This part of Ridgewood is Queens and always was Queens. My grandmother lived in that area since the 1920’s. They had a Brooklyn zip code, and used the Brooklyn post office….but it was the borough of Queens. The border between Queens and Brooklyn never changed…only the sip code lines. This is that endless debate causing the confusion. It’s also why that area of Queens escaped the Queens numbering system on many of it’s streets.
I will be in Los Angeles in January. Does anyone know if this theater buikding still exists and if it does, what it is now?
I would love to drive by when I am there, but wont bother unless there is srill something there. It looks like it is just south of the 101, and just west of the 101’s intersection with the 5. I don’t know if I was in that part of LA when I was there a few years ago, but do know the general area there.
Oh, and one more question. Does the Tabernacle of Prayer use the old Valencia’s organ, or was that removed many years before the valencia stopped showing movies.
I would assume there is an organ in the “church”. Do any of the other theaters converted to churches like the Loews Gates and the 175th Street in manhattan (or others) still use the old theater organs?
Yes, while it’s great that the theater is being maintained. The church sure picked some hideous and gaudy colors when they painted the place! Again, it’s certainly better than the alternative, at least for the most part the theater is intact, even if it’s gaudy now….it’s only paint. I only wish the RKO Madison’s glorious interior or other theaters still existed, even if in a hideous and gaudy paint scheme.
I have a question about the Valencia’s screen. Was the screen contained within the procenium arch, or was the screen placed in front of it? From the photo of the “altar”, it doesn’t look like it was all that large (although the theater is so vast that it may just be perception.
No the College is not in operation again. The theater had been gutted, and is now retail space.
Here’s the listing for it if anyone is interested: /theaters/3871/
I was in the Liberty Dept Store back in September, and the “grand” staircase is still there. Unfortunately, time was not kind, the stairway is no longer grand, lost it’s marble to linoleum, it’s intricate railing to a standard pipe “hospital” railing, painted red. It’s hard to believe that staircase was once the “grand” staircase….I would love to go up that staircase and see what the old balcony area looks like. Nothing remains downstairs, but the staircase (totally modernized), and the outine of the huge balcony through the store. Nothing else unfortunately is visable.
I do believe people from outside the area see movies at Grauman’s Chinese.
Hey, I live in New York, and I always try to see a movie there when in California! Actually, I was pretty impressed in how Hollywood Blvd has improved over the last decade. I have been there for the first time around 1991, most recently in 2003, and many times in between, and each time I go it looks better and better.
The theater stood there vacant for many years. All the windows were gone, and just gaping holes allowing the weather to enter. I would often stand on the Myrtle-Bway subway platform looking into the second story windows, in the “turret”, and the ceilings had completely colapsed onto the floor in many spots. Unfortunately, it, like the RKO Bushwick were left for too many years to the forces of nature, and both were probably not salvagable on the interiors. Fortunately, at least the Bushwick had it’s exterior saved, even if interior gutted. The palatial Broadway wasn’t so lucky.
Well, at least as a church, many of the theater elements do remain, because out of all the possible after-theater uses a theater can get, a church is probably the most kind, and least destructive to the integrity of the theater.
Tom, it’s funny, me and another cinematreasures member were trying to figure out exactly where this theater was, and we narrowed it down to just the address you listed this as.
This must have been a similar theater to the infamous Ridgewood Folly Theater that was located somewhere in Ridgewood, and was actually the first Ridgewood theater to show silent movies.
The site had a two story wood frame building (apartments over a store) built on it soon after the theater was demolished.
Robert, I don’t know too much about this theater otherwise i would do it, but maybe if you write a little intro for it, and email to cinematreasures and they could put it in the intro section.
Actually, in the description above, the status above should be changed to “closed”, but the demolished could be taken off, as we discovered some months ago that the building was not demolished. I guess the function should also be changed to retail as opposed to “unknown”.
Thanks very much for the report! I took the photo linked above back in September, and there was a sign on the building that said it was for sale or rent. The store must have come in soon after I snapped the photo.
I meant the “rest of the shopping center is on the right of the entranceway” (with the McDonalds on the left).
There was also a secondary exit at McGraw Street, and that is still currently a secondary exit today for the shopping center. That is the road seen at the left above Montauk Hway, exiting the drive-in on the left in lostmemory’s map link.
I don’t know exactly what the address number the Drive-in used, but the McDonalds is located at 971 Montauk Highway, and is at the extreme left of the property, and the store on the extreme right is Sears Hardware, and is 1019 Montauk Hway, so it has to be between those numbers.
