RKO Keith's Richmond Hill Theatre

‘Tonino I lived on 129th Street and Metropolitan Ave from 1973 thru 1995 and the skating rink was gone Glendale Bakery headquarters was there and now that’s gone too. But Jahns remains strong. I am 60 years old now but originally from Brooklyn, Williamsburgh to be exact. My Aunt’s moved to Kew Gardens in 1970 and they remember the roller skating rink and Jahns vividly. anniegirl

I attended that roller skating rink at Metropolitan and Hillside Avenues once, with the Ridgewood YMCA, on a rainy Saturday in late April or early May 1968. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, and the man at the door was very strict about checking us boys to make sure we were wearing shirts with collars.

‘Tonino, you must be a bit older than me to have ridden and remember the Myrtle Avenue trolley, as opposed to bus !

The last time i visited Richmond Hill, Jahn’s was still opened but hardly any customers were there. You can park on the side of the rr tracks and yes the parking lot still belongs to Salerno’s. I know Joe and Nick they are brothers but one of them is gone now I think it is Joe but not sure. Elsie’s daughter Debbie is there in the Beauty Shop. If any of you guys go by stop by and tell Debbie Anniegirl says hello. anniegirl
posted by noeleanniegirl May 1 2006

Bway in his posting of March 28 2006 mentions the Hammerstein Ballroom near Penn Station and wonders about the original name. It opened as the Manhatten Opera House about 1910, built by Oscar Hammerstein. The facade today has been modernized but much of the interior detail in the auditorium has been restored.

Wow, I didn’t realize the theater closed in the 60’s already. No wonder it looked so much like a diamond in the rough by the 1980’s. That even makes it more unbelievable that so many of the historic features are still so intact in that theater, and it’s been close to 40 years that it’s been closed as a “theater”. I mean, the ceiling was even still in original paint, at least into the early 90’s! Time really has been kind to the theater – at least considering it’s been 40 years since it’s been used as a theater, and if it did close around 1967, it was a for about 40 years. It’s rapidly approaching the point where it will have been a BINGO hall longer than it was a theater….

As for Jahn’s opening just before the RKO Keith’s, they may have opened in anticipation of the Theater opening, as it was probably either under construction or in the planning stages when Jahn’s opened.

Jahn’s is still open for business. I actually passed by last weekend. I plan on stopping in for a cone or sundae very soon. My lady has been dying to try it. Parking is a bit difficult around the area.

I used to live in Kew Gardens and go next door to Elsie’s Beauty Parlor to the right. The Keiths is now a Bingo Hall and Flea Market. the Resturant on the right corner is Salerno’s Italian Resturant. Ande Jahn’s Ice Cream parlor on the left. I am louieb’s wife. I lost my password and had to re-register. When I was a kid, we came to the Jahn’s but the Richmond Hill Movie was closed. Too Bad all of these moviehouses close. They have such history. SAD.
posted by noeleanniegirl Apr 28, 2006

PKoch – Me too, I love the Twilight Zone. I’m working on the second season DVD set right now, just finished the first.

Mandatory Theater Reference: The RKO Keith’s Richmond Hilll would be a great set for an episode. I can picture a scene of someone standing looking at a table of junk in the flea market, and slowly around him the camera angle swerves to the ornate plasterwork, and “ala Titanic” flashes to the past and the same platerwork in all it’s original beauty…. (well it’s the start of a script).

Actually, that’s also somewhat what happened to “Studio 54” in Manhattan too when it was converted to the legendary club. Studio 54 originally opened as the “Gallo Opera House”, and later became the New York Theater, in addition to several other names before becoming the legendary disco “Studio 54”. Much of the old ornamentation survived. It became a srtip club for a while after Studio 54, and today I beleive it’s back to legit theater. I believe “Caboret” played there. That theater is not listed on this site, because I believe it never played cinema, so doesn’t qualify.
The Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan Center was another theater converted to concert hall, with all the seats ripped out. I believe that was the New York Opera House originally? I am not sure, but did see a few concerts there, and theater ornamentation does remain there yet too. That one is also not on this site as it also never showed cinema to the best of my knowledge.

What is so strange about the RKO Keiths, or at least when I first went in there in the early 80’s for a flea market was that, especially back then, it’s as if time had stood still, and you walked into the Twilight ZOne. Everything was still there, even though junk was being sold from tables where the seats were supposed to be. That’s the only thing that was removed. The tapestry curtain still hung, and had a mural on it (it really appears they painted it since then from your photos, although as small piece remains in the middle unpainted). Back then the ceiling was still original, so that added to the effect, although as I mentioned, the walls were painted ¾ up beige (to the point where the light and dark paint meet in your photos). Other than that, everthing stood there, dirty, but there.
As for the chandelier….I remember it being bigger, but that’s it, and obviously still there!! (and just a little dirtier, although it was filthy in the early 80’s already, as were the ones in the balcony). “Me thinks” they were dirty already in the final movie days……
Thanks again Ken. It appears aside from the painting of the ceiling, and whatever they did to the curtain on the stage….little has changed since the 80’s.

Ed, I agree the theater does in fact look better cared for then it was last time I was there. The current owners respect the building, as they have left all the important parts of the theater intact, yet are still use it for their purpose as a profitable investment.
The theater would look beautiful if it was restored, but you the only way if could be restored if it was done by some organization, and it would have to be for some profitable reason, as it would be a large and expensive undertaking to do it right. However, while it it’s a shame it’s not a theater, and it’s not restored, however, in the meantime, it is being minimally maintained (which is good, as it is not sitting falling apart by any means), and it’s in good hands, as while it’s not restored, it’s also not violated or gutted in any way. I mean just look, the chandeliers are even still intact, even if covered in cobwebs. Those could have been scavanged years ago if they wanted to. And who knows, as long as they keep doing what they are doing, and not rip anything out, who knows, perhaps someday far in the future they will find a profitable reason to refurbish it. But in the meantime, it’s happy just sitting there waiting.

Thanks SO much Ken once again. The theater is EXACTLY the way I remembered it the last time I was in there 15-20 years ago. (See my descriptions above). The only change I can see is that they painted the ceiling (which was still original, multicolored and gold leaf paint – the beige only went up to the ceiling (and sides of procenium arch – actually, if you look closely, you can see that the ceiling paint is lighter than the wall paint), and the crystals on the chandeliers got blacker – haha. The original tapestry curtain still hung across the stage too the last time I was there, which looks like (gasp) they painted it?
It’s too bad they painted the ceiling, as it was quite intricate and interesting in detail. It did however need to be painted, as it was pealing, even back then already, but of course it was more interesting before painted. And they cleaned the mirrors in the lobby! They used to be black like the chandeliers….
But anyway, as I have been saying in various posts, and as you can see, the theater is VERY much still intact.
Your photos just reinforced my memories of how beautiful, and a diamond in the rough the Richmond Hill is, and thankfully very much intact.
Ken, was the huge old chandelier still haning in the inner lobby?