RKO Keith's Theatre
135-35 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11354
135-35 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11354
51 people
favorited this theater
Showing 226 - 250 of 1,324 comments
Is it possible to go inside the theater?
A detail from the backstage VIP dressing room
Can’t wait to see some more pix!
It’s gutted I tell you
lfreimauer – Maybe you should check out this page on
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/220242754654213/223364514342037/
They intend to restore this great movie palace. I only wish I could live to see it. In the early 1950’s, its spendor could match ANY theatre in NYC. Of course also in Queens, Loews Valencia came pretty damn close.
Another lost cause here!
The RKO in the year of the Dragon
Can it survive or will the NYC Board of Standards & Appeals grant yet another waiver to allow the developer more time on 1/31/12?
Here is another interesting one: In the basement alone there were over 50 rooms with everything needed to support large scale theatrical productions: musicians room, band leaders room, stage manager’s room, electricians,carpenters room, porters,vaults, library, laundry, engineers room, doorman’s room, store rooms and an animal room (number 62 to be exact). This room was sealed off and I shot this through a hole in the wall just large enough to fit my camera through, in the background there is a bath; the show animals were led up an adjacent 4/1 ramp under to the stage.
Amazing!!! The Cadillac Palace (once the RKO Palace) in Chicago still have their annunciator displays located on sides of the stage. I bet they also have instructions on the upkeep as well. SWC, you are a treasure yourself!!
Personally, I like the way these photos are presented in the messages, they are very vivid, and striking.
These photos can be uploaded to the site, unfortunately there are no zoom options, they have to be done 1 at a time and they have to be re-captioned. I did copy 1. Getting back to the theatre, here is an interesting item:
Incredibly still in business as Tapecon, Inc. in Buffalo. The original family business was the Davis Bulletin Co. founded in Buffalo, NY by Albert Davis in 1919. The Davis annunciator was used to display vaudeville acts as they appeared on stage. These annunciator instructions are still located on either side of the stage.
The photos should also be posted in the photo section, so that when the comment links are inevitably broken, we will still have the hard copy in the photo section.
Part of the East auditorium skyline:
Character in the balcony
Thanks Ed, you have been a long supporter on this board. Yes Matt’s work is excellent and he had to work very hard to secure those images. What you are confronted with in photographing this theatre may not be fully appreciated, truly like slipping into darkness. This image from backstage may give you an idea:
SWC… many thanks for the photos. I think they serve a vital purpose in the name of theater preservation and historical appreciation. I also applaud Matt Lambros' terrific work on his blog After The Final Curtain, but he casts a much wider net than you do – traveling around the country as he does to photograph his many subjects.
Your detailed photographic journal of the Keith’s is a wonderful accomplishment – particularly considering the physical conditions that exist within its dilapidated shell. I think it’s very important that every surviving detail of this architectural gem be documented and catalogued, while they still remain. In the best case scenario, this series of images would spur a true restoration of the Keith’s and return to its highest and best utility. And in the worst case, we would at least be left with vivid reminders of what was lost.
As for posting them in the comment section… Sure, this might bend the rules a bit, but as long as the images don’t distort the presentation of the page (as some clumsily embedded pics can do), I see no harm nor foul.
These photos are not embedded images but self hosted links per the board rules.
You can help the FB effort “Save the Flushing RKO Keith’s” a new photo is published every day, 161 so far.
Thanks Dave, I got into the theatre through strictly legal means – the front door was open and the Daily News, by coincidence published that the public must be provided with access to declared landmarks at the same time. All I read in the local publications is how a developer will save the theatre going as far as calling it a “rebirth” by demolishing the theatre and saving a 66' x 38' patch of the foyer to make it the entrance to a high density 357 unit market rate rental with an average apartment size of 786 sq ft. Now the rhetoric has it that the theatre is gutted, so the assumption is that it can never be restored and that there is nothing of value, art or architecture left. The public has been locked out for 26 years so it can’t be doubted. There are almost no photographs of the interior in any detail from 1929 to the present. When the few photos that are contemporary surface they are usually far field and reinforce the assumption of a gutted unsalvageable condition. To do a true high definition survey of the theatre is not a simple matter. Much of the damage was done with a hand held hammer at arm’s length (the hammers are still there scattered around the theatre) so surviving detail is usually at a range of 12-50' away, unless you have a cherry picker and excellent lighting it is unlikely. The theatre is pitch black; you cannot see your hand in front of your face in most areas nonetheless focus. All of the photos I post are self hosted, for the curious you can track down the source and view in close up far beyond what can be copied on this server, many are extreme blow ups to capture the whole point that what survives is of value. Adding them with a message and caption is a continuing reminder that the theatre is relevant and that what you have been hearing about the RKO is what suits the developer:
SWC please continue posting photos. The close-ups of the decorative elements are important. Maybe some day building theatres like this will become popular again and these photos will give designers in the future a guideline to re-creating the palaces. Anything is possible. Can you get me in there?? :)
“Tomorrow is another day”….
“Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn”
I don’t care where they are posted as long as I get to see them. As far as quality you could always crawl around in there and show us what you got. Keep on clicking SWC.
SWC,It is so true what you write and a big thank you for letting us see it from your eyes..