I’m curious then… how would patrons have exited the theater in an emergency? Was there an alley between the theater and the Times Building on 43rd Street? They are pressed right up against each other on 44th. And if so, did everyone have to make their way to that side of the theater, or were there exits from the balcony on the right side of the auditorium directly into the office tower? I’m sure there were exit doors at the rear of the auditorium on 43rd, but there must have been fireproof routes somewhere.
Warren… Are you sure about that address? I drove by there today and I could find no trace of the place. The LIRR runs across Farmers Blvd right at that point at an odd angle creating a couple of very small block fronts on Farmers. There is only one building there (on the south side of the tracks) that has an even numbered address that begins “136-xx”… the block after begins the “137-xx” numbering and the previous block on the other side of the tracks ends at 135-10. The building on the 136 block is a very small two story mixed use structure with a small one story extension at the rear. It abuts the railroad right-of-way. There is a barber shop in one of the two storefronts and a religious occupant in the other, but the building appears far to shallow to have ever housed even the smallest of movie theaters.
I didn’t have my camera on me, so I couldn’t capture any images. I’ll try to get back there soon to take a couple of photos and let whoever visits this page decide if the structure could have been a theater at some point.
Drove by today, but didn’t have my camera. Anyway, the address should be corrected to 190-01. There is a big two sided sign on the roof (angled in a V-shape to face east and west along Linden Blvd) that looks like it may date back to the building’s theatrical days. There is no longer a marquee, but you can clearly see the frames for the advertising display windows on both the 190th Street side and the Linden Blvd side. The two displays on the side street are filled in with stucco, while a narrow display window on the front facade contains a schedule for the church services.
I’ll have to get back there soon with my camera and snap a few shots to post.
Bob… that is the westernmost door within the former Paramount theater space on West 44th. Immediately to the right (west) of that door is the Deli which is at the western edge of the property. To the right of the Deli is the plaque remembering the Stage Door Canteen and then the loading bays for the adjacent NY Times building. Going in the other direction from the door (headed east towards Broadway) are the two entrances to Carmine’s, the Bagel Store entrance, those two black doors and then Ollie’s restaurant which occupies the ground floor space under the Paramount office tower. Perhaps the air duct was added in the intervening years (note the electrical supply line and box that runs along the outside of the building next to the door). I inspected the entire stretch closely and could find no other doors that weren’t main entrances to one of the above storefronts.
Take a look at the first photo I posted above which was taken facing west towards 8th Avenue from the spot in front of those two black doors. If you open the image to full size, you can pan down the block from the Bagel Store entrance to where the building ends with the Deli and see that there are no other doorways except for those described above. If this isn’t it, then it’s been completely built-over.
Jeffrey… any shot you’re confusing 37th Avenue with Northern Blvd? If so, you might be thinking of the Polk Theater. I have some photos of that mid-block theater posted on its page here: /theaters/4489/
I spent most of my earliest childhood years (to age 7 or 8) living in Elmhurst and don’t really remember ever going to either the Polk or the Fair… but my mom says she definitely took me to movies at the Fair when I was a child in the late ‘60’s & very early '70’s. I do remember going to the Boulevard frequently, where my biggest memory was that you could glimpse the Manhattan skyline while crossing Northern Blvd.
Life… It was the so called “bow tie” building on the next block down from the old Loew’s State that was gutted rather than being completely demolished. This would be between 45th and 44th street and used to house the Criterion Theater as well as Bond’s Clothing Store and Bond’s International Casino. Toys ‘R’ Us now occupies. Some folks have posted on the Criterion Theater site that remnants of the old theater can be found on the 2nd level of the store.
This theater is still on Linden Blvd in Cambria Heights occupied by a church. And unlike many theater-to-church conversions, this one appears to have retained the original marquee. I passed by today, but didn’t have a camera handy. On the sides of the marquee, where I assume the name “Cambria” originally appeared, is the name “Bethel” and the ad space on the marquee is blue. It reminds me of the Community Theater in Jamaica Avenue – original marquee (although the Community’s is in need of some deferred maintenance), blue color and the name “Bethel”… I wonder if the churches are related. I have some photos of the Community to post when I get a chance to access my photobucket site.