I believe they used 999 Montauk Highway as the Drive In address, but am not sure.
That’s exactly where the SouthPort Shopping Center entrance is now. A Mc Donald’s currently occupies the space to the left of the entranceway, and the rest of the shopping center is on the left. The Screen was located where the Waldbaums is now.
LIMovies, that’s just my point (and the last I will talk about this). It is truly great when they can make a theater into a theater for different languages, especially if there is a call for it, and there is an available theater. That is not what I had the problem with. It’s the fact that the Jackson Triplex is the only theater within miles for all the other people that don’t speak Spanish, where they can all go to a movie and not have to watch a movie with the distraction of subtitles. That’s the reason. There is noting wrong with making a theater have subtitles, if there are nearby alternatives for all the English speaking people.
If the Boulevard theater in Jackson Heights still existed, or some other theater in a neighboring community, or if the Fair Theater was showing regular movies as opposed to porn, then it would be fine if the Jackson Triplex was showing movies with foreign language subtitles. But the fact is that there is no alternative for English speaking people unless they travel outside their own community.
English is the official language of this country, not Spanish, not Italian, not Chinese. I have nothing against people keeping their cultures (and Spanish subtitles in a theater have nothing to do with Spanish culture). If I would move to France, I would be expected to learn French. If I were to move to Germany, I would be expected to learn German. If I were to move to Spain, I would be expected to know Spanish. If someone chooses to move to another country, that is their choice. If a Polish person comes to this country, the people already here should not have to learn Polish, it’s the other way around. This has nothing to do with culture, and of course everyone should hold on to their culture. However, The Jackson Heights Triplex is not a culture venue, it is a movie theater showing English movies with Spanish subtitles, in an area where there is no alternative for another theater for people that don’t speak Spanish. If it was to become a Spanish heritage theater showing cultural films, etc, that is a totally different scenario, but it isn’t a Spanish Heritage theater.
This part of Ridgewood is Queens and always was Queens. My grandmother lived in that area since the 1920’s. They had a Brooklyn zip code, and used the Brooklyn post office….but it was the borough of Queens. The border between Queens and Brooklyn never changed…only the sip code lines. This is that endless debate causing the confusion. It’s also why that area of Queens escaped the Queens numbering system on many of it’s streets.
I will be in Los Angeles in January. Does anyone know if this theater buikding still exists and if it does, what it is now?
I would love to drive by when I am there, but wont bother unless there is srill something there. It looks like it is just south of the 101, and just west of the 101’s intersection with the 5. I don’t know if I was in that part of LA when I was there a few years ago, but do know the general area there.
Oh, and one more question. Does the Tabernacle of Prayer use the old Valencia’s organ, or was that removed many years before the valencia stopped showing movies.
I would assume there is an organ in the “church”. Do any of the other theaters converted to churches like the Loews Gates and the 175th Street in manhattan (or others) still use the old theater organs?
Yes, while it’s great that the theater is being maintained. The church sure picked some hideous and gaudy colors when they painted the place! Again, it’s certainly better than the alternative, at least for the most part the theater is intact, even if it’s gaudy now….it’s only paint. I only wish the RKO Madison’s glorious interior or other theaters still existed, even if in a hideous and gaudy paint scheme.
I have a question about the Valencia’s screen. Was the screen contained within the procenium arch, or was the screen placed in front of it? From the photo of the “altar”, it doesn’t look like it was all that large (although the theater is so vast that it may just be perception.
I’m sorry, I posted the wrong colleg theater. This is the proper link:
/theaters/8582/
No the College is not in operation again. The theater had been gutted, and is now retail space.
Here’s the listing for it if anyone is interested:
/theaters/3871/
I was in the Liberty Dept Store back in September, and the “grand” staircase is still there. Unfortunately, time was not kind, the stairway is no longer grand, lost it’s marble to linoleum, it’s intricate railing to a standard pipe “hospital” railing, painted red. It’s hard to believe that staircase was once the “grand” staircase….I would love to go up that staircase and see what the old balcony area looks like. Nothing remains downstairs, but the staircase (totally modernized), and the outine of the huge balcony through the store. Nothing else unfortunately is visable.
Hey, I live in New York, and I always try to see a movie there when in California! Actually, I was pretty impressed in how Hollywood Blvd has improved over the last decade. I have been there for the first time around 1991, most recently in 2003, and many times in between, and each time I go it looks better and better.
Are any of the old ornamentations still intact in either the lobby or the old auditorium?
