UA Astoria Sixplex
2860 Steinway Street,
Astoria,
NY
11103
2860 Steinway Street,
Astoria,
NY
11103
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 92 comments
Please update total seats 2259 when it closed. Seating capacity according to NYC DOB Website: 1. 461 2. 360 3. 531 4. 525 5. 201 6. 181
Please update, Became a quad on March 18, 1977, became a sixplex on March 28, 1986
Another news article on closure in December, 2001 can be viewed here
2002 article about the closing.
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2002-01-16/Front_Page/Astoria_Movie_Theater_Closes_After_81_Years.html?fbclid=IwAR3HF_Tigzh0WCImNIJY1yqr1tnL-P62n2gAxJgqzyvDota4M5AO8IYfhYg
This theater had almost nothing left of the original ornamentation left by the time it had closed. In the later couple of decades, it was stripped down pretty hard, with everything being covered in matte or shiny black paint.
The only somewhat interesting elements left were the spiral stairs leading to a round landing, the bathrooms and the upper theaters. Mind you, the theater was also cut up into multiplexes a number of times with what would appear to be slicing these upper theaters from what would have been balconies into their own screen suites. For many years it was a quad, until two more screens were added in the back of what must have been admin spaces.
Also, the final marquee was replaced after a quite significant collapse of the 60’s vintage “box” marquee, which I recall may have also have resulted in injuries, and an eventual complete rebuild (as you can see, they added struts to the final marquee, even though it was much smaller), so there were a number of changes to that…
Uploaded a photo showing original marquee and vertical.
November 14th 1944 photo added. Astoria Queens, Steinway Street and 30th Avenue-NYC Gov Records. Via Al Ponte’s Time Machine – New York Facebook page.
I posted a bunch of grand opening ads for the Loew’s takeover of January 8th, 1923.
On Monday 5 March 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at Skouras Astoria. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!
What is mentioned in 1925 article about Queens movie theatres? The Crescent? I just read the article, and The Crescent is not mentioned in the above-linked article.
Can somebody please tell me where the Crescent Theater was? I’ve lived on Crescent Street just about all my life, and haven’t any idea where this theater was. (There was the Strand Theater on Crescent and Broadway, which I remember quite well.) Also, does anybody remember the small movie house on Steinway Street across from the old Loew’s Triboro but further toward Astoria Boulevard? (I believe it’s original name was the Cameo. I’m not sure I remember it as such, but I do remember it as the Olympia, which became a porn theater before it closed. Not sure of the year it closed, either.) Thanks.
The last couple of years I went to the Astoria, it turned into a real dive. Ripped up screens, a sticky floor, and usually an odd scent for your “viewing pleasure”. It was funny that the Drake, another Queens theater that was only a dollar actually was in better condition.
Thanks, MichaelDJ!
To answer davebazooka, there is nothing left of the theatre on the gym floors. Nothing. It’s all gone. Although, the large glass windows of the second floor, which are evident in old photos of the theatre are still there and all the treadmills are lined up there so you can look out on Steinway as you run. I think all the original interior ornamentation was gone when the theatre was split into 6 screens, because I don’t remember any when I saw movies there in 2000-2001.
What ornamentation remains of the old Astoria inside?
ANd it’s nice that the marquee is still there, but it’s sort of ludicrous that the drug store moved the entrance to the corner instead of using the entrance with the arch and marquee. Here’s a street view of the theater:
View link
I saw Moulin Rouge in this theater in 2001. It was probably one of the last films shown there. The theater was pretty empty, the floors were sticky and it was certainly very old. I thought it was a beautiful place, nonetheless. I live about 10 blocks from it and, every time I walk past it now, I get sad. I’m glad they didn’t tear it down and the facade is still there.
What remains of the theatre on the gym floor? Are there decorative moldings, the proscenium arch, etc.?
On second thought, 9/11 probably had little to do with the closing when you consider the Kaufman cineplex down the street, but a lot of business dissolved after 9/11 and the Astoria seemed to be one of them.
I live 2 blocks from the Astoria Theatre. The original entrance with it’s ornate carvings and such are preserved and it is stupid that the drug store didn’t use the grand arch entrance as the entrance. I go to the NY Sports Club gym located on the second floor of the building and take a certain pride that I am inhabiting the theater. I saw movies in that theater up until the time it closed and although it was a dump by then, I was sad that a theater built in 1920, which had survived for so long, was dead. I always thought 9/11 was the final blow for that theater. Too bad.
Lost memory, thank you very much for those photos. they brought me back in time for a moment.
Thanks for the info, GerardC. There were blizzards on April 6, 1982 and in late February 1983, if that’s any help.
Peter K. The Astoria’s Marquee did not fall in that snow storm in the 60’s. (I wasnt born yet in the 60’s and I remember it!! lol)To the best of my memory; the marquee fell between – 1982-1984. I remember my mom talking about it after I came home from school and my friend from next doors' mom talking about it (apparently- she was shopping on Steinway at the time. My mom told me (i guess through the extensive network of mom / busy bodies) that she “heard” that there were workers doing some type of work / repairs obove the Marquee at the time of the collape and they probably did something to undermine the supports. Ihave tried online to locate the story using the web pages of the “tribune” and “gazette” but as of yet have had no luck. On another note.. I had always thought I was the only “nerd” (nothing against the worldwide group of this page) that like old movie houses. I used that term because that was what my ex called me and friends as well in the 80’s and 90’s (before the internet became a popular thing) I always thought i was alone in my “hobby”! Iam very glad I had stumbled across this site soon after i purchased my first home computer! lol IF anyone cares go to the Loews Oriental page and you will hear about a young 20 somthing nerd going to the movies with a camera in hand!! lol
Thanks, Bway. “Healthy” as Warren would define it, or as we would ?
The Valencia has a healthy page too.
GerardC, I’m glad there are no hard feelings on your part.
I recommend you not be too hard on yourself about throwing out those old newspaper clippings. Unfortunately, hindsight through the “retrospectroscope”, such as we are now prone to in our later (and hopefully) wiser years is always 20 / 20.
I wonder if the Astoria’s marquee fell in the same snowstorm as the Ridgewood’s : the blizzard of Beatles Day, February 9, 1969.
February 8 or 9, 1964 was the Beatles' landmark performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
I, too, have wondered, why the Ridgewood and RKO Madison Theatre pages, and not, say, the Astoria’s or Valencia’s pages, became such “wailing walls” and meeting places for people from the neighborhoods that these theaters were located in.
I think the Meserole Theatre page did also, but to a lesser extent than the Ridgewood’s and Madison’s.