I’ll go back soon to the Cambria with my camera and snap some shots as well as nail down the exact address – unless someone else beats me to it.
Here are some photos I took the other night when I saw Spamalot at the Shubert Theater…
West 44th Street – here’s a shot of the businesses that now occupy the former backstage area of the theater: View link
The 2nd photo shows those mysterious black doors I noted in my posting back on 11/30. These are located towards the east side of the lot where the office tower meets the old theater portion and are obviously not the stage doors. Not sure about the small door on the left, but the one on the right opens to a staircase going up… perhaps a fire escape route for the building (and maybe for the old balcony patrons?): View link
The third photo appears to be the old stage door that Bob Furmanek was describing in his post on 11/30… Looks like it could be the same opening depicted in porterfaulkner’s vintage photo posted above on 12/3, but it is obviously not the same exact door. In any event, the door now leads to a space owned by Carmine’s Italian Restaurant (where I dined on some outstanding fried calamri): View link
By the way, the line to get into the Hard Rock Cafe was queuing up down the block to the right of the entrance – much like it used to when the restaurant was at the height of its popularity on West 57th Street. Looks like the change of address has re-sparked interest in the place. And it is now once again in local competition with Planet Hollywood, which closed its West 57th Street location a number of years back and re-opened adjacent to the Virgin Megastore up the block.
I was in the neighborhood today, but without my camera, and drove by the corner of 114th Street and 101st Ave. The building is still there, along with what must have been the tax-payer storefronts that were attached on the same lot, but looks like a lot of renovation has been going on as seemed to be indicated by the quick research I posted about on December 1st. The entire two story facade that wraps around the southwest corner of this intersection has been completely redone in a reddish cinder-block size brickfront on the upper half and marble-like finish on the lower half. You would never know that this was a theater at all from just passing by and my guess is the interior has been considerably altered. As you approach from the west on 101st Ave, you can just make out the peaked roofline of the auditorium stretching back to the rear of the property (it appears that the theater ran straight back from 101st Ave, parallel to the cross streets). The occupants of the building seem to be a Sikh religious center. The main entrance seems to now be on 114th Street, although, there are doors in the center of the building on 101st Ave as well.
Interesting idea, TheaterBuff1… but then, the Academy would have to greatly expand on its membership – or at least its pool of voters for this particular category. I don’t believe there are enough members to sample a wide enough variety of movie theaters – not to mention that the vast majority are concentrated on the two coasts, primarily in New York and L.A. Now, if the Academy wanted to consider a special award that was voted upon by movie-goers across the nation, perhaps based on polls taken at various theater locations or via mail-in slips or – most cost-effective of all – via the internet, we may be on to something. However, then it wouldn’t really be an “Academy” Award since it wouldn’t be coming from the Academy membership. I’m not sure how they’d take to such a thought. And if they did, they’d have to face: (a) the high costs of getting ballots out to movie-goers somehow; and/or (b) how to deal with “ballot-stuffing” or multiple electronic submissions.
As for the problems with piracy, just read the latest industry news about the initiative being waged by some to have new films released in theaters, on DVD and to PPV-TV simultaneously! It’s a big roll of the dice and might further damage theatrical B.O. receipts (and once again change the nature of theatrical film distribution and presentation), but it would surely put a lot of these pirates out of business. I’m sure NATO is battling this plan tooth and nail, but I’m also sure that we’ll be seeing some form of this scheme implemented in the near future. At the very least, they will shorten the window between theatrical release and home video marketing.
Perhaps there’s be a compromise which might make some sense… like, say, simultaneously releasing a film “for sale only†on DVD and then holding back rentals and PPV availability for some reasonable period of time. Still… do the math. Two people want to go to the movies to catch a flick. Without considering concession stand purchases, that’s at least $20-$22 bucks right there in admissions (at least here in NYC it is). Most films come on the DVD market for $19.99-$29.99. With the costs relatively the same, will most folks opt to pick up a copy and get some use out of their $7500 home theater systems while relaxing on the sofa with their shoes off and belts undone? Or will they put up with the crowds and the $4.00 candy bars to go see it in a theater? That is, if crowds would even be an issue, if this all goes down. Or will they still risk the lousy $5 bucks to see if that pirated copy for sale down on the subway platform isn’t too horrible?
