Loew's Woodside Theatre
58-02 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
58-02 Roosevelt Avenue,
Woodside,
NY
11377
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing all 21 comments
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
“PapaCat,” you obviously didn’t read my posting preceding yours about Loew’s Woodside closing forever as a cinema in March, 1952. “Mister Roberts” wasn’t released until 1955. If you saw it in Woodside, it must have been at the DeLuxe Theatre. Or at the Sunnyside Theatre, which, despite its name, was actually in Woodside.
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.
Fifty-nine years ago today, Loew’s Woodside opened its final booking— a week’s engagement of MGM’s B&W “Lone Star,” starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, and MGM’s B&W “Calling Bulldog Drummond,” with Walter Pidgeon and Margaret Leighton. The Woodside’s closing would leave Loew’s with five theatres in Queens— the Valencia, Triboro, Hillside, Prospect, and Willard. Those last three were also due to be dropped, but would continue to operate under new managements. The Woodside had already been sold to St. Sebastian’s Church.
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.
Here’s a photo of the shuttered Loew’s Woodside before the church started making changes which included the removal of the marquee and entrance portion of the building: View link
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.
View link
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.
I recently attended the re-christening of the “legit” Biltmore Theatre in Manhattan, now known as the Samuel J. Friedman in honor of the legendary press agent. This was also designed by Herbert J. Krapp, but in renovating the auditorium, they have ruined the beautiful central dome by cutting big holes in it for the installation of lighting and sound equipment.
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.
St. Sebastian’s has done a miraculous job of turning the auditorium into a chapel without changing much of Herbert J. Krapp’s original designs. The huge shallow dome, at the center of the room, has richly decorated ceilings in front and behind it, which can be better seen during a personal visit than in a photo. The decorative pillars along the walls and the framing of the stage area, now used to conduct services, are original. The major change is the pastel color scheme. The Woodside Theatre’s was much darker, to keep reflected light from distracting the audience. Here are some views that I took yesterday. The final one was snapped from the choir loft, which occupies the former projection booth.
View link
View link
View link
View link
From the NY Times
“MOVIE THEATRE SET TO BECOME CHURCH; Loew’s Woodside Is Bought by Catholic Congregation
Mar 8, 1952
Loew’s Woodside Theatre, the buff brick movie house at Roosevelt Avenue and Fifty-eighth Street, Woodside, Queens, has been bought by St. Sebastian’s Roman Catholic Church, Woodside Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street, Queens".
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:
View link
A Wurlitzer organ was installed in this theater on 8/27/1926.