Sounds similar to the slogan about the Plaza in Patchogue – Blight to light. Big deal, they’re going to tear it down and put up a fence like they did with other blighted properties rather than let PlazaMAC exercise their plan to renew the space. The situation of the Keith’s is not dissimilar.
When I was a youngster my parents took me to the Paramount. Don’t remember what the movie was but Gene Krupa was the featured live performer. We were sitting in the last row of the balcony. But not for long. My mother had height issues and we left. Many years later we had a similar experience at the outdoor Jones Beach Marine Theatre.
Don’t think that was the case since he was supposed to be a person with standards and values. Incidentally, your response appeared twice, no doubt as a result of all the trouble the site has been having for the past few days. I was surprised that mine made it since it crashed before I had a confirm that it was successfully added. Here’s a chance to use a new capability of CT. When you, and only you, look at your comments you see the word “remove”. You, and only you can remove it. So you can now remove the duplicate. I have tried to do that on a couple of my past postings as well as removing ones which were no longer applicable e.g., the Google map is off.
There were the West Islip Twins, the East Islip which burnt down, the Islip and the Star in Islip and the Central Islip. They were supposed to build a small multiplex in the new King Kullen shopping center in CI. The footprint was laid but nothing came of it.
I was only in the Criterion once, with a church group, to see the Ten Commandments. My only remembrance of the theatre were the overstuffed seats with very heavy, and uncomfortable, flocking.
The Star was a unique entity somewhere on the opposite side of Main Street. The building is supposed to still exist albeit as retail space. I have my “operatives” getting more information. In theory there is more data and pictures in the Library but they are undergoing major renovations and this material will not be liberated for several months. I’ll keep after it. I believe I’ll have enough from your reference and my ground crew to put up a skeletal entry shortly.
They’ve been trying since 2009 without success. On a positive front work is now proceeding on the Westbury and Suffolk revitalizations, in the case of Westbury, rebuilding since there is an entire new roof and the inside has be gutted.
The heading is way out of date. By 1981 the RKO Century Warner ads showed three auditoriums. A forth was subsequently added before closure and subsequent demolition. The beautiful exterior looked really sad in it’s final days with the wooden colonial accents peeling and rotting.
When it first became a live performance venue it was Creative Ministries. I guess they changed the name to appeal to a wider audience. Otherwise you might go and expect to be converted.
The pylon is still there and not, amazingly, vandalized. The only time I was in the theatre was the day it closed. Everything had been removed from the lobby, candy stand,etc. Can’t believe they were that anxious to repurpose it. A handful of people were watching some movie, not the one on the marquee which they had’t even bothered to change in who knows how long.
I have a 1981 ad for the myriad of RKO Century Warner theatres which existed at that time. All the theatres but the Hewlett just show the name. The Hewlett, however, is listed as “Hewlett Theater”. How grand. At that time the price policy for the discount theatres, which included the Bellerose, Brookhaven and Farmingdale was $1.00 Mon-Thurs. $1.50 Fri-Sun. The Hewlett reference, however, was also unique $1.00 Mon-Wed, Thurs..
I found a ad for RKO Century Warner which is laden with theatres from RKO, Mann, Prudential and whatever, circa 1981. RKO Keith’s in Flushing is on but not the Alden. Also, among the missing from earlier ads are the Merrick (Jamaica) and Queens & Community (Queens Village). The Lynbrook by that time had reverted back to Skouras/UA.
At least we have Tinseltoes link above. The last three stops of the BMT Jamaica Line, Sutphin Blvd., 160th St. and 168th St. were eliminated as of October 10, 1977. The Metropolitan Av. and Queens Blvd. stops in 1985. The El was gradually dismantled to the point where it now connects into the Archer Av. Subway Station (1988).
I concur with Ed on this. But, there may have been a post office change which resulted in this “correction”. Due to a postal reallignment the Bellerose which was in Bellerose since it was built in 1927 is now in Floral Park.
I believe rafaelstorm may be right about the Alden remaining a single screen to the end. The Valencia, Merrick, Savoy, Hillside and all the others theatres along Jamaica Avenue in Queens and Jericho Turnpike in Nassau went out as single screen theatres.
The reality is that CT only has this photo available to put up front by the current logic. Now if some techie person could extract a better photo from any links that might still be valid and do what is necessary to get it UP FRONT it will be in the mix to be chosen by the daily default logic.