Lots of reasons to be concerned… and to stay tuned to see what develops. Evolution of some kind appears to be just over the horizon.
This is an old, old thread, but… this address puts you in the Queens side of Elmont, so this really isn’t the neighborhood of St. Albans at all, despite the theater’s name. The map link above is now working properly and places the locator just off the interchange of the Southern State and Cross Island Parkways. I wonder if this is the church one sees on the loop that brings you from the southbound Cross Island onto the eastbound Southern State?
Anyway… the neighborhood of St. Albans would be further to the West towards Farmers Blvd and Merrick Blvd. I’ll have to take a drive around the area to see if I can snap some photos.
A few weeks ago, I was traveling south on Broadway in this vicinity and passed a building up on the northwest corner of 204th Street that looked like it might have been a theater at one time. That would be about 3 blocks north of this theater. Does anybody know if there was a theater around Broadway and 204th at any time?
Agreed, Jeffrey. I’m surprised I didn’t catch that myself. If there is such a thing as “Forest Hills North” it would refer to the section of the neighborhood north of Jewel Ave and would certainly end at the Corona border at the LIE (and before the LIE blasted it’s way through, there was Horace Harding Blvd to mark the neighborhood boundaries).
The listing should be changed to “Corona, Queens, NY”
For starters, check out the page here for the Loew’s Jersey in Jersey City. I’m sure there are many others, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head. I seem to recall one or two stories some years back where movie palace restoration was key to the revitalization of some midwestern downtown areas.
Ah… I forget that currently numbered thoroughfares often had proper names in days of yore. The old address might very well match up since 113-14 matches the modern format in Queens of referencing the cross-street in the numbers before the hyphen. I’ll have to take a drive around the intersection one of these days and hunt for a tell-tale roofline or remnants of facade ornamentation. And the nickname of “the itch” has me intrigued and somewhat disturbed… was there a lice problem here?!?
Anyway… I’m glad to have kicked off some activity on this page, even though I had never before heard of this theater previously. I think I bumped into when I sorted for “Atmospheric” architectural style. Does anyone here think that this has to be an error? Would an atmospheric design been built on such a small scale? I don’t think it’s likely. That must be a mistake.
I went on the oasisnyc.net site and it appears from the aerial photo that there is indeed a peaked roofline for what appears to be an auditorium set back from a lower profile structure fronting 101st Ave. The property is actually on the SE corner of 114th Street and 101st Avenue and appears likely that the theater entrance was one or two doors from that corner. Oasis lists this as a 2 story building constructed in 1932 with current land use designated as “Public Facilities and Institutions” (the Dept of Finance classifies the property as “Church/Synagogue”). There are no C of O’s available to view; however, there are new building notices from 1923 and 1928, though I couldn’t view a copy of either. The lot encompasses addresses from 113-10 through 113-18 and there seemed to be a history of violations and alteration permits for, among other things, illegal conversion of factory/office space to residential apartments and conversion of factory space to church. It seems that the building is owned by (and presumably houses) a Sikh temple.
By the way, the map link above does not work unless you change the address to “Richmond Hill, Queens, NY”
As I mentioned, when I was a Senior at Jamaica High, we held our graduation ceremonies at St. John’s University. I’m not sure exactly when it was that use of the Valencia was curtailed. I can’t recall what the previous two Senior classes did while I attended as a Sophomore and Junior. I wonder if they stopped using it after it closed down for theatrical use in ‘77 – not wanting to hold the proceedings in a church and risk offending anyone of a different religion or secular mind.
Both my Dad and my Grandfather (on my Mom’s side) lived in The Bronx… my Dad on 167th between Tiffany and Fox from his birth in ‘37 until he joined the Navy in '56 and my Grandfather on Bronx River Ave for a few years in the early '40’s before the Army drafted him for service. They both mentioned this theater – my Grandfather especially – and would entertain me with their stories of “dish nights” and war-bond drives, etc. My Dad apparently went to the Loew’s Spooner and Boulevard Theaters with some frequency, while I recall my Grandfather talking about this theater as well as another called the Loew’s Elsmere. Of course, both waxed nostalgic about trips to the magnificent Loew’s Paradise to catch the bigger flicks earlier in their runs.
