Sunnyside Theatre
50-19 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
50-19 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
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Though technically in the Woodside section of Queens, the theatre was situated so close to the shopping district of adjacent Sunnyside that it was given that name. It was one of three Queens theatres built by the Grob & Knobel circuit with Herbert J. Krapp as architect (the others being the Jackson Theatre and Boulevard Theatre, both in Jackson Heights).
The Sunnyside Theatre was the most luxurious of the three and took up an entire block, with the entrance on bustling Roosevelt Avenue, under the shadow of the elevated Manhattan-to-Flushing subway line. The auditorium was rather unique, with all 2,046 seats on the ground floor, which was 110 feet wide and 142 feet long from last row to stage, with a pitch of seven feet from rear to front. There were five sections of seats, divided by four aisles. The stage was 98 feet wide across the wings and 26 feet deep. The proscenium opening was 45 feet wide and 25 feet high. The highly ornamented ceiling, which rose to a height of 55 feet, had a cove-lighted dome in the center, hanging from which was a huge crystal chandelier with special lighting effects. Twelve smaller crystal chandeliers were hung along the two side walls and rear of the auditorium. The walls were decorated in ornamental plaster relief, interspersed with draped arches. Still more crystal chandeliers decorated the foyer and lobby.
The Sunnyside Theatre first opened on December 28, 1926, with vaudeville and the movie “Sweet Rosie O'Grady”. Soon after, the circuit-owner was taken over by William Fox. After Fox’s bankruptcy, the Sunnyside Theatre landed under Skouras management and was later taken over by the Century circuit.
Throughout its history, the Sunnyside Theatre was never successful, so in January, 1965, it was totally demolished and replaced by an A & P supermarket. The store was only half the size of the theatre, with the rest of the site used for parking space. To save money, the developer failed to level the ground used for the parking space, so it still has the seven foot pitch of the Sunnyside’s auditorium floor.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
An article in the 12/28/1926 issue of The Daily Star reveals that Herbert Krapp wasn’t the sole architect. Charles Sandblom is credited as interior architect, and Max Kramer was the builder.
The opening film, “Sweet Rosie O'Grady,” was later re-made as a Technicolor musical with Betty Grable, which also played at the Sunnyside in 1943:
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During the Depression, the Sunnyside Theatre tried nearly everything to attract ticket-buyers, including, in 1936, “The Greatest Stage Attraction of Them All”:
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A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1410 style E special was installed in the Sunnyside Theater on 8/7/1926.
Century’s long sub-lease of the Sunnyside expired in 1961, when the theatre returned to Skouras management. The changeover took place on June 1, 1961, in the midst of an engagement of “The Absent-Minded Professor” & “The Horse With the Flying Tail.” As the Skouras Sunnyside, it would continued to play the same programs that it would have under Century. The switch left Century with only the Bliss Theatre in Sunnyside. The 43rd Street had long been closed and converted into retail space.
Two new direct links to images of the auditorium. The Hollywood Video rental store that occupied half of the Sunnyside’s replacement building recently closed. Perhaps the ground site is jinxed for anything connected to the entertainment business:
View link
View link
Here’s a sad view of the dilapidated marquee before the Sunnyside’s demolition in 1965. Note the barbed wire across the roof to deter vandalism. The pillar going straight through the marquee is part of the support system for the Roosevelt Avenue #7 elevated subway line:
View link
Looking at the photos of the marquee protruding under the el, which came first the theatre or the el. I would presume the theatre why else would the marquee extend under the el. And I would presume that the Merrick in Jamaica also preceeded the el since the one shot shows a vertical which would be ridiculous if the el were also present.
The opening date for that section of the IRT Flushing line was April 21, 1917. So, it was there before the theatre. I guess the marquee was wrapped around the support of the el as a necessity.
The current view displayed is nowhere near the Sunnyside Theatre in any direction. I don’t know how to correct it. Most of the Sunnyside’s ground site is currently a parking lot, with a Korean bank and a Rite-Aid store adjoining it.
I was finally able to correct the view, though it is hardly current. The chain store name changed from Eckerd to Rite-Aid several years ago. The Sunnyside Theatre was totally demolished before a supermarket was built on the site, with a large parking space at the front. The supermarket was eventually divided into two stores, with the drug chain at one end and Hollywood Video on the other. When the video rental store closed, an Asian bank moved in.