The reality for me is that, as a Long Island Rail Road commuter, the view shown is the one I looked at for thirty years. I hadn’t been on foot in Jamaica since the mid 1960s when Gertz and Macy’s were still there and I was living in Bellerose, Nassau, around the corner from the Bellerose Theatre which is now in Floral Park since the Nassau part of Bellerose is serviced by the Floral Park Post Office, which is about a mile plus further away than the Bellerose Post Office which, in my day was on Braddock Avenue.
I would doubt that in an office environment anything would remain although the ceiling may be hidden behind a dropped ceiling on the top office floor of which there many. Also from the photo above you can see that the building has been made wider to accommodate additional space. So you’ve also lost the integrity of the walls. In smaller theatres which have been repurposed as offices it’s more likely that something remains.
Craigslist is the place for hookups. Let’s keep this site for the original purpose. Some of the old theatres became churches. Others went the other way. But they were part of cinema history so we can’t deny them there space.
Since I was in the area I stopped in at the theatre today since it was open. I hoped to find out a. whether additional space was added to the original theatre footprint when additional screens were added and, b. the seating capacity of each of the auditoriums. The manager met me at the door, was unwilling to answer any questions and asked me to leave. Must have been trained by the former owners of the Westbury. However, it looked to me that the auditoriums to the left of the lobby MIGHT be additional space since, from the exterior of the building, the higher roof portion is to the right, presumably the original space.
I was actually in the building today. There is another article about the current owner but little new about the theatre other than that it had a tin roof. The roof is now shingled but the same shape as appears in the photo I mentioned above.
Since becoming a commercial property a second floor has been added. I had the opportunity to go there and see a number of boxy buttresses on either side of the building. My theory is that the original beams were exposed wood in keeping with the Mission look of the building’s facade and, they have now been boxed in to look more modern.
The good news is that the ornate plaster ceiling panels are in tact and have been painstakingly painted. The detail is so fine that I’m sure it could not have been appreciated by theatre patrons.
Sounds similar to the slogan about the Plaza in Patchogue – Blight to light. Big deal, they’re going to tear it down and put up a fence like they did with other blighted properties rather than let PlazaMAC exercise their plan to renew the space. The situation of the Keith’s is not dissimilar.
When I was a youngster my parents took me to the Paramount. Don’t remember what the movie was but Gene Krupa was the featured live performer. We were sitting in the last row of the balcony. But not for long. My mother had height issues and we left. Many years later we had a similar experience at the outdoor Jones Beach Marine Theatre.
Don’t think that was the case since he was supposed to be a person with standards and values. Incidentally, your response appeared twice, no doubt as a result of all the trouble the site has been having for the past few days. I was surprised that mine made it since it crashed before I had a confirm that it was successfully added. Here’s a chance to use a new capability of CT. When you, and only you, look at your comments you see the word “remove”. You, and only you can remove it. So you can now remove the duplicate. I have tried to do that on a couple of my past postings as well as removing ones which were no longer applicable e.g., the Google map is off.
There were the West Islip Twins, the East Islip which burnt down, the Islip and the Star in Islip and the Central Islip. They were supposed to build a small multiplex in the new King Kullen shopping center in CI. The footprint was laid but nothing came of it.
I was only in the Criterion once, with a church group, to see the Ten Commandments. My only remembrance of the theatre were the overstuffed seats with very heavy, and uncomfortable, flocking.
The Star was a unique entity somewhere on the opposite side of Main Street. The building is supposed to still exist albeit as retail space. I have my “operatives” getting more information. In theory there is more data and pictures in the Library but they are undergoing major renovations and this material will not be liberated for several months. I’ll keep after it. I believe I’ll have enough from your reference and my ground crew to put up a skeletal entry shortly.
They’ve been trying since 2009 without success. On a positive front work is now proceeding on the Westbury and Suffolk revitalizations, in the case of Westbury, rebuilding since there is an entire new roof and the inside has be gutted.
I’m waiting for IMAX at my local Elegent John.
The heading is way out of date. By 1981 the RKO Century Warner ads showed three auditoriums. A forth was subsequently added before closure and subsequent demolition. The beautiful exterior looked really sad in it’s final days with the wooden colonial accents peeling and rotting.
When it first became a live performance venue it was Creative Ministries. I guess they changed the name to appeal to a wider audience. Otherwise you might go and expect to be converted.