My entire family is predominantly from Washington Heights, Harlem and The Bronx so my Grandfather would reel off dozens of wonderful showplaces and neighborhood theaters he attended from the ‘30’s through the '40’s and early '50’s (before he settled with his family in the bucolic suburban setting of Elmhurst, Queens in '54). It’s hard these days for someone to imagine how prolific these neighborhood 2nd and 3rd run theaters were throughout the city. It seemed that everyone was some reasonable distance to a larger showcase theater like the Loew’s Paradise or the Loew’s 175th Street while also being in walking distance to at least one (sometimes 2 or 3) of the smaller 2nd run cinemas that proliferated during the 1st half of the 20th Century. Today, there are probably a similar number of screens (perhaps more) but they’re all concentrated in perhaps one or two huge multiplexes within driving distance. And all semblance of showmanship has completely dissipated.
My Dad grew up in The Bronx in the 1940’s and used to talk about dish nights and how at some point there’d be the sound of someone dropping their set followed by a responsive rise in the crowd. He grew up on 167th between Tiffany and Fox and most frequently mentioned the Loew’s Spooner and the Boulevard Theater as frequent destinations along with the occasional trip to the grand Loew’s Paradise on the Concourse. Those were certainly different days… and I wish I could’ve had a taste of the movie-going experience from back then.
Is this right? I can’t think of where a “Jerome Ave” is in Richmond Hill. At least not one that would cross over 116th Street. It’s mostly numbered Avenues running east-west across the north-south running streets. Perhaps this is Jamaica Avenue? That would put it very close to the RKO Keith’s in Richmond Hill which is now a bingo hall and flea market. Also, seems peculiar that an atmospheric would have been built to hold only 300 patrons.
Anyone familiar with the neighborhood have any ideas? The only Jerome Ave I know about in NYC is in The Bronx!
I’m curious then… how would patrons have exited the theater in an emergency? Was there an alley between the theater and the Times Building on 43rd Street? They are pressed right up against each other on 44th. And if so, did everyone have to make their way to that side of the theater, or were there exits from the balcony on the right side of the auditorium directly into the office tower? I’m sure there were exit doors at the rear of the auditorium on 43rd, but there must have been fireproof routes somewhere.
Warren… Are you sure about that address? I drove by there today and I could find no trace of the place. The LIRR runs across Farmers Blvd right at that point at an odd angle creating a couple of very small block fronts on Farmers. There is only one building there (on the south side of the tracks) that has an even numbered address that begins “136-xx”… the block after begins the “137-xx” numbering and the previous block on the other side of the tracks ends at 135-10. The building on the 136 block is a very small two story mixed use structure with a small one story extension at the rear. It abuts the railroad right-of-way. There is a barber shop in one of the two storefronts and a religious occupant in the other, but the building appears far to shallow to have ever housed even the smallest of movie theaters.
I didn’t have my camera on me, so I couldn’t capture any images. I’ll try to get back there soon to take a couple of photos and let whoever visits this page decide if the structure could have been a theater at some point.
P.S. Didn’t notice the vertical sign, which may have been removed since this listing was created.
Drove by today, but didn’t have my camera. Anyway, the address should be corrected to 190-01. There is a big two sided sign on the roof (angled in a V-shape to face east and west along Linden Blvd) that looks like it may date back to the building’s theatrical days. There is no longer a marquee, but you can clearly see the frames for the advertising display windows on both the 190th Street side and the Linden Blvd side. The two displays on the side street are filled in with stucco, while a narrow display window on the front facade contains a schedule for the church services.
I’ll have to get back there soon with my camera and snap a few shots to post.
Bob… that is the westernmost door within the former Paramount theater space on West 44th. Immediately to the right (west) of that door is the Deli which is at the western edge of the property. To the right of the Deli is the plaque remembering the Stage Door Canteen and then the loading bays for the adjacent NY Times building. Going in the other direction from the door (headed east towards Broadway) are the two entrances to Carmine’s, the Bagel Store entrance, those two black doors and then Ollie’s restaurant which occupies the ground floor space under the Paramount office tower. Perhaps the air duct was added in the intervening years (note the electrical supply line and box that runs along the outside of the building next to the door). I inspected the entire stretch closely and could find no other doors that weren’t main entrances to one of the above storefronts.
