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Cinemart Theater To Undergo Partial Restoration: Search for vintage photos
posted by
NativeForestHiller
on
March 27, 2006 at 3:41 pm
FOREST HILLS, NY — My name is Michael Perlman, and I am a Forest Hills preservationist who is assisting the owner of the Cinemart Theater with the restoration of an ornate coffered ceiling from 1925.
The ceiling is located in the entryway/lobby, & is concealed with lackluster, industry-standard paneling. The theater was formerly known as the Metropolis and the Inwood. This is one of the many activities I hope to accomplish in honor of Forest Hills' 100th anniversary this year.
I would appreciate it if anyone can share photos of the interior/exterior prior to the 2002 renovation (1925-2001), since this will assist us in the restoration. If you don’t have any photos, I would appreciate any bit of advice as to where I can find some. Also, if you can provide some restoration tips, that would be of great help too. Please e-mail me at Thank you!
Please read the following March 15th Daily News article by reporter Nicholas Hirshon, which documents our effort and the history of the Cinemart:
www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/399660p-338622c.html
The Cinemart website is as follows: www.cinemartcinemas.com/chc/cc/about_us.asp
Comments (3)
Good luck with this endeavor Mr. Perlman.
Question about Forest Hill Gardens: Have they ever filmed anything in that private enclave? Has the hotel opposite the LIRR Station ever been filmed? Thought I saw it in a Citibank comercial, but never anywhere else and it’s so unique.
Thank You Much.
The best potential source of vintage theatre photos is the Theatre Historical Society of America at: www.historictheatres.org Contact their Ex. Director, Richard Sklenar, via his E-mail address on their front page. Coffers are not difficult to restore and any ornamental plaster worker will know how to do so. One of the best is Conrad Schmitt Studios at www.conradschmitt.com who have worked on dozens of historic theatres. Best Wishes.
TommyR – Thank you very much for your encouragement. The FH Gardens enclave is indeed unique. I haven’t seen it documented in any films. It would make a perfect backdrop! Proudly, the FH Gardens is a place where history has stood still. It exemplifies how we can all work together to achieve a well-maintained community.
Jim – I have contacted THSA and I hope that they can unearth some photo treasures of the Cinemart. Thank you very much for your advice on that, as well as the restoration architects. I’m very impressed with their work! I will definitely look into it, & share my findings with the owner.
I will keep everyone up to date. Thanks again! – Michael