Victory Theater
199-03 32nd Avenue,
Bayside,
NY
11358
199-03 32nd Avenue,
Bayside,
NY
11358
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 36 of 36 comments
Great ad, Warren. At long last, a clipping about this theater! I wonder if the anniversary refers to the first year of operation for the Victory Theater itself? The research I did for this page seems to point towards a construction date circa 1929 (with permits having been filed as early as 1926), but records are a bit sketchy. It’s possible this would have been a 2nd anniversary for the theater, but I would think they’d have made mention of that in the ad. If you don’t mind, I’d like to poach that clipping for my Victory Theater photobucket album. What paper did it appear in?
To Inyoung:
Find out what’s in the basement!!!
Weird that you say “It’s Banned” sounds like some secrets need to be uncovered. lol
Also is the top floor used as part of the church aswell or is it closed off?
If it’s haunted I may be some old time Bingo players.. lol
Well… I’d like to document as much of the interior as possible… just to document what if any is left of the old cinema. If there isn’t much at all left, then I’ll probably just take a couple of general wide shots of the sanctuary and perhaps a shot or two of the former lobby space. And if anything remains by way of the balcony, perhaps another shot or two up there. The more suspected detail that I see remaining, the more shots I’ll probably want to take. But, I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome if any of this makes your pastor or the congregation uncomfortable. As for when, I would come whenever it is convenient for the church (my own business hours allowing, of course). I wouldn’t want to intrude on an actual service, obviously. I really appreciate your finding out if this would be OK. Thank you so much.
allowed**
oh.. really? im not quite sure when she commited… i always think its haunted. . because it just scares me, we’re not even aloud to go to the basement! Also theres this room all the way in the back of the hallway, and the room temp. is always different. Either cold or hot. i never felt it hot, but my friends felt it.. so… yeah.i really have alot of questions to be said but then i cant describe it in words.because i need to show you it. i really want to see it as a movie theater and a bowling alley. do you have pictures of it?
To:EdSolero
im not sure because i didn’t ask the pastor yet. i’ll ask him soon. If you come to the church, what day will you come because it’s only opened on wed.,sat.,and sundays. What parts are you going to snap?
It’s real sad to see what became of this location, from the photo’s I’ve seen.
Why do old movie theaters seem to always wind up becoming some kind of church? lol The neighorborhood Is really a nice area but those photo’s make it look otherwise.
To EdSolero I don’t remember at all the date to when the theater closed nor remember the theater in operation since It was before I was born. I go be the memories of my parents who now passed.
To inyoung:
I never heard about this girl.. when was It, that she suppositly killed herself? huh maybe It’s haunted hehe.
I have no idea about this girl who comm
I broke the links to those photos I posted above when I reorganized my photobucket albums. Here’s a new link to the Victory Theater album where the shots may now be found.
Inyoung… I live in the neighborhood closer to Northern Blvd and – like many others on this site – have a fascination (some might say obsession) with old time movie houses. If you read above, you’ll see that the theater was erected sometime in the late 1920’s as a local neighborhood movie house. Looks like it hasn’t operated as such since around 1950 or so. Do you think the church would mind if I went in and snapped a few photos one day just to document what the interior of the building looks like now?
that is pretty scary. i go to the cham presbyterian church in ny and i never knew it was a bowling alley, flea market, a bingo hall, and a theater. i went there when i was little and still go there. wait, so may i ask you who you are? Some of my friends told me it was a bowling alley and a theater, but i wasent quite sure if they were lying. I also heard that a girl commited suicide, but i think that’s a rumor, but is that true? im sure it has changed for you when you go inside. You guys could go inside and see how much it has changed. So… when did it first become a theater?
You’re probably right Moviemike… Do you have an exact year when this theater closed? Warren thought it was early ‘50’s which would mean it hasn’t been a theater for at least 50 years. Lots of different tenants and owners over the years have probably renovated most traces of movie theater right out of the place. When I peered through the front gates I could make out what looked like a standard residential L-shaped stair case at the far wall facing the front doors on the other side of what must have been the foyer area. The stairs had a traditional wooden banister as you might find in the center hall of any colonial home on Long Island. And the walls looked to be completely unadorned and painted in a flat white.
Do you recall anything about the marquee and its being in danger of collapse in the ‘90’s?
This location was a bowling alley as I rememeber from when I was very young for a short time after the theater closed. It was a bingo hall for all through the 70’s and 80’s. The upstairs being the balcony that was seperated off and to my knowledge was never used, except for this one weird occation in the 70’s when There was a few people renting the floor for some kind of church that lasted a week, and I did get to sneak up stairs to see what It looked like and from what I saw was a theater seated balcony and a camera booth centered in the middle.
I don’t know what this place now looks like inside but I bet the balcony I saw is now gone.
Well… funny things are happening with comments on this site. I added this theater a couple of months ago and then posted some photos. About a month later, Warren added some comments. And now the comments are all gone.
Anyway… here are the photos I snapped of the Victory’s exterior.
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The second photo is taken through the roll down gates of the front door at the floor of the outer lobby. In the third image, you can see a faded sign advertising the “New Victory” painted right on the brick. I wonder when this was painted and just when the “New” was appended to the theater’s name.
As I recall, Warren had posted that this theater was pretty much a white elephant from the day it opened, tucked away in a residential neighborhood amongst some local storefronts. Perhaps the now faded sign had been painted to lure drivers from the busy intersection of Francis Lewis Boulevard and Utopia Parkway about a block away. I can’t imagine it could have been highly visible from that vantage point, but perhaps 50 or 60 years ago the sightlines to the building from those thoroughfares were better. Also, the Victory played 2nd run to the larger and better located Bayside Theater on Bell Boulevard and had competition from the Loew’s Roosevelt (which became the UA Quartet in the ‘70’s) on Northern Blvd. In any event, Warren indicated that the theater fell early victim to Television’s rising popularity and closed in the 1950’s.