Take a look at the first photo I posted above which was taken facing west towards 8th Avenue from the spot in front of those two black doors. If you open the image to full size, you can pan down the block from the Bagel Store entrance to where the building ends with the Deli and see that there are no other doorways except for those described above. If this isn’t it, then it’s been completely built-over.
Jeffrey… any shot you’re confusing 37th Avenue with Northern Blvd? If so, you might be thinking of the Polk Theater. I have some photos of that mid-block theater posted on its page here: /theaters/4489/
I spent most of my earliest childhood years (to age 7 or 8) living in Elmhurst and don’t really remember ever going to either the Polk or the Fair… but my mom says she definitely took me to movies at the Fair when I was a child in the late ‘60’s & very early '70’s. I do remember going to the Boulevard frequently, where my biggest memory was that you could glimpse the Manhattan skyline while crossing Northern Blvd.
Life… It was the so called “bow tie” building on the next block down from the old Loew’s State that was gutted rather than being completely demolished. This would be between 45th and 44th street and used to house the Criterion Theater as well as Bond’s Clothing Store and Bond’s International Casino. Toys ‘R’ Us now occupies. Some folks have posted on the Criterion Theater site that remnants of the old theater can be found on the 2nd level of the store.
This theater is still on Linden Blvd in Cambria Heights occupied by a church. And unlike many theater-to-church conversions, this one appears to have retained the original marquee. I passed by today, but didn’t have a camera handy. On the sides of the marquee, where I assume the name “Cambria” originally appeared, is the name “Bethel” and the ad space on the marquee is blue. It reminds me of the Community Theater in Jamaica Avenue – original marquee (although the Community’s is in need of some deferred maintenance), blue color and the name “Bethel”… I wonder if the churches are related. I have some photos of the Community to post when I get a chance to access my photobucket site.
I’ll go back soon to the Cambria with my camera and snap some shots as well as nail down the exact address – unless someone else beats me to it.
This listing ought to be deleted as more information exists under the Cross Island listing.
Here are some photos I took the other night when I saw Spamalot at the Shubert Theater…
West 44th Street – here’s a shot of the businesses that now occupy the former backstage area of the theater:
View link
The 2nd photo shows those mysterious black doors I noted in my posting back on 11/30. These are located towards the east side of the lot where the office tower meets the old theater portion and are obviously not the stage doors. Not sure about the small door on the left, but the one on the right opens to a staircase going up… perhaps a fire escape route for the building (and maybe for the old balcony patrons?):
View link
The third photo appears to be the old stage door that Bob Furmanek was describing in his post on 11/30… Looks like it could be the same opening depicted in porterfaulkner’s vintage photo posted above on 12/3, but it is obviously not the same exact door. In any event, the door now leads to a space owned by Carmine’s Italian Restaurant (where I dined on some outstanding fried calamri):
View link
And then I walked around the block for some shots of the re-created Broadway facade and marquee:
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
By the way, the line to get into the Hard Rock Cafe was queuing up down the block to the right of the entrance – much like it used to when the restaurant was at the height of its popularity on West 57th Street. Looks like the change of address has re-sparked interest in the place. And it is now once again in local competition with Planet Hollywood, which closed its West 57th Street location a number of years back and re-opened adjacent to the Virgin Megastore up the block.
I was in the neighborhood today, but without my camera, and drove by the corner of 114th Street and 101st Ave. The building is still there, along with what must have been the tax-payer storefronts that were attached on the same lot, but looks like a lot of renovation has been going on as seemed to be indicated by the quick research I posted about on December 1st. The entire two story facade that wraps around the southwest corner of this intersection has been completely redone in a reddish cinder-block size brickfront on the upper half and marble-like finish on the lower half. You would never know that this was a theater at all from just passing by and my guess is the interior has been considerably altered. As you approach from the west on 101st Ave, you can just make out the peaked roofline of the auditorium stretching back to the rear of the property (it appears that the theater ran straight back from 101st Ave, parallel to the cross streets). The occupants of the building seem to be a Sikh religious center. The main entrance seems to now be on 114th Street, although, there are doors in the center of the building on 101st Ave as well.
