UA Quartet
16006 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11358
16006 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11358
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 115 comments found
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m one of the people in that photo.
Ha! Those were the days…
I grew up a few blocks from the Roosevelt and saw my first James Bond and Jerry Lewis films there. It was close enough that my mother would let us go alone to Saturday matinees; she was happy to get us out of the house for a few hours.
My mother never let us buy popcorn or soda at the theater because it was so expensive. She’d give us some cookies to take along in our pockets. I envied the children with popcorn and big iced sodas.
In 1963 I went with my sister and some young friends to see PT-109 at a 4:30 p.m. Saturday showing. The ticket-seller warned us that all children unaccompanied by someone at least twelve years old had to leave at 6:00 p.m.; we didn’t really understand what he meant, and bought the tickets. Promptly at 6, while the film was still in progress, an usher went up and down the aisles, kicking out unaccompanied children. My friends and I scrambled, and each of us sat next to an adult, so we escaped the 6 p.m. purge. I remember it as quite an exciting adventure.
The man who posted w/the name Latin Lefty on this site was an assistant manager at the Quartet as well as some other UAs. He passed away in July, 2009 at age 40. Odd in who & what he chose to recollect here. Talking in such detail about truly bad egg Jack Wauhop for instance. Strange indeed.
I worked for Kurt around the time the concession stand was moved from the middle to the side until his last day which if i remember correctly we all, or most all of us, quit protesting his move. Kurt you are certianly right about the stories from that place. And even though my name is among the list of those you thanked, im almost insulted you didnt name me first or last. This site has really brough the memories back. Would love to see more pictures, Kurt.
All four auditoriums were at the rear of the lobby. #1 and #2 directly under the numbers coming down from the ceiling. #3 was to the right of #2 behind the new concession stand (installed 1985). #4 was to the left of #1, just follow the 4’s along the wall.
After carefully reviewing fred1’s response, I cannot make heads or tails out of where the four theaters were actually located! (There’s no mention of #3, and from the photos #4 seems to be opposite the concession stand…)
Theater 1 and 2 are facing the lobby. Theater entrance islrft of theater#1 and goes to the entrace of theater. #4 is back of the concessions stand.
After carefully reviewing the photo section, I cannot make heads or tails out of where the four theaters were actually located!
Please help! I am trying to remember the name of the music/concert club that was located two or three doors down from The Quartet Movie Theatre. I went to this club twice in 1971. I first saw the band CANDY at this club and next saw the band Lighthouse at this club. This club used to give handout flyers with names of forthcoming shows and used to advertise in the local music publication called “The Island Ear.” Mike’s Comic Hut was on the other side of the Quartet while this music club was on the side of the Quartet that was closer to the Long Island Railroad Station.
Does anyone remember the name of this Music Club ? Have a logo or handout flyer from this Club ? Have any stories about seeing shows at this club ?
Thanks!!!!!! Tricia (Bayside, NY)
I just learned today that the landlord is wanting $60,000 monthly for the UA Quartet. There is no way he is going to get that number in today’s economy.
Fred1, your comment is barely in English! Sorry, couldn’t resist…
Here’s a 1980s tax photo showing the marquee: lunaimaging
I just saw the pics that Kurt uploaded. Awesome !!! Thanks for sharing.
Also, as a word of note – at the end of this month, the Asian market that has been occupying the UA Quartet is closing down, so the final chapter in this landmark has not yet been written. I will miss my $1.00 coffee’s and discussing business and politics in aisle 5 next to the moon cakes and tea herbs :(
Somehow I have a feeling the UA Quartet will be knocked down and an apartment complex will be erected
I worked at the quartet from july 1977-august 1979..Mike Hochstien was the manager and there were several assistants(Kevin Kilkenny, Frank Nardi)..It was one of the best experiences of my youth…we would hit the Gable Inn after work on weekends…Nearly all the kids in my niehgborhood worked there in the mid-late 70’s-Loretta B.Patricia B, David B, Arlene L, Jodi P, Linda P,Craig B. Kenny M.,Sue G….It was a time I will cherish in my heart forever as I will the friends I made there. It seems like 100 years ago. Scott M.
Wow! Talk about Memories… I remember I believe in 1989 me and my 2 Best Friends went on a Saturday and watched 3 movies and got home late and got in trouble from all our parents. We had no cell phones back then and got scolded on pay phones… We still talk about it till this day. We saw Major League, Skindeep (with Jack Tripper from Three’s Company) and I forgot the 3rd movie. I also do remember Mike’s Comic Hut, Hobby Dens, Etc… I remember a Sporting Goods store where I used to order my Little League Uniforms… I forgot the name.
Hey intass123… Kurt already posted those pics last month. Click on the “photos” tab at the top of this page to see them all.
Cant wait to see the pics. Please post them soon.
I was the assistant manager at the Quartet Theatre in the summer of 1980 under Rose G. I found her to be a nasty and vulgar person who would not have survived the era of political correctness that we have today. On more than one occasion I witnessed here mouthing off to patrons and wondered how she got away with such awful behavior.
