tact. The marquee is still up and being utilized, inside, the former ticket booth/concession stand now serves as the delicatessen! The original red quarry tile floor is being utilized, and is in remarkable shape.However the slope still exists, especially at the front at the check out lanes,when I parked my shopping cart to check out,it actually rolled away from me! Finally the original ceiling is exposed, complete with a fresh coat of paint, showing the beautiful molding. Visit and enjoy!
I grew up in Glendale being born on 69th Street in the big apartment house at 72-06 69th St., (Fosdick Court) in 1946 and attending P.S. 91. I saw many movies at the Acme although I can’t remember their names, however, I do remember the presents that were given out after the Saturday matinee and coming home with 50cents and giving it to my mother as her change for the day. I remember when it became the catering hall “Victorian House” and was “The Place” to have your wedding. It all seemed so big back then.
The Alpha Theatre first opened on April 7th, 1917, with “A Splendid Program of High-Class Photo Plays,” according to an ad in the Ridgewood Times. As soon as warm weather set in, the Alpha also unveiled its Open Air Annex. By 1921, the site was being advertised as the Alpha Theatre and Airdome.
NY Times Apr 4, 1949
“The 600 seat Acme Theatre at 67-14 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale, Queens, has been leased by Selig Theatres, Inc., headed by Joseph Selig, from the Fran-Lynn Amusement Corporation. Berk and Krumgold were the brokers”.
The 70-02 Cypress Hills St address given in the article is currently listed as a Primarily 2 Family building With 1 Store built in 1920. It is also not “a triangular-shaped building”, so I doubt that is the correct address. The Strauss Auto building was later called Crown Auto after Strauss moved out.
That is a good article. Thanks for posting it because I lost the bookmark for it. That was one source of imformation that I found for the Kossuth theater a few months ago. I’m not sure about the address given. It doesn’t map to a building that meets the description given as being “a triangular-shaped building”. The building that does match the description in that article is the old Strauss Auto parts store. Anyone from Ridgewood or Glendale should be familiar with that building. Does anyone know the address of the old Strauss store?