Interesting idea, TheaterBuff1… but then, the Academy would have to greatly expand on its membership – or at least its pool of voters for this particular category. I don’t believe there are enough members to sample a wide enough variety of movie theaters – not to mention that the vast majority are concentrated on the two coasts, primarily in New York and L.A. Now, if the Academy wanted to consider a special award that was voted upon by movie-goers across the nation, perhaps based on polls taken at various theater locations or via mail-in slips or – most cost-effective of all – via the internet, we may be on to something. However, then it wouldn’t really be an “Academy” Award since it wouldn’t be coming from the Academy membership. I’m not sure how they’d take to such a thought. And if they did, they’d have to face: (a) the high costs of getting ballots out to movie-goers somehow; and/or (b) how to deal with “ballot-stuffing” or multiple electronic submissions.
As for the problems with piracy, just read the latest industry news about the initiative being waged by some to have new films released in theaters, on DVD and to PPV-TV simultaneously! It’s a big roll of the dice and might further damage theatrical B.O. receipts (and once again change the nature of theatrical film distribution and presentation), but it would surely put a lot of these pirates out of business. I’m sure NATO is battling this plan tooth and nail, but I’m also sure that we’ll be seeing some form of this scheme implemented in the near future. At the very least, they will shorten the window between theatrical release and home video marketing.
Perhaps there’s be a compromise which might make some sense… like, say, simultaneously releasing a film “for sale only†on DVD and then holding back rentals and PPV availability for some reasonable period of time. Still… do the math. Two people want to go to the movies to catch a flick. Without considering concession stand purchases, that’s at least $20-$22 bucks right there in admissions (at least here in NYC it is). Most films come on the DVD market for $19.99-$29.99. With the costs relatively the same, will most folks opt to pick up a copy and get some use out of their $7500 home theater systems while relaxing on the sofa with their shoes off and belts undone? Or will they put up with the crowds and the $4.00 candy bars to go see it in a theater? That is, if crowds would even be an issue, if this all goes down. Or will they still risk the lousy $5 bucks to see if that pirated copy for sale down on the subway platform isn’t too horrible?
Lots of reasons to be concerned… and to stay tuned to see what develops. Evolution of some kind appears to be just over the horizon.
This is an old, old thread, but… this address puts you in the Queens side of Elmont, so this really isn’t the neighborhood of St. Albans at all, despite the theater’s name. The map link above is now working properly and places the locator just off the interchange of the Southern State and Cross Island Parkways. I wonder if this is the church one sees on the loop that brings you from the southbound Cross Island onto the eastbound Southern State?
Anyway… the neighborhood of St. Albans would be further to the West towards Farmers Blvd and Merrick Blvd. I’ll have to take a drive around the area to see if I can snap some photos.
I think the address should be corrected to “Cross Island Parkway.” Unless “Expressway” is used on the service road signage?
I believe this is a duplicate entry of the Cross Island Cinemas listed on this site here: /theaters/5866/
Was the page for the Audobon Theatre (aka San Juan Theater) deleted from this site? I can’t find it in a search under either name.
A few weeks ago, I was traveling south on Broadway in this vicinity and passed a building up on the northwest corner of 204th Street that looked like it might have been a theater at one time. That would be about 3 blocks north of this theater. Does anybody know if there was a theater around Broadway and 204th at any time?
Agreed, Jeffrey. I’m surprised I didn’t catch that myself. If there is such a thing as “Forest Hills North” it would refer to the section of the neighborhood north of Jewel Ave and would certainly end at the Corona border at the LIE (and before the LIE blasted it’s way through, there was Horace Harding Blvd to mark the neighborhood boundaries).
The listing should be changed to “Corona, Queens, NY”
For starters, check out the page here for the Loew’s Jersey in Jersey City. I’m sure there are many others, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head. I seem to recall one or two stories some years back where movie palace restoration was key to the revitalization of some midwestern downtown areas.
Ah… I forget that currently numbered thoroughfares often had proper names in days of yore. The old address might very well match up since 113-14 matches the modern format in Queens of referencing the cross-street in the numbers before the hyphen. I’ll have to take a drive around the intersection one of these days and hunt for a tell-tale roofline or remnants of facade ornamentation. And the nickname of “the itch” has me intrigued and somewhat disturbed… was there a lice problem here?!?
