Loew's Valencia Theatre

165-11 Jamaica Avenue,
Jamaica, NY 11432

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Loew's Valencia Theatre

Viewing: Photo | Street View

Located in the Jamaica section of Queens. Opened on January 12, 1929 with Monte Blue in “White Shadows in the South Seas” plus vaudeville on stage. The Loew’s Valencia Theatre was the first of the five Loew’s ‘Wonder’ Theatre’s to open. It was equipped with a Robert Morton ‘Wonder’ organ of 4 Manuals / 23 Ranks.

The auditorium is in Atmospheric style, decorated in a mix of Spanish Colonial and pre-Columbian styles. Seating was provided for 3,554 in orchestra and balcony levels.

Early in 1935, stage shows were dropped and replaced by double features. Until the 1960’s, the Loew’s Valencia Theatre was the most successful movie theatre in Queens, due partly to its location in Jamaica, then the shopping hub of Queens and Long Island, and because programms were shown at least a week ahead of all other theatres in the borough. It closed as a movie theatre in May 1977 with the movie “The Greatest”, and has since served as the Tabernacle of Prayer for All People church.

The Robert Morton ‘Wonder’ organ has found a new home in the Balbao Theatre, San Diego, California, where in 2008 it was installed and refurbished at a cost of $1 million. It debuted at the Balbao Theatre in February 2009.

The Loew’s Valencia Theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Contributed by Jason R, Bryan Krefft, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 665 comments)

jsiggy
jsiggy on October 30, 2010 at 8:02 am

Little known fact about the Valencia Theater in Jamaica, NY:
Charlie Parker performed there live in 1952. Hear him again here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0wQ5Th4w

Jamaica was also home to Illinois Jacquet. A church in the old Prospect Cemetery in Jamaica, now part of York College, is dedicated to Illinois Jacquet with jazz concerts from time to time
John Signorelli

Tinseltoes
Tinseltoes on November 28, 2010 at 1:22 pm

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 1953, Loew’s Valencia attracted large crowds and lobby “lock-outs” with MGM’s Technioolor adventure, “Mogambo,” starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and presented on its wide-vision screen with stereophonic sound. The supporting feature was MGM’s B&W collegiate musicomedy, “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis,” with Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van. As had been the policy since the Valencia first opened in 1929, the engagement was exclusive first-run for the borough of Queens. That held true until the mid-1960s, when the “Premiere Showcase” concept became common practice in the Greater New York territory.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on March 27, 2011 at 3:57 pm

Relinking,just to stur up some interest.

Bway
Bway on March 28, 2011 at 11:53 am

LOL! I just saw the Valencia name, and said, “Wow, it’s a long time since I saw that one come up in my email updates!”

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on March 28, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Well Bway,lets see it this theatre gets anymore hits!LOL.

Tinseltoes
Tinseltoes on April 6, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Sixty-two years ago today, Loew’s Valencia opened a week’s engagement of MGM’s B&W “Command Decision,” starring Clark Gable, Van Johnson, and Walter Pidgeon, and the Monogram B&W programmer, “Henry the Rainmaker,” both exclusive first-run for Queens. The same conditions had prevailed the previous week with Paramount’s Technicolor “Whispering Smith,” with Alan Ladd, and Paramount’s B&W “My Own True Love,” which had now moved on to an exclusive-for-Queens week at Loew’s Triboro in Astoria.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 7, 2011 at 12:59 am

Thanks again Tinesletoes!

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on May 8, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Marcus Loew was born on this date in 1870.

Tinseltoes
Tinseltoes on September 30, 2011 at 9:44 am

At least one patron committed suicide at Loew’s Valencia during its cinema history. On April 2nd, 1943, a 70-year-old widow from Bellaire, Queens, killed herself with a pistol in the downstairs ladies' lounge. Apparently, no one heard the shot. The body was discovered by two young women when they went down to the lounge around 5:00pm. The Jamaica police traced ownership of the gun to the victim’s son, who said that his mother had been despondent since the death of her husband two years ago. The Valencia was then in the second day of a week’s engagement of “The Crystal Ball” (Paulette Goodard-Ray Milland) and “Silver Queen” (Priscilla Lane-George Brent).

Tinseltoes
Tinseltoes on January 23, 2012 at 10:40 am

The address ribbon at the top of the introduction has one “Jamaica” too many. The first is all that’s needed. Doesn’t anyone in authority ever proofread these listings?

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