Is this the shopping center that now has a sports complex in the old supermarket store?
The theater stood there vacant for many years. All the windows were gone, and just gaping holes allowing the weather to enter. I would often stand on the Myrtle-Bway subway platform looking into the second story windows, in the “turret”, and the ceilings had completely colapsed onto the floor in many spots. Unfortunately, it, like the RKO Bushwick were left for too many years to the forces of nature, and both were probably not salvagable on the interiors. Fortunately, at least the Bushwick had it’s exterior saved, even if interior gutted. The palatial Broadway wasn’t so lucky.
Well, at least as a church, many of the theater elements do remain, because out of all the possible after-theater uses a theater can get, a church is probably the most kind, and least destructive to the integrity of the theater.
Barbra is not the only combinations of bars and bras I have seen…
Uh oh…back to the movies. Hey, we got to have some fun here too…
Yeah, it is international. You can add a theater anywhere.
Tom, it’s funny, me and another cinematreasures member were trying to figure out exactly where this theater was, and we narrowed it down to just the address you listed this as.
This must have been a similar theater to the infamous Ridgewood Folly Theater that was located somewhere in Ridgewood, and was actually the first Ridgewood theater to show silent movies.
The site had a two story wood frame building (apartments over a store) built on it soon after the theater was demolished.
Just to add though….it was far from a small theater! It was pretty palatial, and at least 2000 seats!
I know exactly which theater you mean. That was the Broadway Theater, aka Loews Broadway.
See here for more information:
/theaters/3987/
Robert, I don’t know too much about this theater otherwise i would do it, but maybe if you write a little intro for it, and email to cinematreasures and they could put it in the intro section.
Actually, in the description above, the status above should be changed to “closed”, but the demolished could be taken off, as we discovered some months ago that the building was not demolished. I guess the function should also be changed to retail as opposed to “unknown”.
Thanks very much for the report! I took the photo linked above back in September, and there was a sign on the building that said it was for sale or rent. The store must have come in soon after I snapped the photo.
I meant the “rest of the shopping center is on the right of the entranceway” (with the McDonalds on the left).
There was also a secondary exit at McGraw Street, and that is still currently a secondary exit today for the shopping center. That is the road seen at the left above Montauk Hway, exiting the drive-in on the left in lostmemory’s map link.
I don’t know exactly what the address number the Drive-in used, but the McDonalds is located at 971 Montauk Highway, and is at the extreme left of the property, and the store on the extreme right is Sears Hardware, and is 1019 Montauk Hway, so it has to be between those numbers.
I believe they used 999 Montauk Highway as the Drive In address, but am not sure.
That’s exactly where the SouthPort Shopping Center entrance is now. A Mc Donald’s currently occupies the space to the left of the entranceway, and the rest of the shopping center is on the left. The Screen was located where the Waldbaums is now.
I agree Robert. As I said, I will not discuss this any firther either.
LIMovies, that’s just my point (and the last I will talk about this). It is truly great when they can make a theater into a theater for different languages, especially if there is a call for it, and there is an available theater. That is not what I had the problem with. It’s the fact that the Jackson Triplex is the only theater within miles for all the other people that don’t speak Spanish, where they can all go to a movie and not have to watch a movie with the distraction of subtitles. That’s the reason. There is noting wrong with making a theater have subtitles, if there are nearby alternatives for all the English speaking people.
If the Boulevard theater in Jackson Heights still existed, or some other theater in a neighboring community, or if the Fair Theater was showing regular movies as opposed to porn, then it would be fine if the Jackson Triplex was showing movies with foreign language subtitles. But the fact is that there is no alternative for English speaking people unless they travel outside their own community.
English is the official language of this country, not Spanish, not Italian, not Chinese. I have nothing against people keeping their cultures (and Spanish subtitles in a theater have nothing to do with Spanish culture). If I would move to France, I would be expected to learn French. If I were to move to Germany, I would be expected to learn German. If I were to move to Spain, I would be expected to know Spanish. If someone chooses to move to another country, that is their choice. If a Polish person comes to this country, the people already here should not have to learn Polish, it’s the other way around. This has nothing to do with culture, and of course everyone should hold on to their culture. However, The Jackson Heights Triplex is not a culture venue, it is a movie theater showing English movies with Spanish subtitles, in an area where there is no alternative for another theater for people that don’t speak Spanish. If it was to become a Spanish heritage theater showing cultural films, etc, that is a totally different scenario, but it isn’t a Spanish Heritage theater.