In late August Beverly replaced Rose and I was shipped off to another theatre. I returned to the Quartet in January 1981 as the manager and remained there for exactly five years to the day.
I’ve noticed the many posts regarding Eddie Hambrect. I’d like to share my memories.
Eddie played Santa Claus for us for three Christmas seasons and did an outstanding job. He was loved by both patrons and our staff, his efforts were greatly appreciated. I’m saddened to hear of his passing. He will always be remembered warmly.
Many others contributed valuable efforts over a long period that helped me get over some rough spots. I’d like to thank Lisa C., Kathryn S., Ritsa G., Barbara G., Graham H., John D., Julie H., Vito Q., Sean O., Paul F., Dennis O., Jerry M., Diedre L., Liz G., Mike H., Anthony T., Jane D., Richard B., John M for all your help. My apologies to anyone I may have missed and to those whose stay was shorter but not any less appreciated.
Together we overcame three fires in my first six months, all of them suspicious. There were a group of jerks in the neighborhood who I’m sure had a hand in these incidents. Thankfully no one was ever hurt.
The summer of 1982 featured Rocky 3 on two screens and ET on two screens. We sold out each show all day, everyday, for three months. It was exhausting and my thanks again to everyone who got us through that summer.
In August of 1983 on the opening night of Nightmare on Elm Street 3 we drew such a rowdy crowd of maniacs I feared for our safety. We needed about half a dozen police cars to disperse the crowd and we closed the theatre at 8:30. UA got their panties in a twist over the lost ticket and concession sales, they didn’t care about us.
We featured a Walt Disney film each Easter and Christmas which was challenging on a different level. Hundreds of kids each day and what a mess they made, popcorn everywhere.
I wish I had kept notes at the time, there are so many stories to tell.
If anyone sees this entry that worked for me, please say hi.
I’ll attempt to post a couple of pictures showing the renovation of the lobby in 1985 and craziness of Halloween in 1981.
I’ll attempt to post a couple of pictures showing the renovation of the lobby in 1985 and craziness of Halloween in 1981.
I remember seeing Karate Kid, Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtles, No Hold’s Barred, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Street fighter, Vegas Vacation, Beavis and Butthead’s Do AMERICA, ACE VENTURA, From Dusk Till' Dawn, etc etc … That’s funny as hell that other’s commented about it feeling a Lil' creepy, whenever I went to the bathroom by myself, “I WENT FAST” LOL ! Somebody also brought up the BIG numbers … ahh it’s all coming back to me now ! The Reception House, WIG CITY, Jack in the Box (TACOS) , Rock Bottom’s , even R&S STRAUSS , Good memories! It’s a shame how Flushing changed … but it will always be my hometown !
I remember Eddie. He also worked at “Save More” (now marinos) on 29th avenue. Eddie was always a sweet man.
Sorry to hear of his passing. I am sure he is in heaven. He was super nice.
To those of you still interested, Edward “Eddie” Hambrecht was my uncle. If you would like information regarding him feel free to contact me. Eddie passed away a few years ago, he was the hardest working person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Contact info- fishncopper@ yahoo. com
Does anyone remember the “Coin Box”, it was there before Mike’s Comic Hut. I sold them a 1927S Penny for 25 cents. I wish I’d never done that.
One thing that perplexed me about the Quartet was the never-used door in the front right of the theater, the inside of which was empty for years in the 1970s and 1980s. Perhaps it was too small to rent out? Towards the end, when they were in the process of closing up they finally rented it if I recall correctly.
I saw many movies here – Grease, Back to School, Commando, Flash Gordon (yaa, it played there, I saw it at the Quartet), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Peggy Sue Got Married, Time Rider and many more. I saw Commando with my grandmother, because she wanted to see who the actor was (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who had married into the Kennedy family. Me and a friend went to see Once Bitten but the projector broke five minutes into the movie and everyone got a refund.
I was too young to see R rated movies in the 1970s and 1980s but I do remember posters to thrillers and horror movies, such as the Dressed to Kill poster, a phrase which I did not understand at the young age I saw the poster, never mind the pun. That the Quartet used to show X rated movies is something I forgot, although I vaguely recall adults talking about this topic 35 years ago or so. I don’t know what’s more surprising in that old ad – that an X-rated movie was playing at the Quarter, or that a Swedish art film with Liv Ullmann was playing at the Quartet.
Does anyone remember the theater renovation done a few years before the Quartet closed? If I recall correctly, the upstairs and lobby had gotten a little bit dumpy by the mid/late 1980s, but was renovated a bit nicer at that time.
I remember Eddie in the Quartet, and pretty much every other store in Flushing and Bayside. I was, like so many other, yelled at by Rose.
I also remember Mike’s Comic Hut, Murrays, Bridies, Kam Ying, Happy Days Pizza, the Reception House, Scaturros, Jack in the Box and the diner. Didn’t the pet store have two entrances? One an aquarium and one a pet store. I remember seeing all the fire trucks when it burned down. Across from Mike’s, Bridies and Happy Days was the music store with the guitars, the shoe store and a florist.
Correcting my comment above: The issue of Boxoffice I cited used a variant spelling of the architect’s name. It should read Maurice D. Sornik.