Anyway… I’m glad to have kicked off some activity on this page, even though I had never before heard of this theater previously. I think I bumped into when I sorted for “Atmospheric” architectural style. Does anyone here think that this has to be an error? Would an atmospheric design been built on such a small scale? I don’t think it’s likely. That must be a mistake.
I went on the oasisnyc.net site and it appears from the aerial photo that there is indeed a peaked roofline for what appears to be an auditorium set back from a lower profile structure fronting 101st Ave. The property is actually on the SE corner of 114th Street and 101st Avenue and appears likely that the theater entrance was one or two doors from that corner. Oasis lists this as a 2 story building constructed in 1932 with current land use designated as “Public Facilities and Institutions” (the Dept of Finance classifies the property as “Church/Synagogue”). There are no C of O’s available to view; however, there are new building notices from 1923 and 1928, though I couldn’t view a copy of either. The lot encompasses addresses from 113-10 through 113-18 and there seemed to be a history of violations and alteration permits for, among other things, illegal conversion of factory/office space to residential apartments and conversion of factory space to church. It seems that the building is owned by (and presumably houses) a Sikh temple.
By the way, the map link above does not work unless you change the address to “Richmond Hill, Queens, NY”
As I mentioned, when I was a Senior at Jamaica High, we held our graduation ceremonies at St. John’s University. I’m not sure exactly when it was that use of the Valencia was curtailed. I can’t recall what the previous two Senior classes did while I attended as a Sophomore and Junior. I wonder if they stopped using it after it closed down for theatrical use in ‘77 – not wanting to hold the proceedings in a church and risk offending anyone of a different religion or secular mind.
Both my Dad and my Grandfather (on my Mom’s side) lived in The Bronx… my Dad on 167th between Tiffany and Fox from his birth in ‘37 until he joined the Navy in '56 and my Grandfather on Bronx River Ave for a few years in the early '40’s before the Army drafted him for service. They both mentioned this theater – my Grandfather especially – and would entertain me with their stories of “dish nights” and war-bond drives, etc. My Dad apparently went to the Loew’s Spooner and Boulevard Theaters with some frequency, while I recall my Grandfather talking about this theater as well as another called the Loew’s Elsmere. Of course, both waxed nostalgic about trips to the magnificent Loew’s Paradise to catch the bigger flicks earlier in their runs.
My entire family is predominantly from Washington Heights, Harlem and The Bronx so my Grandfather would reel off dozens of wonderful showplaces and neighborhood theaters he attended from the ‘30’s through the '40’s and early '50’s (before he settled with his family in the bucolic suburban setting of Elmhurst, Queens in '54). It’s hard these days for someone to imagine how prolific these neighborhood 2nd and 3rd run theaters were throughout the city. It seemed that everyone was some reasonable distance to a larger showcase theater like the Loew’s Paradise or the Loew’s 175th Street while also being in walking distance to at least one (sometimes 2 or 3) of the smaller 2nd run cinemas that proliferated during the 1st half of the 20th Century. Today, there are probably a similar number of screens (perhaps more) but they’re all concentrated in perhaps one or two huge multiplexes within driving distance. And all semblance of showmanship has completely dissipated.
My Dad grew up in The Bronx in the 1940’s and used to talk about dish nights and how at some point there’d be the sound of someone dropping their set followed by a responsive rise in the crowd. He grew up on 167th between Tiffany and Fox and most frequently mentioned the Loew’s Spooner and the Boulevard Theater as frequent destinations along with the occasional trip to the grand Loew’s Paradise on the Concourse. Those were certainly different days… and I wish I could’ve had a taste of the movie-going experience from back then.
Is this right? I can’t think of where a “Jerome Ave” is in Richmond Hill. At least not one that would cross over 116th Street. It’s mostly numbered Avenues running east-west across the north-south running streets. Perhaps this is Jamaica Avenue? That would put it very close to the RKO Keith’s in Richmond Hill which is now a bingo hall and flea market. Also, seems peculiar that an atmospheric would have been built to hold only 300 patrons.
Anyone familiar with the neighborhood have any ideas? The only Jerome Ave I know about in NYC is in The Bronx!
I’m going back there tonight for the show at the Shubert. I’ll bring my camera along and snap some shots to post.