Loew's Woodside Theatre
58-02 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
58-02 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
5 people
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Showing 16 comments
Who knew that this could ever happen here
A selection of images as church can be viewed here
Direct link to the announcement in .pdf form.
Announcement http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2015/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star%201926/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star%201926%20-%202726.pdf#xml=http://fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=ffffffffca235d3c&DocId=4880464&Index=Z%3a%5cIndex%20I%2dE&HitCount=4&hits=1f+20+2a+54+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf
As a long-time Woodside resident, and if my memory serves me correctly, the last movie that played in this theater was “Mr. Roberts.” After it was converted to a church, most of the kids in the neighborhood switched churches and went to mass here, as it was the first, and only church at that time, that had air-conditioning.
Thank you so much TT for resurrecting – an apt religous term – this previously lost link that really establishes the connection of the old movie palace to its current religous use. This really represents one of the most successful re-uses of an old movie house than I am aware of.
Nice photo of the LOEWS WOODSIDE/CHURCH.RickB.
Some June 2010 pictures of the former Loew’s Woodside are near the bottom of this page, as Forgotten New York revisits the neighborhood.
Good to see that the building is still there as a church.Nice history.
Toward the end of the attached terrific exploration of the lost Woodside, there are several fine external pictures of the old Woodside Theatre and the new St. Salvadore’s. This was put together by Christina Wilkinson (the Queen of Queens), who has done wonderful work for many West Queens communities in many different ways. Please enjoy the entire attachment, which links pertinent “non-topic” items with the real cinematic thing.
Hope the link works.
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Perhaps another reason why so few comments have been registered on this page is that the conversion occurred so early – in the early 1950’s. Thus, probably very few people remember the time when the old Woodside was anything but a church.
Beyond this, the church itself does nothing to promote its cinematic past. Its web page provides a very comprehensive description of St. Sebastian’s origin – and the development of the Catholic religion in Queens – but says nary a word about the movie house conversion. This is really odd, given the fact that they should be very proud of this terrific achievement.
Bway, I was also surprised that this old theater has been off Cinema Treasures' radar screen, with only a handful of comments being registered. Perhaps the church fathers did such a good job of making the Woodside look like a church that no one thought that it could have been anything else. As my previous comment noted, the use of Romanesque architecture in converting the site really made it look authentic.
I hope you agree with my assessment when you make your visit. (The church is situated only 2 blocks from the #7/LIRR Woodside station.) A few pictures of the current exterior would really help provide a more complete profile of this fascinating place.
Wow, I never even heard of this theater until coming across it mentioned in the Loews Valencia. I have to remember to go here one day to see it for myself.
These are wonderful pictures, Warren. Thanks so much.
Having sneaked in to catch the end of a mass several years ago, I agree that you really need to see the old theater in person to appreciate the success of the conversion.
A real key to the external conversion concerns the selection of the style – Romanesque – that the church made. Since Romanesque churches could not support large windows, as the outer walls had to bear the building’s full weight, the lack of any side windows does not undercut the success of the project. In addition, the Romanesque portal and bell tower seamlessly conform to the dimensions of the old theater’s entrance.
In short, this was a terrific achievement. As it did not have to turn out this way, it should not be taken for granted.
I recently was at St. Sebastian’s. Saturday morning masses are held in the chapel instead of in the main church, so I did not see the interior. However, it is obvious that the exterior has some features that are more theater-like than church-like, such as the lack of exterior windows. I have heard that the seats still have the theater slope to them and that the ceiling is wonderful.
A photo of the Woodside Theater can be found here:
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