The pylon is still there and not, amazingly, vandalized. The only time I was in the theatre was the day it closed. Everything had been removed from the lobby, candy stand,etc. Can’t believe they were that anxious to repurpose it. A handful of people were watching some movie, not the one on the marquee which they had’t even bothered to change in who knows how long.
I have a 1981 ad for the myriad of RKO Century Warner theatres which existed at that time. All the theatres but the Hewlett just show the name. The Hewlett, however, is listed as “Hewlett Theater”. How grand. At that time the price policy for the discount theatres, which included the Bellerose, Brookhaven and Farmingdale was $1.00 Mon-Thurs. $1.50 Fri-Sun. The Hewlett reference, however, was also unique $1.00 Mon-Wed, Thurs..
I found a ad for RKO Century Warner which is laden with theatres from RKO, Mann, Prudential and whatever, circa 1981. RKO Keith’s in Flushing is on but not the Alden. Also, among the missing from earlier ads are the Merrick (Jamaica) and Queens & Community (Queens Village). The Lynbrook by that time had reverted back to Skouras/UA.
At least we have Tinseltoes link above. The last three stops of the BMT Jamaica Line, Sutphin Blvd., 160th St. and 168th St. were eliminated as of October 10, 1977. The Metropolitan Av. and Queens Blvd. stops in 1985. The El was gradually dismantled to the point where it now connects into the Archer Av. Subway Station (1988).
I concur with Ed on this. But, there may have been a post office change which resulted in this “correction”. Due to a postal reallignment the Bellerose which was in Bellerose since it was built in 1927 is now in Floral Park.
It’s bad enough banning books, but banning theatres?
I believe rafaelstorm may be right about the Alden remaining a single screen to the end. The Valencia, Merrick, Savoy, Hillside and all the others theatres along Jamaica Avenue in Queens and Jericho Turnpike in Nassau went out as single screen theatres.
The reality is that CT only has this photo available to put up front by the current logic. Now if some techie person could extract a better photo from any links that might still be valid and do what is necessary to get it UP FRONT it will be in the mix to be chosen by the daily default logic.
The reality for me is that, as a Long Island Rail Road commuter, the view shown is the one I looked at for thirty years. I hadn’t been on foot in Jamaica since the mid 1960s when Gertz and Macy’s were still there and I was living in Bellerose, Nassau, around the corner from the Bellerose Theatre which is now in Floral Park since the Nassau part of Bellerose is serviced by the Floral Park Post Office, which is about a mile plus further away than the Bellerose Post Office which, in my day was on Braddock Avenue.
I would think baseball.
I would doubt that in an office environment anything would remain although the ceiling may be hidden behind a dropped ceiling on the top office floor of which there many. Also from the photo above you can see that the building has been made wider to accommodate additional space. So you’ve also lost the integrity of the walls. In smaller theatres which have been repurposed as offices it’s more likely that something remains.
Craigslist is the place for hookups. Let’s keep this site for the original purpose. Some of the old theatres became churches. Others went the other way. But they were part of cinema history so we can’t deny them there space.
Since I was in the area I stopped in at the theatre today since it was open. I hoped to find out a. whether additional space was added to the original theatre footprint when additional screens were added and, b. the seating capacity of each of the auditoriums. The manager met me at the door, was unwilling to answer any questions and asked me to leave. Must have been trained by the former owners of the Westbury. However, it looked to me that the auditoriums to the left of the lobby MIGHT be additional space since, from the exterior of the building, the higher roof portion is to the right, presumably the original space.
I would beg to differ, Bway. While there is nothing specific the entire shape of the building “reads” theatre.
Funny thing when the picture came up I thought it was another church conversion because of the way the light pole appears. Then I saw the CVS sign.
I was actually in the building today. There is another article about the current owner but little new about the theatre other than that it had a tin roof. The roof is now shingled but the same shape as appears in the photo I mentioned above.
Since becoming a commercial property a second floor has been added. I had the opportunity to go there and see a number of boxy buttresses on either side of the building. My theory is that the original beams were exposed wood in keeping with the Mission look of the building’s facade and, they have now been boxed in to look more modern.
The good news is that the ornate plaster ceiling panels are in tact and have been painstakingly painted. The detail is so fine that I’m sure it could not have been appreciated by theatre patrons.