Broadway Theatre
31-15 Broadway,
Astoria,
NY
11106
31-15 Broadway,
Astoria,
NY
11106
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Bank occupies only a small portion of the building, to the usual depth of a retail store. I don’t know what the rest of the space behind it is used for.
Actually judging by the street view, it appears to be a Capital One Bank now.
The theatre entrance was not on the corner. There was a small store on the corner, which provided the theatre’s owner with a monthly income. Some of the introduction needs updating. I believe that Crystal Palace catering hall closed some time ago.
Silksox, if you look at the postcard view that Tinseltoes posted the link to.You will see that The Broadway was where The Crystal Palace is.The supermarket where the bank is was a Bohack store.
It looks like the theater is now a bank.
The Broadway’s marquee and vertical sign can be seen at right in this postcard view looking towards the Broadway elevated station, which is just beyond the theatre: View link
The Broadway closed forever as a cinema on July 10, 1962, with a double bill of “Tales of Terror” & “Burn, Witch, Burn” as the final program. During the Broadway’s last year, Skouras tried an “art” policy, but that proved a quick flop and the theatre reverted to mainstream releases, usually following their first Astoria runs at the Skouras Astoria and Loew’s Triboro.
The Crystal Palace is not on the site of the old Broadway Theater. The Crystal Palace is on the corner of 31 street and Broadway in the shadow of the elevated train. It was originally the Oyster Bay and remodeled around the same time as the Broadway’s demise, hence some of the confusion. The Broadway was on the same side of the avenue but on the other corner, the corner of 32 street. The Broadway was gutted and replaced by a supermarket which gave way some 25 years ago to a Green Point Savings Bank which remains to this day (being taken over by North Fork bank)Inside the bank are a couple of large photos of the Broadway theater. I lived a couple of avenues away but used to go out of my way home from school each day to watch the demolition. There was a wall of plywood erected around the perimeter with large enough gaps to get a clear view. This had to be somewhere between 1963 and 1965. Hope this clears up any confusion. Just found this site and LOVE it.
Thanks for clearing that up, Warren. I figured it might have been a lodge if not a theater.
In answer to Ed Solero’s question above of 4/10/06, the building on the NE corner of Broadway and 41st Street is not a theatre. It was originally Lodge #485 of the Loyal Order of Moose and first opened in 1922. A fraternal group called Circulo Espanol currently occupies the ground floor, and some of the upstairs is used by a Spanish dance studio. Though its main entrance is on 41st Street, the building uses a business address of 41-01 Broadway.
This 1924 sketch shows the exterior not that much changed from a photo that I snapped in 2005. The marquee and entrance were at the center. The “All-Astoria” in the headline refers to the fact that owner Joseph Kneer and all of his financial partners were residents of Astoria. Orchestra conductor Athol Garing also lived in Astoria, and had previously been musical director at the New York Hippodrome:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway24.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway3.jpg
As a result of ongoing research, I must correct something that I posted in 2004 in the introduction about the Broadway’s history. The S&S Circuit did not build the Broadway Theatre, but only acquired it in 1925 from its original owner, the Joseph Kneer Amusement Corporation. Kneer first opened the Broadway on February 1st, 1924, with Lon Chaney’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” supported by short subjects and music provided by a resident orchestra conducted by A.J. Garing. The theatre also had a “Hope Jones” organ. The Broadway was built solely for movies and did not have stage facilities, according to a report in the LI Daily Star of 1/31/24. The auditorium, which had a stadium section of seats at the rear, was 75 feet wide and 150 feet long. A huge dome in the ceiling measured 52 feet across and had a border of electric lights with changing color effects. The side walls were decorated with velour hangings and draperies. The lobby had mirrored walls and a polished marble floor.
I was driving east down Broadway over the weekend and passed by a building on the corner of 41st Street and Broadway just a block past Steinway that looked very much like a former theater. I found this aerial view of the structure on the local.live.com site that has become very popular on these boards of late:
Unkown Astoria Theater?
I don’t have an address, but it’s in the 41-xx block on the odd-numbered side of the street. Anyone know anything about this building? It sure looks like an ex-theater, but it may also have been a lodge of some kind (Elks or some other fraternal order)? Any ideas Warren?
Here are some exteriors that I snapped yesterday. Three of the four sides of the building have been “modernized” beyond recognition as a theatre. I got the impression that the Crystal Palace is a separate and newer building to the west, and not actually situated in the theatre, though it might have been originally. However, a restaurant/nightclub The Greek Cave, which has an address of 31-11 Broadway, seems to occupy some of the former theatre’s space:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway1.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway2.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway3.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/asbway4.jpg
The Broadway was still open in 1959 and still listed as a Skouras house.
The Broadway Theatre was designed by architect Charles Sandblom and first opened in 1924.
I attended the wedding of my mothers office clerk at the crystal Palace and there are some beautiful elements in the lobby but the banquet hall we were in was somewhat tacky and overdone. There was an oversized light fixture in the center adorned with plastic prisms that fell off when the bride tossed the bouquet. It is not oppulent and graceful to the trained eye with good taste.